kinda in a mourning period...

wow... its been a long while since i wrote in here and here's why... recently, two of my four goldfishes just died (both of them black moors), so have been kinda in a mourning period... didn't know that it would be quite difficult keeping goldfishes and after purchasin them only did i do some research into goldfish care and lo and behold, i made one of the biggest mistakes in goldfish keeping/rearing (i like the word keeping better)... which is to keep them in a freakin fishbowl, a fact that the idiot pet shop owner said was alright!!!

u see, unlike other fishes, goldfish need more 'space' as they produce more waste than other fishes, pushing up the ammonia level which is a huge no-no!!! i read somewhere that even the slightest ammonia level could kill fishes... and whats more, i kept four fishes in a fishbowl meant for two!!! (didn't noe it then) as for how many gallons of water per-fish is needed, different web sites provided me diferent readings... some said 10 while others reached 30 (depending on the size bien sur)... suffice to say, they need a lot!!!

also, aside from providing limited space, the fishbowl also has less surface area (compared to a tank) which means less oxygen for my little (surviving) fishies; Kiasu and Kiasi... because of this, it is encouraged to fill the bowl only half full and not all the way to the top... also, it is not safe using water right out of the tap even though u use an anti-chlorine thingy and it is advised that one uses bottled MINERAL WATER instead...

for more information on goldfish care, visit the sites below;

http://www.aquariumfish.net/indexes/goldfish_and_koi.htm#top2

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/fresh.htm

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/care.html

and of course there are loads more...

-aDRiANo-