Are your goldfish happy?

Something that fish keepers often ask themselves when they watch their goldfish swimming around in their tank is “are my fish happy?”

Of course, goldfish do not purr, wag their tails or have other obvious ways of indicating their mood to us, so it’s not always easy to tell!

However, if you do everything in your power to learn about the proper care of your goldfish, provide for all of their needs and do what you can to avoid stress, your goldfish should be healthy and happy.

All responsible goldfish keepers know the basics of goldfish care, such as not keeping fish in a bowl, providing the right food, and ensuring adequate aeration and filtration in the tank. But, if you really want to go the extra mile, here are five tips and insights to help you to raise happy fish…

5 steps to a happier goldfish!

1. Get your goldfish a friend!

While the most important thing is to avoid overcrowding your tank and although goldfish probably don’t get lonely in the same way humans do, if you have enough space then it’s often a good idea to give your fish some company.

2. Don’t turn the lights on and off suddenly

Goldfish do not have eyelids, so they are unable to close their eyes or squint against bright lights. This means that turning the tank lights on full all of a sudden might shock and stress your goldfish. Try to use lighting with a dimmer switch or a timer that allows the lights to be turned on and off gradually.

3. Avoid banging the tank and making loud noises

Goldfish are also very sensitive to loud noises and impacts on the tank itself, so make sure that your goldfish tank isn’t located somewhere that will cause it to be easily knocked.

Also, try to ensure that if you like to listen to loud music, you do this in a different room to your goldfish, as both the sound itself and the bass vibration can stress your fish out.

4. Feed a variety of foods

While complete flake or pellet foods provide the basic components of your fish’s diet, they can be a little boring! Provide a little variety to your goldfish’s diet, with the occasional treat included. Peas, spinach, shrimp and Daphnia all make excellent tasty treats for goldfish!

5. Make the tank interesting

Goldfish spend lots of time exploring their tanks to entertain themselves, so set up your tank in such a way as to provide lots of stimulus for your fish. Gravel, plants, ornaments and airflows can all make life interesting for your fish. Plus, you can occasionally change around the layout of the tank too in order to provide some additional entertainment!