Other Pets:
I have plenty of other pets, and I am going to put them all on this page for all Goldfish lovers, Mystery snail lovers, and Betta lovers. Be sure to check out all the photos too! =)
1. GOLDFISH:
Goldfish are probably one of the most common pets. I heard that some live up to 25 years at the most. I have four fantail goldfish. It's been about a month since I got them from a mall.
Top views of my Goldfish.
HOME:
I keep my 4 goldfish in a 5 gallon tank. There are varied opinions on how much space goldfish need. But don't cramp them all in a 1 gallon tank! A 1 gallon tank is too small for even one goldfish.
FOOD:
It is fine to feed your goldfish normal flakes and pellets they sell at pet stores. However, I don't recommend feeding them only flakes and pellets, though it is good for a staple diet, because I think there is too much protein in it, which results in constipation. These goldfish, just like us, need to eat vegetables (like little pieces of lettuce)too! I don't recommend feeding them fruit (imagine-putting a piece of mango into a tank!). However, who knows? I suppose there could be goldfish owners that feed their goldfish fruit!
This goldfish has constipation, most likely (the goldfish at the top).
GOLDFISH GULPING AT THE TOP?:
This is most likely the result due to constipation (due to eating dry food too much), or the lack of oxygen. First, change your water and see if your goldfish continues to gulp. You may be keeping them in a tank too small, and that there is simply not enough water. If they still don't stop even after giving them a bigger tank and changing the water, this means they have constipation. To cure this, feed them the insides of frozen boiled peas. I'm feeding the guy in the picture above peas right now. Feed only peas for a few days. It should work.
My biggest goldfish (and the prettiest, in my opinion). If you look at him (or her...I don't know if this goldfish is a boy or a girl) from the side, she is REALLY fat. I am thinking of feeding my goldfish less.
QUESTIONS OFTEN ASKED BY GOLDFISH OWNERS:
I have answered the question referring to Goldfish gulping at the top before these questions, so if that is your question, check above.
Q: Goldfish laying on the bottom of the tank?
A: It is highly likely that the goldfish is sick. There are a few things that you can do:
- Have a huge water change, at least a 50% one. Try not to make your goldfish stress out, though.
- Add some aquarium salt (DO NOT add normal salt, it has harmful stuff in it). A level tablespoon per 5 gallons is just right.
- Check the water flow in the aquarium. This is especially for owners with power filters. Sometimes the water flow is so strong that they settle at the bottom where it is not as strong. Simply by changing the position of the filter can fix this greatly. You can check if the flow is too strong by tying a button on the end of a string and dangling the button into the water. Watch the button and see if it swaying too much. If it is, changing the position of your filter would be great.
- Check your goldfish for bullies! Believe it or not, there are bully goldfish. Sometimes your goldfish get timid and kind of "hide" on the bottom of the tank.
- Try to feed the goldfish peas. Sometimes goldfish lie on the bottom of the tank when they have really bad constipation or swim bladder disease. Your goldfish probably won't have any appetite, but peas are way better than pellets or flakes.
Q: My goldfish is getting too fat, what do I do?
A: I find that all of my goldfish are quite obese too. Don't worry, they aren't sick, but being really fat is never that healthy, either. Just remember to feed how much they can eat in 3 minutes only twice at the most per day. If you think they are too fat, don't literally starve them, but decrease the amount they eat per day. Don't worry about exercising them. Goldfish exercise by swimming around the tank all day!
Click here for more Information on Goldfish
2. BETTAS:
Bettas (or also called Siamese Fighting Fish) are aggressive, tropical fish. I have two bettas (red and blue) that are both male (in SEPERATE tanks. =)
My red betta just hanging out.
THE PICKIEST EATERS I EVER HAD:
Bettas are the most pickiest pets I ever had. I feed them according to what they find delicious: freeze-dried bloodworms. Don't worry, they're not alive, though I think that they would be delighted to find a struggling, live bloodworm in their tank to eat. My bettas refuse to eat their tropical fish flakes! I am thinking of varying their diet soon.
This guy seriously posed in front of the camera for me!
QUESTIONS OFTEN ASKED BY BETTA OWNERS:
Q: Will male bettas actually eat each other if you put them into the same tank?
A: Well, first, I'll get this straight: DON'T PUT THEM INTO THE SAME TANK! Ok, got the message? Now I will answer: they won't eat each other the moment you put them together, but they will probably "fight", like maybe nipping off at each other's fins, which isn't good at all. They can attack each other, and in the end, yes, they could eat each other. They are incredibly aggresive. However, female bettas can be put with each other because they are not as aggresive.
Q: Can bettas bite you?
A: Yes, and I know this from experience. Their bites actually don't hurt that much. Should I say its just way stronger than a goldfish nipping at your finger? This is because they don't have teeth (if they had teeth their bite would seriously hurt).
You can see this male bettas bubblenest vaguely. It's the white layer above the red betta, that is floating on the surface of the water.
Q: Why is there a ton of bubbles on the top of my betta tank?
A: Congratulations! Your betta is apparently ready to mate! He just made a bubble nest. Sometimes they make bubble nests just to mark their territory, though. My bettas get really mad when I accidentally destroy their bubble nest while transporting them to another desk. After a while, they will stop building the bubble nest and the nest will go "pop" and disappear.
Click here for more Information on Bettas
3. MYSTERY SNAILS:
People usually put Mystery Snails with their goldfish, and this is a good idea because they usually eat off all the food on the ground (especially for beginner goldfish owners, who usually overfeed their goldfish). However, I find that they produce a lot of waste and make the goldfish a bit sick. Or maybe every time I put the Mystery Snails in, the goldfish just got sick as a coincidence.
Mystery Snail moving across the glass (shown in several pictures):
The snail is starting to move.........
.....and it moved like 2cm during 3 minutes.....
.....and it suddenly moves really fast to the other end (the guy below is continuing to sleep).
Sadly, I don't know much about Mystery Snails, because my Mystery Snails never really got sick so I didn't have to research about them. All I really know is that iron is REALLY harmful for your Mystery Snails. Well, that's all. =)
