Feeling guilty: A goldfish issue

smoggy11

Well, long story short I was cleaning my goldfish tank, only one goldfish (Alan, there used to be a stephen but he sadly passed)

I decided to put Alan in the bath filled with water. He loved it, i now feel guilty that I'm depriving him of space and that he wants room to frolick and so forth... Unfortunately keeping him in the bath isnt an option

Am I right to feel guilty or do goldfish not really care?

joyce2009

what size is his tank?? i think as long as hes not in a tiny gold fish bowl he should be fine

smoggy11

His tank is uite big like, its just nowhere near the size of the bath!

He seemed so joyful racing up and down the bath, I felt awful putting him back in the tank

I think he's forgiven me though, he came to the glass looking for food when I walked past there!

joyce2009

well you could look at it another way maybe he was actually freaked out in the bath,,too much space no where to hide:D

anniehoo

Ah fish dilemmas hehe Put it like this you dont feel deprived not goin to Australia everyday do ya? He prob thought he was on his holliers (ok not really..but ye know what i mean)!!Alan should be grand in an adequately sized tank with objects to keep him occupied and enough food!

catmad

You could pop him in the sink when you are having a bath, I am sure he wouldn't mind downsizing for a short time.;)

Cinnomen

Aww I must just mention though and fish experts correct me if im wrong but putting ya fishy in the bath I wouldnt think is a good plan because there are chemicals in tap water and the water wouldnt have been treated so really though you think you are doing him some good you are probably doing more harm.
Ya little fish im sure is happy, my two goldfish trotski and victor are 9 and they used to live in a small tank, they didnt care long as they were fed everyday...hey they say you dont miss what ya never had!!

spookymuffin

I hope that the bath (and his tank) had de-chlorinated water in it. Chlorine burns the skin, eyes and gills of fish and should not be present in their water. You can buy de-chlorinator in any pet shop.
How many litres does his tank hold? Fancy Goldfish (the ones with small round bodies) should have at least 30 litres each and common Goldfish (the normal shaped ones with the long bodies) need even more than that and should only really be kept in ponds.
Given the correct conditions a fancy Goldfish can grow to the size of a human head and live for 15-20 years and commons can reach more than a foot in lenght and should live longer than the fancies.
Most pet Goldfish are kept in small cramped conditions where they rarely ever make it to middle age or full size. Many people mention the fact that Goldfish will only grow to the size of their tank, this is only partially true and results in cruel and painful stunting of the animal's growth where their skeleton stops growing but their organs don't.