Changing the Aquarium Water

Toxic waste can quickly build up in an aquarium with potentially dangerous consequences for goldfish. It is important to keep the water clean and healthy with regular weekly water changes.

It is usually only necessary to change between 20 and 30 percent of the water volume, but this depends on how many goldfish are in the tank and how often they are fed. If disturbing the gravel produces a lot of debris, remove more of the water.

Another important point is that over the course of a week water will evaporate from the goldfish tank. It is not enough to simply top up the water. The toxic waste is left behind, and becomes more and more concentrated if the tank is only topped up.

Scrape any alga from the glass with a razor blade or credit card, then siphon off the waste water and debris. Make sure the replacement water has been treated with dechlorinator, or left in a bucket overnight with an air pump in it. Then slowly pour it into the goldfish tank.

If a goldfish is displaying the symptoms of any goldfish illness, start with a water change to see if it helps. Finally, monitor the quality of the water with a nitrate level testing kit.

Another benefit of regular water changes is that the goldfish will get used to the human contact and begin to interact when the aquarium is being cleaned.

3 Responses to “Changing the Aquarium Water”

  1. Ray Says:

    Hi I have a 10 gallon tank with 1 goldfish that has ick and 2 alge eater, when I change the water should I put the fishs in a bucket and take all the fake plants and sand into another bucket and let it soke in sink water?

  2. nancy o'brien Says:

    Hi I am new to keeping goldfish, if you aren’t supposed to change the water completly how do you get the gravel at the bottom clean? When I was little and the fairground used to give them away we used to put them straight into a bowl and completly change the water, is this not the right thing to do?

  3. Jaslin Says:

    Hi I have a question. I have one fancy goldfish, a dwarf african frog and a common pleco in a 10 gallon tank. Ive just done a full water change and added a lily bulb to my tank. My goldfish is beggining to show possible signs of dropsy. Could it be the introduction of the bulb?

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