During this time I have actively been involved in online fish forums, local meetups and helped many, many beginners overcome problems with their aquarium setup.
You would be amazed at how often I hear this phrase uttered by beginners after receiving advice:
Ugh… If I knew that, I never would have considered fish as a pet!
What are these deal breakers?
That’s exactly what I am going to reveal in this guide.
If at any point while reading this, you think to yourself:
I don’t like the sound of that…
Then I highly recommend considering a different pet for you and your family.
Animals are great. There is no denying the fact that life would not be the same without them. Pets are a vision of our better natures—masters of the wisdom and simplicity we wish we could attain in our lives.
But let's face it, some animals are better left outside of the home and should really not be sold in pet stores, much less anywhere where someone might find them. These are either animals that are more difficult to keep than advertised or animals so vicious, so destructive, that it's a wonder they are still offered for sale nationwide. Some animals just make the worst pets.
A goldfish weighing nine pounds came under the spotlight Monday after being discovered during a fish population survey at a lake in South Carolina, park officials said.
Ty Houck, an official with Greenville County Parks, said the “massive” fish was found swimming on Nov. 16 in a 12-acre body of water in Oak Grove Lake Park in the county of Greenville.
Greenville Rec, which oversees the park where the fish was discovered, posted a photo of the golden spectacle on Facebook on Monday.
Spoiler alert: you may never order grilled octopus again.
Myth: Felines and canines are colorblind
Although it was long believed that our furry companions had limited vision and only saw certain colors, it’s not the case. Cats and dogs have much better color eyesight than we thought. Both can see shades of blue and green. In fact, cats have way more light-sensing cells or rods in their eyes than humans do, and that’s why they can see better in low-light situations. Of course that doesn’t explain why they sometimes act that way they do.
Congratulations! You're made the most excellent decision to start raising koi fish of your own. Although it can be a little daunting at first to take on a new pet, you'll soon discover how easy it is to raise these hearty fish. Koi Story has put together this little guide to jump-start your knowledge on your fish pond/habitat, koi care and other general koi knowledge.
RAISING KOI FISH IN A POND
Koi are a hearty member of the carp fish family and can handle quite a bit if the conditions of your koi carp pond are right. Seasonal ponds should be at least a 1.5 deep (half a meter) while year-long ponds should be at least 4.5 feet (1.5 meters). Water should be kept between 60 and 75 degrees F (about 15-25 degrees C)
Beyond depth and temperature, your koi/carp/fish need a few important things in a pond habitat:
Cats, dogs, parrots and even fish are right or left-handed, scientists have revealed. The discovery was made by psychologists from Queen's University Belfast, who as part of their research played with 42 pet cats for weeks on end. Dogs are the same - until they are spayed or neutered, when the difference disappears, suggesting hormones play a role in left or right-handedness. They found that females are 'right-handed' while toms favor the left.
Paw preference: Female dogs favor their right front paw and males choose their left, according to the study. The scientists also reported that parrots will pick up objects with their 'dominant' foot, toads are mostly right-handed and fish will have a preference to left or right when they dodge a predator - and even humpback whales prefer the right side of their jaws when feeding. Dogs wag their tails to the right when relaxed and to the left when agitated, this week's New Scientist reports. The experts said: 'Male and female cats differ in their behavioral patterns, for example hunting styles and parental care, and it is possible that these place different demands on motor functioning.'
Female felines use their right paw while toms tend to use their left Dr Culum Brown, a behavioral ecologist, said they also tested the theory with parrots: "Anything they are interested in they will pick up with their dominant foot". Curiously, those parrots that favor their left or right rather than liking both equally, have been shown to be brainier. With goldfish, the way they dodge predators is likely to allow them to use a specific eye and side of the brain to deal with the threat. To test it out, place an unfamiliar object in the center of your fish tank and watch which way your pet swims round it. Toads, however, prefer their right, and pounce more quickly on morsels of food that enter their line of vision from their right. Humpback whales prefer to use the right side of their jaws to scrape up sand eels from the ocean floor. While there are advantages in following the crowd, it can also be good to be different. For instance, those humans or animals that are left-handed, or pawed, in a right-handed world, have the surprise on their side when they launch an attack.
Two goldfish were found alive in their tank in a building that was badly damaged by the earthquake that struck New Zealand. The two goldfish, named Shaggy and Daphne, have become the smallest survivors of the earthquake in February. The earthquake killed 181 people in Christchurch. There were originally six goldfish in the tank when the quake struck. When the survivors were found, there was no trace of three others. A fourth was found dead. There is the question of their missing companions. Goldfish are omnivores. The fish spent four and a half months, trapped in their tank in a downtown area of the city, that was off-limits. There was no food, or electricity to power their tank filter. They were discovered by workers, and rescued. The fish survived from eating algae growing on the tank’s rocks and walls. Fish can go without food for a while because they are cold blooded, and unlike mammals don't burn up food to keep warm.
If you are both aquarium enthusiasts, you may want to consider oranda goldfish as your first pets together. These beautiful fish develop large hoods called wens on their heads and are as friendly as they are attractive. Understanding proper care for these delicate fish is vital for their longevity. Educate yourself on the specific needs of oranda goldfish. Common goldfish such as the shubunken have flat, long bodies; but orandas have large, round bodies that make them slow swimmers -- they do not compete well for food with more active species. Their hooded heads are also prone to disease from bacteria and unclean water, so they are not tolerant to polluted water. In addition, unlike other types of goldfish, orandas must have stable water temperatures: not too cold, because they do not thrive if the temperatures in their tanks dips too low. Choose a tank suitable for your fancy goldfish. Orandas do best in tanks that provide plenty of room to swim. In addition, these hardy fish may reach sizes of 10 to 12 inches (25cm to 30cm) in length, making a spacious home necessary. A long or rectangular tank with capacity of at least 20 to 30 gallons (76l to 114l) will give your pets the space they need to thrive. Set up your fancy aquatic pets' tank with a filter and heater. Because orandas do not do well in dirty water, a filtration system will help keep their watery environment fresh and clean. An aquarium heater is a must for these fancy fish that are prone to temperature shock if their water temperatures dip too low. To read more on this story, click here:How to Care for Oranda Goldfish
Those colorful fish you frequently see in large ponds in Japanese restaurants or shopping areas are becoming increasingly popular as the centerpiece of a backyard garden. The brightly-colored fish are called Koi, and they are the result of selective breeding of German and Asian carp. If you are considering installing a Koi pond, you should first study how to raise Koi. 1 - Select a proper pond. You can purchase a Koi pond made of several different materials from pet stores or Koi specialty retailers. A good rule of thumb is that the Koi pond measurements should be at least 3 feet (0.914 m) deep and contain 300 gallons (1136 liters) per fish. You may want to get a larger pond than you need right away, so that you can add additional fish later. To read more on this story, click here: How to Raise Koi
FOLLOW US!
Goldfish may look small and cute in your home, but in the wild, it's a different story. Releasing them into your local stream or lake is a bad idea. Following is a transcript of the video. Right now, Washington State is fighting of an invasion! The culprit? Goldfish. Thousands of goldfish have infested the West Medical Lake and are crowding out the native fish population. How did this happen? The Department of Fish and Wildlife thinks a few irresponsible pet owners are to blame. And while the goldfish may have cost the owners a few dollars, this mess is going to cost the state an estimated $150,000 to try to remove these feral fish. But this isn't the only place this is happening. Goldfish are invading lakes and streams worldwide, and it's our fault. If you think you're doing the goldfish a favor by releasing it, you're not. Instead, you're setting the stage for an ecological disaster, which could threaten hundreds of other species. Turns out, goldfish are one of the world's worst invasive species. Goldfish were first selectively bred in China 2,000 years ago for food. By the 14th century, goldfish had been promoted from our meals to our entertainment. It wasn't long before pet owners helped them spread across the world, eventually reaching North America by the 19th century. They may look small and cute in your home, but in the wild, it's a different story. Given enough time and resources, these little orange monsters will grow into giants, reaching as much as 4 pounds (2 kg), about the size of an American football! These big fish are also big eaters. Feeding on plants, insects, crustaceans, and other fish. But they're not just consuming what other fish rely on to survive, they're voracious feeding time actually kicks up mud and sediment which can lead to harmful algae blooms that choke the ecosystem. If that's not enough, they also introduce foreign parasites and diseases that wreak havoc on the delicately-balanced ecosystems wherever they go. And they aren't content to stay in one place. Goldfish are a rapidly-reproducing fish and will migrate across multiple bodies of water. Case in point, when a few were dumped in a local Australian river in the early 2000s they eventually migrated to the Vasse River, where they're still a major problem today. There are similar accounts of goldfish invasions in Epping Forest, London, Alberta, Canada, and Lake Tahoe, Nevada. In fact, invasive fish species accounted for over half of the total fish population in Lake Tahoe Basin. Besides causing fiscal and environmental disasters there are other reasons you should keep that goldfish in its tank. Goldfish are smarter than you might think. They have a memory span of at least 3 months. They also can tell the difference between Stravinsky and Bach. So, consider the wildlife, and think twice before tossing that goldfish away.
Did you know that the goldfish are one of the most common type of pets in the world? They were one of the first fish species to be kept in ponds by humans. By nature, goldfish are social creatures and prefer to live with other goldfish. Many people think that goldfish are pets for someone who doesn't have much time for pet care. The lifespan of your goldfish depend upon how much care you provide goldfish. If cared for properly your goldfish could live for many years! Goldfish start off small, but grow to be quite large, sometimes even a foot long, if you take good care of them. First time goldfish keepers usually buy a small tank or bowl to house their goldfish, only to discover that they need to keep buying ever-larger replacement tanks. You should buy a large enough tank at the beginning. You should provide a 20 to 30 gallon tank for your fish. Then add at least 10 gallons to that volume for each additional goldfish you might add. They grow large, excrete a lot of waste and need room to swim in order to be happy! Food: Goldfish like a diet of flakes, pellets, wafers and sticks Goldfish Facts: Do goldfish have ears? They have internal ear bones called an otolith that can feel vibrations. Avoid tapping on the glass since it will stress or even kill them. A goldfish can survive in an outdoor pond where water temperatures dip down below 40*F (5*C). Some ponds might even freeze over during the winter and the goldfish still survive through to the spring.
FOLLOW US!
West Medical Lake, Washington - The West Medical Lake has been overrun with goldfish over the past few years, and now they're having an adverse effect on the native trout. Washington Fish and Wildlife stock West Medical Lake with thousands of baby trout every year. Letting nature run its course and letting the fish grow. But sometimes they run into problems. “This works really well until an undesirable species gets put in the lake and established,” said Randy Osborne, a Fisheries Biologist with Washington Fish and Wildlife. Osborne says once these goldfish become established their population explodes. They take food sources and oxygen in the water, which directly impacts the trout. Goldfish or Koi in West Medical Lake is not something new. Fish and wildlife have been battling this problem for more than two decades. "If they get caught doing that and get prosecuted, they could be responsible for the restitution of fixing the problem that they created," added Osborne. Fixing this problem won't be cheap. Fish and Wildlife said it will take $150,000 to rehab the entire lake. That's money most people don't have floating around. Fish and Wildlife Field Sergeant Mike Sprecher says sometimes pet owners think they're doing right by their fish by letting them go free. But the good deed is bad news for Mother Nature. “The good deed of somebody here locally saying, 'Well I can't keep this anymore, I don't want to keep this anymore' and they let it go in the lake. I call it bucket biology," added Sprecher. Fish and Wildlife tell KHQ they have submitted a proposal to the state with hopes to rehab the lake in October 2018.
FOLLOW US!
Did you know that the goldfish are one of the most common type of pets in the world? They were one of the first fish species to be kept in ponds by humans. By nature, goldfish are social creatures and prefer to live with other goldfish. Many people think that goldfish are pets for someone who doesn't have much time for pet care. The lifespan of your goldfish depend upon how much care you provide goldfish. If cared for properly your goldfish could live for many years! Goldfish start off small, but grow to be quite large, sometimes even a foot long, if you take good care of them. First time goldfish keepers usually buy a small tank or bowl to house their goldfish, only to discover that they need to keep buying ever-larger replacement tanks. You should buy a large enough tank at the beginning. You should provide a 20 to 30 gallon tank for your fish. Then add at least 10 gallons to that volume for each additional goldfish you might add. They grow large, excrete a lot of waste and need room to swim in order to be happy! Food:Goldfish like a diet of flakes, pellets, wafers and sticks Goldfish Facts: Do goldfish have ears? They have internal ear bones called an otolith that can feel vibrations. Avoid tapping on the glass since it will stress or even kill them. A goldfish can survive in an outdoor pond where water temperatures dip down below 40*F (5*C). Some ponds might even freeze over during the winter and the goldfish still survive through to the spring. Exterior Parts of A Goldfish
A Pennsylvania goldfish named Mr. Hot Wing might be the 1st
orthodontic patient of his species
Just weeks after photos of a Michigan dog with braces went
viral, veterinary orthodontics are in the news once again.
This time, however, the patient is a goldfish. A standard
orange goldfish. The kind who lives in a bowl, retails for roughly 27 cents,
and sort of resembles a Buffalo chicken wing when you squint and really think
about it.
His name is Mr. Hot Wing, and he's the first-ever pet of
his kind to make headlines with a corrective dental appliance.
Philadelphia's 6abc Action News reports that Mr. Hot Wing,
who lives in Allentown, Pa., was born without a lower jaw bone, which makes it
impossible for him to hold his mouth open.
Because of this, the fish suffers from breathing and eating
difficulties. Rather, he did before his owner brought him to Dr. Brian Palmeiro
at Lehigh Valley Veterinary Dermatology.
Palmeiro, described by Action News as "the fish
doctor," reportedly performed surgery on Mr. Hot Wing to open his mouth.
Then, after conducting "a lot of research" on the
topic, he fashioned some custom braces out of a plastic credit card to correct
Mr. Hot Wing's bite … or lack thereof.
"Fish Braces!!??" wrote the veterinary clinic on
Facebook last week under a post-op photo of its little patient. "Mr. Hot
Wing came in today for trouble breathing and inability to eat. He was born
without a lower jaw bone and his mouth could not stay open. Brian Palmeiro did
surgery to open his mouth and created this brace to help his mouth stay
open."
Mr. Hot Wing may be the first fish to get braces, in a
matter of speaking, but he's not the first to benefit from Palmeiro's plastic
card veterinary devices.
The Lehigh Valley clinic shared a photo of a larger fish,
who appears to have a makeshift splint on his fin, in November.
All in all, Mr. Hot Wing's braces were said to have cost
about $150.
That may sound like an expensive vet bill for a fish that
likely cost less than a dollar, but you can't put a price on family. And hey —
it's still way cheaper than human braces.
Or dog braces, for that matter.
Put pic #1 here
Mr. Hot Wing, who lives in Allentown, Pa., was born without
a lower jaw bone, which made it hard for him to breathe or eat before his
'braces' were put on. (Lehigh Valley Veterinary Dermatology/Facebook)
Put pic #2 here
(Left: Matt Elsberry/Flickr, Right: Ernesto Andrade/Flickr)
Put pic #3 here
Put pic #4 here
Tags;
Goldfish, Fish, Pet, Pet Health, Goldfish Gets Braces,
Braces, Veterinary Orthodontics, Lehigh Valley Clinic,
Mr. Hot Wing, who lives in Allentown, Pa., was born without
a lower jaw bone, which made it hard for him to breathe or eat before his
'braces' were put on. (Lehigh Valley Veterinary Dermatology/Facebook)
(Left: Matt Elsberry/Flickr, Right: Ernesto Andrade/Flickr)
This is the most adorable animal wheelchair we’ve ever seen.
An image has surfaced of a goldfish in a sling, which people are calling a
‘goldfish wheelchair,’ designed to keep her afloat and upright.
‘Fish wheelchairs’ (or slings or buoys – call them what you
will) like these are used to help fish swim upright while they recover from
swim bladder infections that make it difficult for them to do so on their own. Green peas can help solve buoyancy issues related to constipation, but infected
swim bladders or other issues may require specialized medication. Always consult
your vet!
Using a simple cork, this owner saved his fish’s life
Floating ‘wheelchairs’ like these help sick fish stay
upright
Swim bladder infections or constipation can make it hard or
impossible to swim with balance
In America, we love everything that’s big. Whether it be our
trucks, our land, our drinks, or our burgers, there’s one slogan that we like
to live by: Bigger is better.
And it’s no different when it comes to the animal world.
Whether it be a 300-pound snake, a 2-pound goldfish, or a pig that weighs as
much as a truck, we’re impressed by the biggest and best!
Take a look at some of the biggest animals below. Most of
them have been confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the
absolute biggest of the big among their species.
1. At 7'4" tall when standing on his hind legs, and
3'8" when on all fours, Zeus holds the record for tallest dog ever.
2. Trouble, the world's largest domestic cat, was 19"
tall from shoulder to paw.
3. 13-year-old Blossom is the world's tallest cow, standing
at 6'4".
4. Big Jake, the world's tallest horse, weighs about 2,600
pounds and is an incredible 6'11" tall! That's 20 hands!
5. It took over 100 people to finally capture this
20'3" monster.
6. Originally bought for 99 cents, this goldfish lived over
15 years and grew to be 15 inches long and weighed in at 2 pounds!
7. 9-year-old Romulus holds the honor of being the world's
tallest living donkey. At 5'8" he's over 17 hands!
8. The largest living cat is the aptly named Hercules. An
adult male tiger, he stands 4'1" at the shoulder and weighs 922 pounds!
9. Medusa, the world's longest snake, lives in Missouri and
is 25'2" long!
10. This Chinese pig weighed 1,984 pounds before it died.
That's a lot of bacon!
11. The world's biggest catfish weighed in at an incredible
280 pounds. That thing could eat you!
12. And Patrick! The world's largest and oldest Wombat: 88
pounds and 28 years old — this guy knows how to live!
As tragic as it may be to watch Bubbles roam around the tank with nothing but a plastic treasure chest for entertainment, the truth is he wasn't meant to be in a bigger pond. According to researchers at Australia's Murdoch University, giving in to your temptation to set him free in a local lake won't just leave you without a pet — it'll kick start some serious ecological sabotage. As revealed in a study published by their Freshwater Fish Group & Fish Health Unit, "introduced freshwater fishes are one of the major global threats to aquatic biodiversity." And this isn't just some fish story. When dumped into a larger environment, those innocent little koi or goldfish grow at an exponential rate, introduce parasites that harm other species, and have the potential to decimate an ecosystem. "They are eating up the food resources and using up the habitat that our native fish would otherwise be using,"research fellow Jeff Cosgrove told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Even worse? They can be "extremely difficult to eradicate," says Cosgrove. In other words, they're not going belly-up anytime soon.
Alberta, Canada - It can be hard to say goodbye to your best friend – especially when you have to flush him down the toilet.
In a scene that is probably familiar to those of us who owned pet fish when we were young, a little Alberta boy’s heartbreaking goodbye to his goldfish has become a viral video hit.
Spirit River, Alberta’s Brooke Geherman originally posted the video to her Facebook and YouTube channels this past March showing her young son, Kowen, saying goodbye to his dearly departed goldfish.
Kowen bids goodbye to the fish in question, named “Top”, with a few kisses before committing his body to the water.
But it’s his reaction once the fish has been flushed that’s truly heartbreaking, as the tearful boy shares a hug with his mom.
A Florida woman was arrested and charged with felony animal cruelty over the weekend after allegedly pouring bleach into her boyfriend's fish tank, killing five of his pet goldfish. The police report is based largely on what De'Andre Johnson said went down: He's the son of the man Angela Garcia, 32, is dating; Johnson says that after a morning argument, his father told Garcia she needed to leave the home and then went to work. But instead of vacating, Johnson told police he heard her make a phone call and say she intended to destroy things. He left and returned to the Pine Hills home to find a flat screen TV, furniture, stereo equipment, and a computer damaged, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
Officers soon located Garcia walking on a nearby street, "visibly intoxicated" and covered in bleach. The Smoking Gun puts the damage at $1,500, and notes she was also hit with a felony charge of criminal mischief. Garcia was booked at the Orange County Jail; she posted a $1,150 bond and was released on Monday. It's not Garcia's first run-in with the law according to Johnson: She was out on bond for a separate crime when the goldfish incident occurred.
FOLLOW US!
Colorado wildlife officials say they believe someone dumped four or five pet goldfish in a Boulder lake about two years ago, and they have now multiplied to over 3,000 to 4,000 fish. Because the goldfish are a non-native species, they threaten Teller Lake #5's entire aquatic ecosystem, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill told ABC News today. "Dumping your pets into a lake could bring diseases to native animals and plants as well as out-compete them for resources," Churchill said. "Everything can be affected. Non-native species can potentially wipe out the fishery as we've put it together." Wildlife officials are seeking information on anyone who may have released the goldfish into the lake, she said. CPW is currently considering two solutions -- electroshocking the fish or draining the lake. "With electroshocking, you go in the boat and stun the fish to paralyze and collect them," Churchill said, adding that the shock doesn't kill the fish. "The fish could also be collected if the lake is drained." Either way, wildlife officials will likely take them to a raptor rehabilitation center, where the fish will be used for feeding, Churchill said. Although a few residents have expressed interest in collecting the goldfish to keep them as pets, Churchill said she doesn't want to encourage the practice. "I'm going to talk to Boulder County, who owns the lake to see what they think, but I don't want to send the message that collecting fish for personal fun is okay," Churchill said.
FOLLOW US!