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Goldfish Question

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  • 20-07-2008 6:04pm
    #1
    wonder_woman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭


    Hi guys

    I'm just wondering if anyone knows if fresh flowers / flower heads or floating candles (non-scented) can be put in the same bowl as goldfish.

    Would either of these be harmful to the fish?
    I have a glass goldfish bowl with 2 fish in it as a table centrepiece but wanted to add either fresh flowers or floating candles to it. I want to make sure it's safe to do so before adding anything to it. The people in my local garden centre dont seem to know.

    Thanks in advance


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    #2
    monty_python
    Registered Users Posts: 1,682 ✭✭✭monty_python


    as the candles burn the wax would melt and go in the water. and that must be harmful to the fish even without them eating it

    as for the flowers, certain types can be toxic to animals/fish. and as the begin to rot all flowers produce amonia which is very harmful to fish. as its a gold fish bowl i presume you dont have a filter to cope with this.

    why not invest in a small aquarium with some attractive plastic/ceramic decorations. that way your fish would be alot happier and you would have a beautiful centerpiece to be proud of!!!


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    #3
    Arcadian
    Closed Accounts Posts: 498 ✭✭Arcadian


    NO!

    And as suggested above please invest in a proper tank for them, with filtration. Goldfish bowls have no redeeming qualities whatsoever and the inhabitants generally lead short, miserable lives.


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    #4
    Rory123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 601 ✭✭✭Rory123


    wonder_woman wrote: »
    Hi guys

    I'm just wondering if anyone knows if fresh flowers / flower heads or floating candles (non-scented) can be put in the same bowl as goldfish.

    Would either of these be harmful to the fish?
    I have a glass goldfish bowl with 2 fish in it as a table centrepiece but wanted to add either fresh flowers or floating candles to it. I want to make sure it's safe to do so before adding anything to it. The people in my local garden centre dont seem to know.

    Thanks in advance

    God :(.
    Pets are pets, not centrepieces.
    For advice on pets, go to a petshop. For advice on gardens, go to a garden centre.


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    #5
    wonder_woman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭wonder_woman


    My garden centre is also a pet shop that sells goldfish and flowers and they couldnt tell me either way if it was harmful or not which is why I posted the question up here.
    I dont see whats wrong with having a goldfish bowl as a table centrepiece. Its very pretty and calming to look at. There's only so much you can do with goldfish as pets. It's not like I can take them out for a walk.
    I also have a filtered tank with other goldfish in it. The reason i have the 2 goldfish in a seperate bowl is so they dont get overcrowded!!


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    #6
    Jimkel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 590 ✭✭✭Jimkel


    Wonder Woman please do some research on the animals you keep. You can obviously use the internet, so Why not read up on the correct way to keep goldfish.


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    #7
    Rory123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 601 ✭✭✭Rory123


    • Small bowls do not allow for much movement.
    • Hard to keep a constant temperature with a small amount of water.
    • There is typically no filtration.
    • Water quality will almost always be poor, or even toxic.
    • Cleaning can be difficult, causing more stress to the goldfish.
    • Lack of water movement causes poor oxygenation
    • No lid protecting the fish from other pets, or even jumping out.
    • Fish may become bored with nothing to explore.
    • Smaller bowls are unstable and easier to knock over.
    • Due to the shape of the bowl the contact area of the water with the air is so small that there is a constant lack of oxygen.
    • In a bowl fish can't take their bearings, conceal themselves, keep their distance from other fish and search for food.
    My point was that if a place that specialises in selling plants, garden ornaments etc also sells goldfish, they will probably not know that much in particular about the fish as they will generally be lower paid part-time type assistants or trained horticulturists. You could go to a proper dedicated petshop for proper advice.

    If you have 2 fish in a fish bowl to prevent over-crowding in your proper tank don't you just think that you possibly bought 2 fish too many and might be better off returning the 2 fish to the shop in exchange for filterpads or flakes????

    It's great that you have fish, it's really relaxing and quite rewarding. But fish bowls of any type just aren't the best way of keeping fish. :(


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    #8
    monty_python
    Registered Users Posts: 1,682 ✭✭✭monty_python


    wonder_woman wrote: »
    My garden centre is also a pet shop that sells goldfish and flowers and they couldnt tell me either way if it was harmful or not which is why I posted the question up here.
    I dont see whats wrong with having a goldfish bowl as a table centrepiece. Its very pretty and calming to look at. There's only so much you can do with goldfish as pets. It's not like I can take them out for a walk.
    I also have a filtered tank with other goldfish in it. The reason i have the 2 goldfish in a seperate bowl is so they dont get overcrowded!!

    wonder_woman wrote: »
    My garden centre is also a pet shop that sells goldfish and flowers and they couldnt tell me either way if it was harmful or not which is why I posted the question up here.
    I dont see whats wrong with having a goldfish bowl as a table centrepiece. Its very pretty and calming to look at. There's only so much you can do with goldfish as pets. It's not like I can take them out for a walk.
    I also have a filtered tank with other goldfish in it. The reason i have the 2 goldfish in a seperate bowl is so they dont get overcrowded!!


    a gold fish bowl is like the idea of hell for a goldfish. if you already have a large tank then why not invest in a bigger dinning table and put your big tank on it. and arange your decorations in the tank so people could see each other through the tank while sitting around it. im soory but keeping anything in a small round bowl is just simply cruel. how would you like it. they are not "just goldfish" they are fellow inhabitants of this planet. have some respect. noah didnt bring "just goldfish" on to his ark. he saved 1/1 of every species for a reason.do your reaserch and you will find out how to make an absolutly beautiful display with cold or warm water fish there are millions of differant cold and warm water fish that you can keep in a community tank.much better than a crappy goldfish bowl with dieing goldfish and rotting flowers sticking out of it
    currently im living in rented accomadation but in the next few years when i buy my own home first thing i do is knock a wall out repalce it with a fish tank.. 10 or 15 red bellys, and 2 arowanas, (well thats the dream anyway lol)

    moral of the story is goldfish bowls are always a no no.even a small plastic tank with a small cheap filter is better than a bowl. why does there have to be fish in your flower vase anyways??


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    #9
    wonder_woman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭wonder_woman


    monty_python wrote: »
    have some respet and maybe you will save yourself from eternal damnation

    I'm sorry but are you tryin tell me that i'm going to hell because i have 2 fish in a fairly large glass "FISH" bowl!!!!

    Why do pet shops sell the bowls at all then?

    I have 4 goldfish in a filtered tank that according to the box fits 10-12 fish so i didnt buy 2 fish too many but they looked like they could use more room which is why i put them in the bowl.
    Obviously its better to have the fish in the tank but if enough care is taken they can live just as long in a bowl. I would never put an animal in danger or purposely try to shorten its life for decoration. I've googled the question in the original post and it has been done before but i wanted to find out if it was safe first before doing so with my fish.

    I dont think i'm being irresponsible by simply posing a question!!!

    Oh and the garden centre / pet shop that i bought the fish in is not staffed by part time inexperienced teenagers. Its a 5 star shop that has professionals working in the aquatics department!


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    #10
    Jimkel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 590 ✭✭✭Jimkel


    If you keep fish and have not looked into the nitrification cycle then you are being irresponsable IMO. Now here me out, we sell bowls here because they sell and there is a demand. Just like we sell shock collers for dogs. The fish would be better off in the tank.

    Do you Dechlorinate tap water (If required) before use?
    do you perform regular partial water changes to Dilute Nitrates?
    do you oxygenate the bowl?
    do you wash your filter sponge out in dirty tank water once a month?
    Do you use a gravel vac to clean the substrate regularly?
    Are you aware that a fish in a bowl is living in it's own waste?
    Are you aware that Ammonia reduces the amount of O2 in water and that a goldfish constantly produces high amounts of ammonia? (Thats why you see the goldfish gasping at the surface of the bowl, gagging for air.)

    These are just a few of the questions you must ask yourself if you want to be a responsible fish owner. A goldfish can live for over 40 years, the chances of that happening in a bowl with scented candles is 0%. Bottom line is when you ask a stupid question like this it just screams irresponsible fish owner. I work as an advisor in pet care and nutrition and Fish and reptiles are my specialty, So I am not a 16 year old inexperienced part timer either. I will happily advise you on anything you need to know as regards fishkeeping if I can, but I will be bluntly honest too.


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    #11
    Rory123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 601 ✭✭✭Rory123


    wonder_woman wrote: »

    Oh and the garden centre / pet shop that i bought the fish in is not staffed by part time inexperienced teenagers. Its a 5 star shop that has professionals working in the aquatics department!

    What is the name of this 5 star establishment and where is it?!
    wonder_woman wrote: »
    ...part time inexperienced teenagers...
    rory123 wrote: »
    ...lower paid part-time type assistants or trained horticulturists...


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    #12
    wonder_woman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭wonder_woman


    If a gravel vac is the long clear hose thing that sucks the dirt up then yes. The sponge in the filter is cleaned every 2 weeks. The water is refilled from a britta water filter.The fish in the glass bowl have only been in it for 2 days and a pint of water has replaced with clean water to make sure there is enough oxygen.
    The orignal post said "non-scented" candles!! The fish can live with real plantlife -it was a question of whether they can live with flowers.
    And i'm sure some of the ornaments made for fish could be more harmful than a non lighting candle or a flower head.

    I dont see what the name of the pet shop in question has to do with the question i'm asking!!


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    #13
    Rory123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 601 ✭✭✭Rory123


    wonder_woman wrote: »

    I dont see what the name of the pet shop in question has to do with the question i'm asking!!

    Yes but it does have everything to do with the claim you are making that the garden centre you buy your goldfish from and seek advice from is a "5 star shop that has professionals working in the aquatics department"... even though they don't know if candles and flowers will harm your fish. Your claims don't have a leg to stand on if you are going to withhold such information I'm afraid! Now I'm off to watch some paint dry... good luck with your centrepiece bud!


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    #14
    Jimkel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 590 ✭✭✭Jimkel


    Yes some ornaments sold for fish can be dangerous, just like bowls are. If you want solid pet care advise go to a respected aquatics center or pet shop. Not a garden center. The chances of professional fish keepers working in a garden center are pretty low, considering there are only a handful of actual aquaculture professionals in Ireland, and most of these work in the fish farming industry.


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    #15
    wonder_woman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭wonder_woman


    Seems to me everyones problem on here is to do with me keeping my fish in a bowl and not what's in the bowl with them!! :confused:


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    #16
    mand123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20 ✭mand123


    You can get decorative sands that look great (also great for hiding base style filters that are quite cheap)and are fish safe and lots of ornaments and plastic plants that are availiable in most pet shops.
    There are plenty of different ways to make a fish bowl look decorative but unfortunately most would probably require that no fish are actually present at the time :D
    Ebay is a great place to find the above things or if you have a loocal maxi zoo they have a great range of aquatic decorations,

    As for petshops selling fish bowls its just a way of getting more money I rekon as most people seem to think its ok .I was actually shocked to find out after buying my first fish bowl and goldfish that they can live for upto 15 years and can grow upto 12-15 inches long. But when the fish die in such a short space of time and you need to restock where do you go? Trusty old pet shop :)
    Or if you find out the bowl is the wrong thing where do you go to buy a big old tank ?:) Trusty old pet shop.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7353831.stm check this out :)


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    #17
    Jimkel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 590 ✭✭✭Jimkel


    wonder_woman wrote: »
    Seems to me everyones problem on here is to do with me keeping my fish in a bowl and not what's in the bowl with them!! :confused:

    Exactly, they are not nicknamed "Torture chambers" for nothing


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    #18
    monty_python
    Registered Users Posts: 1,682 ✭✭✭monty_python


    if you undersood the replationship between amonia/nitrates/nitrites/oxgen then you wouldnt even ask this question in the first place. understanding this is the basics in keeping pet fish alive. if the garden center you speak off is a 5 star with expert fish staff they would tell you the same as what the people here have said!!!


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    #19
    mand123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20 ✭mand123


    Every body has to start somewhere and it is a common belief that fish bowls are safe for goldfish.Not everyone knows theyre not. Im sure most people go into a shop and believe what they are told by the LFS employee like me. Thankfully I had a knowledgable aquarist at hand to put me right . Instead of damning this person to hell for even owning a fish bowl perhaps guidance and a push in the right direction is better :rolleyes:


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    #20
    Jimkel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 590 ✭✭✭Jimkel


    mand123 wrote: »
    Every body has to start somewhere and it is a common belief that fish bowls are safe for goldfish.Not everyone knows theyre not. Im sure most people go into a shop and believe what they are told by the LFS employee like me. Thankfully I had a knowledgable aquarist at hand to put me right . Instead of damning this person to hell for even owning a fish bowl perhaps guidance and a push in the right direction is better :rolleyes:

    I did not damn this person to hell, I offered advice and help


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    #21
    Jimkel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 590 ✭✭✭Jimkel


    mand123 wrote: »
    I was actually shocked to find out after buying my first fish bowl and goldfish that they can live for upto 15 years

    Actually they can live for over 40 years. The record being 46


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    #22
    mand123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20 ✭mand123


    Jimkel wrote: »
    I did not damn this person to hell, I offered advice and help
    I didnt say you did
    Jimkel wrote: »
    Actually they can live for over 40 years. The record being 46
    Learn something new every day!


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    #23
    Jimkel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 590 ✭✭✭Jimkel


    mand123 wrote: »
    I didnt say you did

    Learn something new every day!

    Sorry overreacted.:o


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    #24
    Rory123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 601 ✭✭✭Rory123


    I personally wasn't criticising this person for having a goldfish bowl. My problem wasn't even with her coming on and asking for advice, even if it was for something a bit thick.
    My problem was that she was making conflicting arguments, not listening to the advice of people who can give her proper advice, all in all being a bit stubborn and silly.
    wonder_woman wrote: »
    "I have 4 goldfish in a filtered tank that according to the box fits 10-12 fish so i didnt buy 2 fish too many but they looked like they could use more room which is why i put them in the bowl."
    ... Well then this means that she did buy 2 fish too many.
    wonder_woman wrote: »
    "Seems to me everyones problem on here is to do with me keeping my fish in a bowl and not what's in the bowl with them!!"
    ... obviously.
    wonder_woman wrote: »
    "My garden centre is also a pet shop that sells goldfish and flowers and they couldnt tell me either way if it was harmful or not which is why I posted the question up here."
    ... sort of conflicts with...
    wonder_woman wrote: »
    "Its a 5 star shop that has professionals working in the aquatics department!"
    wonderwoman wrote: »
    "I would never put an animal in danger or purposely try to shorten its life for decoration."
    ... But that is what she is doing!
    wonder_woman wrote: »
    "I dont see what the name of the pet shop in question has to do with the question i'm asking!!"
    ... yet she's well able to sing it's 5 star praises, and defend it to the death even though they can't give her common-sense advice!

    Now I could go on, because pretty much every reply she came out with conflicted with what she had already said, or basicly seemed to be a bit of a fib, or didn't make sense. But I'm not going to, because I couldn't be bothered. No offence to you whatsoever though Mand123!.

    I'm done with this thread now unless someone directly addresses me with a question or statement, which I will gladly reply to. :pac:


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    #25
    flamingo12
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12 ✭flamingo12


    Jimkel wrote: »
    Exactly, they are not nicknamed "Torture chambers" for nothing
    oh my god............. toture chambers????
    are the fish tied up with chains and whipped daily???????????????:D

    wonder woman- fish bowls are fine if you just want to keep a few goldfish, most people who buy fish bowls do it because maybe they cant afford a huge 350lt tank to house 3 fish!!!!!, and just want a couple of fish for the kids. its not the end of the world if in the process a few goldfish meet their end living in a goldfish bowl......


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    #26
    wonder_woman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭wonder_woman


    Thanks Flamingo.

    Got the last line before it was deleted and I agree with you 100%
    Anyway, for the sake of a passing thought in my head I think a lot of people over-reacted to my question. The fish that were in the bowl have now gone back into my tank.
    Everyone has been giving out about the place where i bought the fish not being able to give me an answer but nobody on here has either. What i was told in the shop was that they couldnt say for definite that it would harm the fish if the water was being changed and topped up regularly but it wouldnt be advisable until i found out for definite.
    The people who have answered me have said not to keep them in a fish bowl and that dead or dying flowers of a certain type might harm them but keeping in a bowl will definitely kill them!!!!

    I'm still none the wiser to be honest but thats most likely because i dont have a degree in fish-keeping and am a bit silly and stubborn!!:rolleyes:


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    #27
    Jimkel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 590 ✭✭✭Jimkel


    flamingo12 wrote: »
    oh my god............. toture chambers????
    are the fish tied up with chains and whipped daily???????????????:D


    No but if the fish do not suffocate to death they are slowly poisoned by either the chloromines or their own waste in wich they are forced to swim.
    flamingo12 wrote: »
    wonder woman- fish bowls are fine if you just want to keep a few goldfish, most people who buy fish bowls do it because maybe they cant afford a huge 350lt tank to house 3 fish!!!!!, and just want a couple of fish for the kids. its not the end of the world if in the process a few goldfish meet their end living in a goldfish bowl......

    Condoning animal cruelty are we
    wonder_woman wrote: »
    I agree with you 100%


    Wonderwoman You said
    wonder_woman wrote: »
    Everyone has been giving out about the place where i bought the fish not being able to give me an answer but nobody on here has either.

    We did give you an answer as you have pointed out:
    wonder_woman wrote: »
    The people who have answered me have said not to keep them in a fish bowl and that dead or dying flowers of a certain type might harm them but keeping in a bowl will definitely kill them!!!!

    If you care about your pets, and you ask people for advice, and don't like the answers that does not mean that we are not trying to help.

    So you claim to care about animals yet you also agree that it's not a big deal if a few fish die because you wanted something to look pretty, well anyway I am glad you put the fish back in the tank. By the way I never went and studied this, I learned through my own reading and experience, because I cared about the animals I keep, I do not have "a Degree in fishkeeping" either. There is no room to be stubborn when it comes to keeping pets properly.

    Also Please mods show some humanity here and warn Flamingo. when it comes to condoning animal cruelty those involved should be warned. If this was a thread about dogs it would of been done by now. If I said,

    " Just want a couple of Dogs for the kids.its not the end of the world if in the process a few Dogs meet their end living in a Substandard conditions."
     I would be warned.

    But it's ok for Flamingo to say:
    flamingo12 wrote: »
    Just want a couple of fish for the kids.its not the end of the world if in the process a few goldfish meet their end living in a goldfish bowl......


    Oh well maybe it's just me...maybe people think that "hey! it's just a goldfish" The fact that a goldfish can outlive any dog twice over if kept properly makes me believe that they deserve to at least have a chance to do this.


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    #28
    wonder_woman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭wonder_woman


    Jimkel I was agreeing with a line which had been deleted not the part that u highlighted. If u read my post properly you would have understood that instead of being so presumtious
    I wouldnt keep a dog in a goldfish bowl anyway!

    "Might" is not an answer either way in my book!!

    You must get dizzy up there on your high horse!

    This is getting ridiculous now. I'm going for some surf n turf!


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    #29
    corincakes
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2 ✭corincakes


    gee people you dont need to atteck her she's asking a question.
    she now knows abit more about goldfish thanks to you guys you dont have to be rude to her. you could have simply informed her or the imformatioin she needed to know you dont need to get nasty. i only found this convo coz i was wondering the same thing knowing a little more about goldfish i just wanted to know if it would harm the fish.

    i have a gold fish in a bowl with a fliter and my goldfish tiny is very active and happy. at least she asked someone before she did it she has concerns for the fish so you could at least give her credit for that.

    And for your information goldfish experts your forgetting that not the whole world knows that goldfish cant live without filteration and air half the world goldfish are still living in bowl and are still alive i knew one that lived 15years in a bowl with nothing but shells.

    so how do u explain that??? and EVERY petshop i know sells FISHBOWLS so mayb you should take it up with them instead of taking it out in people that are going off what people in pet stores tell them. so next time why dont you calming explain the care the animal needs cause most of the time its not the persons fault they have just been misinformed.

    poeple are going to respond in a more positive way with kindness and are more likly to do what you say. if you yell and give your info in a negitive way your just going to make things worse. so no worrys wonder women im sure you have fixed the situation knowing what has been yelled at you.

    oh and fish experts just cause it has that info in a book somwher doesnt make it true. example iv read in many books not to give your rabbit cabbage and others say its good for them?? now im an animal care technician and we give our rabbits caggage almost everyday and they are still alive.


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