Fish in a fish tank, whether they be goldfish, angel fish, guppies or whatever are going to produce waste in the form ammonia which needs to broken down. There are countless products on fish shop shelves that claim to establish bacteria colonies in record time but for the most part these are expensive ways and [...]

The number one cause of goldfish death in the aquarium hobby is due to ammonia and nitrite poisoning. Usually someone will decide to start an aquarium, buy all the equipment, set it up and then add the fish. What happens over the next few weeks is a natural biological process we call ‘fish tank cycling’. [...]

Whether it’s taking a dog or cat to the vet to be put down, seeing a horse go down during a race and knowing it will be destroyed or making the judgement that your goldfish is on its last fins; euthanizing animals is a difficult decision for most of us. For many of us taking [...]

Choosing appropriate lighting system for your goldfish aquarium can be quite a daunting task. There are several different types to choose from and as well as various bulb combinations too. When choosing a goldfish aquarium lighting system the biggest deciding factor is whether you wish to keep plants in the tank with the goldfish. If [...]

One of the biggest decor decisions you can make when planning a new tank is whether to go barebottom (no substrate at all) or to go with gravel or small rocks. Each has various advantages and disadvantages with the final decision resting primarily on the aesthetic you are going for. Here’s the main points for [...]

Airpumps with an attached airstone or bubblewand aren’t a necessity and your goldfish can usually do perfectly fine without them but there are various advantages in having one in your setup. In goldfish tanks airpumps are primarily used to drive airstones or bubble walls. These serve two purposes, primarily they provide oxygen to the tank [...]

Here’s how the tank looked at the start of May after pruning: There hasn’t been much of a change this past month in the tank. I’m putting that down to nutrient output being balanced with plant uptake for most of the month, at least as far as Nitrates go.

Cleaning a canister filter ensures that it is running at maximum water flow and filtering at optimum efficiency. Over time the mechanical filtration inside your filter will clog and this is what needs to be cleaned out regularly. In this cleaning guide I use a Fluval 305 but the principles can be applied to cleaning [...]

A common perception is that goldfish are coldwater fish and therefore do not require a heater. Whilst this is true of the common single tail variety, fancy goldfish do better if the tank is maintained at around 22deg C (72deg F). The purpose of a heater in a goldfish tank isn’t so much as to [...]

Pruning plants is a necessity in the Walstad tank but the need to prune does decrease in frequency as time goes on. Initially a Walstad tank contains an abundance of nutrients in the water. This happens primarily because plants take a while to establish themselves and match their rate of growth to the level of [...]