One of my goldfish died recently. Should I buy another one to keep my other goldfish company?
by 
Daydreamer
ANSWERS: 3
-
If it makes you feel better, then yes. I doubt that the existing goldfish has any feelinhgs about it either way.
-
NO! The most amateur mistake a fishkeeper can make is to replace fish without knowing why the first one died. Fish deaths are usually a sign of poor tank conditions. What are your ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels? Do you have at least 10 gallons of water for each fish? Are you feeding properly? Did the fish die of a parasite or other infection? Has the biological filtration system been properly cycled? You need to assess why the fish died and make corrections before you start messing with your stocking levels. Also, a dead fish rots in your tank for some time before you find it - even if everything is okay you need to do a 20% water change before you add any more fish.
-
Goldfish are a social fish, so yes, you should get another one to replace the one that died. However, before you do that, you need to attempt to determine why it died, and how to correct what ever caused it to die, before you go out and buy another fish. You don't want to bring home your new fish, just to have it die too. Figure out what went wrong, correct the problem so it doesn't happen again, and than get your new fish, only after all problems have been corrected.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC