Savannah asked:
I have a fishbowl with a comet goldfish in it and i want to clean it. I heard that you should clean a little bit at a time but how do you do that? And do you really need to? I’ve always just cleaned the whole bowl.
I have a fishbowl with a comet goldfish in it and i want to clean it. I heard that you should clean a little bit at a time but how do you do that? And do you really need to? I’ve always just cleaned the whole bowl.
First (and obviously) take out the fish
Second (with a scooper or gloves or something) take out all the items in
tank
Third use a scooper to take out the gravel (if any) (you could also do this
after taking the water out)
Fourth use a drainer or gradually scoop out the water until it’s pretty much
entirely empty
Fill the tank with clean water (salt or fresh whichever your fish need)
Put the items back in the tank (do gravel first if any)
Then put your fish in a plastic container with out a top in the water
(if the water is already room temperature just put the fish in normally)
Remember a filter (and/or filter fish) will help so you don’t have to
clean the tank very often
well, first and foremost, comets get over 12 and are super dirty. they’re also very hardy. a bowl is a death trap and although he may be surviving for now, he is NOT healthy. he will eventually need at least a 50gallon tank, preferably a pond.
until you can get him a better tank (for a couple of months, a year tops, a 10gallon tank would be ok. I suggest housing him in this until spring, once spring comes find someone with a goldfish or koi pond to put him in) change about 30% of the water every day and 50% once a week using a gravel vacuum. a gravel vacuum only cost about $5 and is very important. it allows you to remove all the **** and food on the bottom of the tank without taking all the water out.
please do some research on the nitrogen cycle, new tank syndrome, and comets…. and throw away that fishbowl ASAP!
Keeping a comet in a bowl is like keeping an elephant in a horse stable. Comets are really better off going in ponds. To be kept indoors, they should have 55 gallons of filtered and aerated water per 1-2 comets. In other words, assuming you have a gallon sized bowl, you are keeping that fish in a space that is more than 50 times too small. In such conditions, his growth will be stunted and his quality and length of life hindered substantially. (A well cared for goldfish should live 10-20 years.) If you are unwilling or unable to get the materials to properly care for him, I’d suggest finding him a home who can–preferably someone with a pond. If you aren’t even willing to do this, just be aware that his lifespan and life quality will be greatly reduced because of you. If you insist on keeping him confined to a bowl, you should change 80% of the water every day.
forget about whatever anybody says. Clean it real good with any cleaner wyou want, the stronger the better. After that just fill it up with colored pebbles or sand or this stinky stuff they sell in stores to room smell better. No matter what you do. DO NOT PUT LIVE FISH INTOFISH BOWL. It’s going to die there.
Seems a bowl is a little small to vacuum and do partial water changes on. What you can do is you setup a container with about half a bowl of new treated water and let it sit for a bit. Then you pour half the bowls water into the container and add the fish. Then you pour out the rest of the water from the bowl and fill half of it with new treated water and let it sit for a bit. Then you top the bowl off with water from the other container and put the fish back. Once per week if you can. This will keep your fish healthier, keep him alive for a little longer.
Remember, goldfish are huge and need tanks to thrive, and bowls do kill them every time, it’s only a question of time. Those people above might sound like they are lecturing you, but are only telling the truth. Goldfiish are carp – pond fish. Even the 20 gallon tank recommended is not enough, it’s merely a better starting point. In reality, a comet should reach more then 12 inches long and need 100 gallons or more. As carp they are also grouping fish and like most fish thrive best among their own.
No fish can live in a bowl and escialy not goldfish. Goldfish requires a fish tank that can provide the largest possible surface area and less depth for oxygen exchange, so they should never be kept in a goldfish bowl or smaller containers. Actually, for every inch of fish length, you will need 30 square inches for the surface area. But, remember that these fishes also grow, and they have the potential to grow quickly, so this should be taken into account in selecting the right size for their home. If you are only a beginner or a fishbowl is your only option, make sure that it is only filled halfway. You may have less water, but the surface area is not compromised and allows more oxygen for the fish. Please go buy a 20 gallon or more tank or return the goldfish to the store. Cheers Max
one. take it out of the bowl. its just a death waiting to happen
second. only do a 25-40% water change at a time to save all the good bacteria
That is true with big tanks, because, obviously, you can’t change 50 gallons of water every week, I generally change 1/3 of the water in my large tanks and add new DE-CHLORINATED tap water to change my tank.
With small bowls, or really any tank without filtration you need to fill another container with water, allow it to sit to room temperature, condition the water to get out the toxins (they sell drops very inexpensively), and put the fish in that bowl until the other is cleaned, refilled, conditioned with the drops, and let to sit to room temperature.
When i was younger i bought 2 identical bowls (since they are generally cheap) and when i wanted to clean one I would prepare the other and just switch until i needed to switch again! That keeps you from having to do all that work every time!
It is very important that you let the water temperatures adjust to room temperature so that the fish does not go into shock or get sick from the drastic and abrupt change in temperatures!
Why on earth would you put a fish that grows about 30cm long in a fishbowl? You should have about 50 gallons just for the one comet goldfish.
Stop harassing the poor person
. They probably don’t want to spend 100 bucks on a 10 cent goldfish
Being took out of the fishbowl is kinda stressful so I would just do a 50% water change (more if you want, but not all) and pour some water in gentley. You could get a latel (I have no idea how to spell that. the spoon things) and get the water out/in like that.
Also if you want to make him happier go to walmart and they have a 10 gallon tank and a filter and gravel for like 30 or 35 bucks. You could get him a friend as well that way.
i like the rule of 5 gallons per goldfish but thats just me.
Bowls aren’t that bad.
Filtered tanks are better though.