So you’ve just won a goldfish at the fair and as you take it home in its plastic bag you think to yourself, “How am I going to take care of this thing?” Here’s some ideas for keeping your goldfish that you named Freddy into becoming, well, Deady.
Know when to change
Typically you should change your fishbowl weekly when it is starting to get a bit too cloudy.
Where to put Freddy
When you have a primary bowl, you will also need a smaller, secondary bowl that is similar. The night that you are planning on moving your goldfish to his temporary home, fill the smaller tank with water that is pretty close to room temperature.
The next day
The next day you should gently catch your goldfish with a net and place him in the bowl you prepared the night before. Make sure you don’t keep your fish out of the water for too long.
Draining the primary bowl
With all of the pebbles you have at the bottom, drain the bowl through a strainer and into the sink. After the bowl is completely empty, use fish bowl cleaner that you get from a pet store and clean out the tank. Do not use soap or detergent.
Putting it all back together
After you have cleaned out the fish bowl with the cleaner and hot water, be sure to rinse the other objects (rocks, plastic plants etc.) with cold water to clean them as well. After you return everything to the bowl, put water back in again. Just like you did with the secondary bowl, let it sit for 24 hours before putting the fish back in. This allows chemicals in the tap water to dissipate and for the water to level out to room temperature.
If you keep in line with these tips hopefully you should avoid the horrible fate of “The Flush.” Just make sure the cat doesn’t do any damage either.
