Common goldfish
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| Common Goldfish | |
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| File:Common goldfish.jpg | |
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| Subspecies: | C. a. auratus
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| Trinomial name | |
| Carassius auratus auratus | |
Common goldfish are a type of goldfish with no other modifications from their ancestors other than their color. Most varieties of fancy goldfish were derived from this simple breed. Common goldfish come in a variety of shades including red, orange/gold, white, black and yellow or 'lemon' goldfish.
As pets
The common goldfish has become a popular pet around the world. They are hardier than fancier fish, able to live in a variety of conditions ranging from aquariums to outdoor ponds, and can withstand change in water temperature and quality better. Most of these kinds of fish enjoy a cooler temperature. They also breed easy and truer to form than some show fish. If well cared for, common goldfish can live up to ten or more years. Most however only live for 1-5 years. They are to be fed once a day and don't eat very much.
Temperament
Common goldfish are social, and like to live in groups. They enjoy swimming and playing and the overall breed is friendly. They can become quite tame eating from hands and swimming frantically towards the owner.
Housing
It is a common practice to keep goldfish in a small bowl though this is cruel for the fish, as it allows waste in the water to build-up to toxic levels and does not provide enough oxygen. They should be kept in a fairly large aquarium with a good filter. It can be furnished with gravel, rocks and plants (being plastic or alive).
A general rule of thumb is 10 gallons of water per fish. However, with goldfish, it is better to have 20 gallons of water for the first fish, and 10 gallons per fish after that. (So 3 goldfish would be very happy in a 40 gallon tank.)
When placing the goldfish in the tank it is important to place at max two at a time. This allows bacteria, which turns ammonia to nitrate to grow. If not they are likely to die from high ammonia levels.
Breeding
Breeding commons is fairly easy. In breeding condition the males will develop small white spots on his gill covers and the female will become plump. The male will chase the female until she releases her eggs, then the male will release sperm and they will become fertilised. The eggs will then stick to any available surface. It is then best to remove the eggs to a separate aquarium as the adults are likely to eat them. When the eggs hatch into fry they will need to be fed very small food such as hatched brineshrimp or a ready made fry food. As they grow bigger they can eat finely crumbled fishfood eventually the pieces getting bigger.
Sickness
Common goldfish are cheap and low maintenance but are prone to disease. Illnesses in the common goldfish can be caused by excessively dirty water, overfeeding or overcrowding. An illness in a common goldfish can quickly become fatal, meaning rapid treatment is extremely important. Several symptoms can indicate a sick fish: cuts on any of the fins, a change in scale or eye colour, excretions from the "nose", scales falling off, odd-coloured marks on the fish, or the fish frequently making trips to the surface.