Goldfish

[patsyking]

Hi All

I have two goldfish in a tank that measures 24" x12" and 24" high. The fish are about 4.5 maybe 5" long from nose to tail. I was wondering how long do goldfish live? I've had them for years now.

[Snakes r grreat]

Kept correctly, there is no reason they cannot last to about 15 years, maybe more. I forget what the record is, but 25 years is not uncommon either.

[JPWS]

Well, my goldfish are kept in a pond, only starting their lives in a tank when I spot and net out the eggs and fry to save them from other fish.

There's one goldfish in my pond that's at least 20 years old, it was bought back in 1987 by my dad and it was fairly big then, too. He also got some tench and some golden orfe, one of the tench is still alive but the rest keeled over from old age just recently.

In a tank, I don't think they can become as big or live for as long - people say they grow to the size and dimensions (proportionally) of what they're kept in. This is debatable, but yes, they can live for a long time.

You sound like you want rid of them!

Yours could easily reach 10 years by the sound of things but it depends how restricted they are.

[patsyking]

Thanks for your help. No I don't want rid of my goldfish at all. I was just wondering how old they can get as I've had them for at least 8 years I think it is. I have them in a tank on a cupboard next to my pc desk and they are lovely to watch.

[Tomcat]

that tank is too small. they need 25 litres each.

[Tomcat]

Oops. Sorry. that tank is baout 56 litres. So not too small. But i would upgrade to a 3'x1x1 if ya can as they will really appreciate the extra space.

[Mujician]

Originally Posted by Snakes r grreat

Kept correctly, there is no reason they cannot last to about 15 years, maybe more. I forget what the record is, but 25 years is not uncommon either.

The record is 40!

[mike515]

the record is 46 but it was a pond goldfish. tanks really arent good for them. goldfish potentially hit 18inches long so obviously a two foot tank is not big enough. 25 litres each is rubbish tbh, for a baby yeah fair enough. I wouldnt keep a goldfish in anything smaller than 75 gallons.

goldfish stay small because they are stunted. This isn't healthy because it can drastically shorten their life span and cause internal problems.

this is the problem with petshops, they rarely tell you these things. Im not to have a go at you or anything, you probably didnt know, but the best thing you can do for them is dig a pond, or get a much bigger tank

[JPWS]

Correct, the record is fortysomething. In fact, it's actually quite common for goldfish to reach the ripe old age of 20.