[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Spinnerr

I thought Gold fishes survive pretty well in large fish bowls. Umpteen reference in old stories. (Not justifying, just quoting).

no offense taken, but yeah they Look best in bowls . It is possible to keep them in large bowls, provided there is adequate filtration and aeration, but it is still tougher to achieve success than in a conventional cuboid tank. Goldfish are one of the most dirtying fish *lol*. The amount of food they eat and waste they produce is ridiculously high.

It was gift; the whole package. This is the first incident, since 2 years (that is when we got it). So after a bit of reading, now I have a fair idea about Nitrogen cycle and that fact that gold fish prefer real cool environment.

Also, another thing I thought about mentioning was that although the goldfish might survive in a bowl for years together, the high concentration of nitrates will cause stunted growth, and the goldfish won't grow as big as they otherwise would.

Once you get a bigger tank and transfer your goldfish into that, you can also consider getting a test kit (available with most big fish shops including Gulmarg). That allows you to periodically monitor pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels, water hardness and many other things.

[Spinnerr]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

you can also consider getting a test kit ...periodically monitor pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels, water hardness and many other things.

I guess I will give that a try.

You seems to be quiet an expert with fish, could you also guide me on the food supplements?

Currently I feed the fishes 3 things
1. Good fish food flakes (Toyo brand and something similarly named, but made in Chennai)
2. Blood worms (the quick dried ones, same brands)
3. Those little back bugs/worm that come in spoilt rice (These are fed as treats, once in a week or so.)

The fish is fed twice a day; 8am and 8pm; just small quantities; what they can finish in a min or so.

They enjoy the worms and those little bugs; so when that is given the artificial food is not given.

Is feeding cooked rice any good?

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Spinnerr

Currently I feed the fishes 3 things
1. Good fish food flakes (Toyo brand and something similarly named, but made in Chennai)
2. Blood worms (the quick dried ones, same brands)
3. Those little back bugs/worm that come in spoilt rice (These are fed as treats, once in a week or so.)

The fish is fed twice a day; 8am and 8pm; just small quantities; what they can finish in a min or so.

They enjoy the worms and those little bugs; so when that is given the artificial food is not given.

I'm not sure about the rice bugs, never tried doing that

Generally it is preferred to feed freeze-dried worms rather than live, for the simple reason that live ones could carry harmful parasites and germs within them. Some members may disagree with me on this, but for goldfish, I would recommend freeze dried worms any day over live. I have seen one too many cases of Argulus (fish lice) and anchor worms being spread through live worm feed (and the contaminated water they come in).

Is feeding cooked rice any good?

Not really. Cooked rice is a form of starch. Goldfish are not very capable of digesting starch, so I wouldn't advise making it a staple diet. You will find that they don't even enjoy it - they will waste it. Try and see.

In my goldfish tank of ~10 goldies of different varieties, I once tried rice many years back, and all of them wasted the rice, but for 2 Ryukins who were absolute gluttons and used to devour anything in sight.

A suggestion for goldfish - feed them green peas (frozen variety). They love peas, plus it works brilliantly as a laxative and relieves them of constipation/bloat that they could develop from eating the regular fish food flakes. Also try lettuce leaves. They love those too.

Try this regime -

mornings - regular fish food flakes / balls
evenings - green peas
alternate mornings - freeze dried bloodworms / tubeworms / shrimp
occasional feed of lettuce leaves.

This regime has worked for me quite well over the past decade or more of keeping goldfish.

[Spinnerr]

Thanks! Will give this diet plan a shot.

Originally Posted by KarthikK

In my goldfish tank of ~10 goldies of different varieties,

No kidding! 10 goldies? Wow!
That must be one huge tank.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Spinnerr

No kidding! 10 goldies? Wow!
That must be one huge tank.

that was in a 5ft X 2.5ft X 2ft tank . Generally, the bigger the tank, lesser the maintenance is, so size is a bit misleading

[deathwalkr]

@Karthikk: sound advice
OT: Remember buying my first Jaguar from that shop years back when i was in Bangalore trying to study :P Good place that.

@Spinnerr: nothing to add. he's said it all. try and get a traditional rectangular tank for your goldies. 3x1.5x.15 would be a nice size. if you can accommodate a 2ft wide tank then better.

Happy fish keeping.

[pyrodrive]

Saw this thread today. Lots of dogs here.
My pets list include .. A lot of fishes( spread accross 15 tanks, from 1 ft cube to 1500 litre wall tanks), 3 aviaries with around 60 birds- budgies/ cockatiels / finches, a turtle, a rabbit( wife's pet), and a german shepherd dog.

[deathwalkr]

@Pyrodrive: Dude where are the photos?!?!

Would love to see those tanks of yours. 1500L wall tanks sound awesome.

[pyrodrive]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

@Pyrodrive: Dude where are the photos?!?!

Would love to see those tanks of yours. 1500L wall tanks sound awesome.

Ok here we go, just a couple of samples for now.
The bigger one is a wall tank that is 6ft long and 4ft wide. Other one is a small tank, just 3ft long, stocked with a variety of native fishes collected from around the northeast.

[deathwalkr]

beautiful!

water change must be a pain though

can you put up a tank by tank photo and info?

thanks

[Spinnerr]

After checking out Gulmarg (Koramangala) and a couple of other Aquariums in Madivala/ Kormangala.

I stumbled upon 'The Aquarium Store'
80 Feet Rd, Indirangar
Bangalore, Karnataka 560008
080 4093 7957

Compared to all other this happened to the "cleanest". A well informed chap at the desk; helped me pick a pair of gold fish; advised me on tank maintenance.

Well stocked with all kinds of of Aquarium accessories; everything from heater; to cleaners, to PH strip, LED lights, valves and controls for CO2 tanks... Phew... there were a whole lot of things.

Honestly, I hadn't known that growing fish in a tank can get this hi-tech.

He might not greet you with a smile; but he lets you browse through his shop for a while and once you decide on something and turn around to ask about it; he is next to you.

I liked shopping at this store; I recommend this place.

Landmark: If you are coming out of 13th Mail; with National public school on your Left; then come BSNL office; At that signal; you take a right turn; then take the 2nd Right turn.
The place is at the beginning of the 2nd right turn.

BTW; I found the prices lower than the Kormangala and Madivala stores.
Gulmarg (Kormangala)
Gold fish - Rs 750/ pair
12" Fish bowl - Rs 400

Konian Aquarium (Kormangala)
Gold fish - Rs 450 / pair
12" Fish bowl - Rs 375

The Aquarium store (Indiranagar)
Gold fish - Rs 180 / pair
12" Fish bowl - Rs 350

I must say; The Gold fish in all of these 3 stores were different; But I liked the ones at The Aquarium store better; the others looked a little bloated and lethargic. The ones here were all active and swimming around and more fish like.

[deathwalkr]

@Spinnerr: You have no idea how expensive and hi tech this hobby can get But it's so rewarding to set up a tank as close to a fish's natural habitat and watch it flourish.

Before the arrival of my daughter this hobby used to keep my wallet empty and thankfully my wife did not mind Got way too involved in exotic fishes which were not cheap.

But please do avoid fish bowls. Enough and more articles on the net to throw more light on this. Just google it out. And thinking i will buy a bigger tank after the fish grows is the wrong thing to do if you are thinking along those lines. Get the correct sized tank which is optimum for the fish you plan to buy.

[pyrodrive]

I agree that bowls are not recommended for most fishes, particularly goldies. Best fish for a bowl or any kind of small container is a single male betta.
@deathwalkr, I will try to dig up some pics later. Regarding waterchanges, the big tank you see in the pic is actually the easiest. Its just a matter of turning the faucets on and off. Had got the plumber to fit inlet and outlets when the tank was built in 2008.
A couple of pics of my "nano" tanks. One a shrimp tank and the other a 1ft cube with a single puffer fish(tetraodon cutcutia).

[deathwalkr]

damn!

Put up a separate photo journal in here Would love to go through your setups in detail.

Right now i have to be happy with a banjar red aro in a 6x2x2 and a red texas in a 4x2x2 oh and a red/golden flowerhorn and an eight banded leporinus in a cement tank outside

[Googleman]

Does anyone watch "The Dog whisperer" on NGC?

I am a big fan of Cesar and here is a useful video for all dog lovers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3XbSZ48WQw

and here is a pic of my dog Look at the size he has grown upto