Grand Rapids Business Daily

What are some tips on keeping a gold fish alive as long as possible?

For a dorm game at school we need to keep a gold fish alive as long as we can. I want to know if anyone has tips so I can win. well we are not really going to have tanks or anything for this contest.

Public Comments

1. Monitor the water quality. Goldfish are notorious for dirtying their bowls quickly. If you can, provide a good filter for them, and do partial water changes at least weekly. Also, don't overfeed them. They'll eat whether they need it or not.
2. give it a 12 pack of coronas and tvo
3. well feed it once everyday a pinch of the fish food try to get some of the vita drops and put like 1 drop of them in the tank a day make sure your fish is happy dont put a beta fish in the same tank cuz theyll fight
4. Only clean out the water once in 1 1/2 week maybe, tops 2 weeks? As that will frighten the fish. And feed your fish once or twice a day depending on how hungry they are. If you see poo coming from their bottom that means they're overfed. And if you don't have one, it's a good idea to install a filter as that cleans the water.
5. a 10 gallon tank, a filter, gravel, and super aeration will keep a GF living very long, just so you know longest living goldfish is 43 years old so might a longer game then you thought.
6. make sure it is big enough to swim around in and ya feed it regularly
7. CRUELTY! these are LIVING things, not toys! goldfish are VERY messy and get huge. goldfish should EASILY live up to 20YEARS! if you're not going to give an animal PROPER care, do NOT get it. it is NOT a toy, it shouldn't have to suffer for your "game"
8. Keep the tank clean. Feed only a pinch of food twice a day (crumble the flakes a bit in your palm so that it can actually eat the food and not choke), no more. A fish will eat as long as there's food for it there, there's no siren that goes off saying Stop Eating, You're Full!! and it will eat until it dies, so don't over feed it. Even if it looks hungry, stick to only twice a day. Having a nice sized tank with a really good filter also helps (the filter is not absolutely needed, but it will keep your fish alive longer)... if you keep the fish in too small of a tank, it will grow bored and not live as long (I know you said you won't really have tanks, but do keep in mind not to keep the poor thing in a small container); don't clutter the tank with too many plant decorations or other toys, but another fish to keep it company may be nice. It /is/ possible for a fish to die of loneliness (yes, I realize this is just for a competition, but if you grow attached and want to keep it afterward, I would consider this). Make sure that the tank is always aerated, if no oxygen can get into the water (I know that sounds dumb, but I'm serious), the fish can suffocate. Avoid using real plants in your tanks, they can collect algae and make your fish sick. Try clean the tank at least once a month, but don't be transferring the fish from bowl to bowl while doing this, as it may traumatize the fish. (Look up a tutorial on how to do this, it shouldn't be hard to find.) Haha, it's a lot, but it works. My aunt was able to keep her goldfish alive for over ten years. It Was HUGE!! It only died because she had to go away for a while and her husband didn't feed it while she was gone. She'd gotten it when it was about an inch and a half long, and died at about ten inches. We miss Dorothy.
9. Water quality is key.
10. Well for starters for one goldfish you need a minimum tank of 35 gallons, and 10 gallons for each goldfish after that. You must have a good filter, and you need to do weekly water changes of about 30% to maintain water quality, maybe more depending on your tank size and number of fish. Gold fish eat a lot, and are often over feed, this is really bad for them. Because they eat a lot, they poo a lot, hence they produce massive amounts of waste that produce high levels of ammonia and require frequent and consistent water changes.
11. Do you realize that this contest is really about who can abuse the fish the longest? Goldfish can live over 25 years when kept correctly. These are fish that require appropriately sized aquariums (20+ gallons) and heavy filtration. I suggest you find a game that does not involve harming anything.