# Am I caring for my goldfish well enough?



## MelissaSelby (Jan 30, 2013)

I've had my goldfish Steve for three days now and I just wanted to make sure that I'm doing everything right and if my fish is healthy.

First of all I'm not certain on how much I should be feeding him, the directions say to feed him only what he can eat within 3 minutes? Does that mean how long it takes him to actually eat it or the time it takes for him to find it? Sometimes he doesn't see the food unless I push it a little to get it to sink.

Also I've noticed that he often circles the tank really fast, as if he was agitated. I looked it up online and apparently this means he doesn't have enough space, but he's only a small fish and we have a 10 gallon tank with just a small water plant and an ornament.

Lastly I can't help but notice he is constantly looking for food. I've been told goldfish are quite greedy and are often looking for food but I don't know if this is normal behavior or if it's because I'm not feeding him enough. I feed him roughly 1/4 of a teaspoon twice a day, making sure I space out the feedings as much as possible, but even just a small amount looks too much when it goes in, and he'll often stop for a while during eating before continuing. 

I'm not sure if I am being paranoid or if I'm doing something wrong?

Thank you for taking the time to read this.


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## Fishyfins (Feb 28, 2009)

hey there 

Ok, ill answer your questions in order.

With the food, there is no hard or fast rule to feeding. ive heard everything from feed once every 2 or 3 days, to feed twice a day so they eat for 5 minutes. i find the 3 minute thing the best, and it generally means them actually eating the food, not finding it. if there is any uneaten food after 3 mins, then just fish it out and dispose of it, othrwise it will rot down and can cause pollution problems

I cant say ive ever heard of circling the tank as a symptom of not having much space. Goldfish can be quite active fish, and often do swim quite fast. Your tank is a little on the small side though. generally speaking, the rule of thumb for most goldfish is 20 gallons for the first goldfish, then 10 gallons for every additional fish you add. This does depend on the type of goldfish. This rule is for fancy goldfish (the "rounder" ones, like oranda and moors). for standard goldies (the long thin ones like comets and shubunkins), its generally reccomended to only keep them in ponds. with them being a social fish as well, that enjoys its own company, its generally reccomended to have more than one, so a 30-40 gallon tank for 2 or 3 fancy goldfish is pretty commonplace. Your fish may be ok in there for now, but he will very quickly need a much larger tank, or he will suffer problems.

As for your feeding, as i said above, enough food for them to be feeding about 3 mins. Dont forget that goldfish are greedy, have very inefficient stomachs, and are waste machines! what you feed them comes right back out as toxic waste. most normal filters arnt big enough to cope with the huge amount of waste they produce, so if you dont have a big external unit (which i dont think you would have), then id maybe limit feeding to once a day, otherwise there will be a lot of waste in there! especially as its such a small tank!

And lastly, good on you for actually asking for advice! far too many people just take goldfish for granted, and dont bother with them. Youve done the right thing by asking for help, and we will gladly give any help you need. Nothing in this post is meant to be "telling you off" or anything, just telling you what you need to know


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