Keeping goldfish in a bowl?
Do I need to buy a tank for my goldfish or is a simple goldfish bowl going to do the job? Only one thing is certain you will need something to keep your new goldfish in!
Goldfish bowls are normally small and shaped like:
Yes a Bowl! If your wanting to know:
Is a goldfish tank is better than a goldfish bowl? The simple answer is Yes!
A tank is much better. A goldfish bowl has its place though along with the fact that here at www.goldfishcare.org we try to help those people who have never owned a goldfish before and may have just returned home after winning a goldfish at a local fair or the likes, for this reason we will try to offer the pros and cons of a bowl over an aquarium and some of the things you will run into if you choose to start out with a simple goldfish bowl.
The first thing to take in to consideration is cost a simple goldfish bowl will set you back next to nothing, maintenance is pretty simple and in the very short term your new goldfish will more likely than not do just fine as long as you feed it correctly and pay very careful attention to changing the water and generally keeping the bowl clean.
If cared for correctly goldfish will grow very quickly the tiny goldfish you have today can easily grow 4-6 inches in under a year. Some types of goldfish will need a lot more space than others, the one thing they all have in common though is that they will grow �some faster than others� therefore a goldfish bowl can only be considered as a temporary solution.
One common misconception is fish will only grow if given more tank space, this is partly true in that the external size of the fish will develop very slowly if left in a small tank or bowl, what is not so well known is the fishes internal organs continue to grow and develop with age and have nothing to do with the size of the tank, imagine an adult in a child�s body and you get the picture. This can lead to stress and a number of illnesses.
When is the right time to move your goldfish from a bowl to a tank? In our opinion as soon as you can.
Return to the main page to read more about
Caring for Goldfish
