Do common goldfish live long lives?

[Beatrx4621]

I have 2 common goldfish. They're in a bowl with no filter and fed TetraFin Flakes. (I change the bowl everyday.) Would they live short lives? They've only been living for 22 days.

[Tangster]

Yes ma'am they sure do they will live for Yrs and yrs and yrs .

[Beatrx4621]

What? I thought you meant Yes, they will live short lives. You put they'll live 4 yrs and yrs.

[gythwulf]

Common goldfish often don't live all that long for people because they don't take care of them properly. Most people just put them in bowls, which actually deprive them of oxygen. Stagnant water isn't going to become oxygenated - the surface of the water needs to constantly be disturbed or there needs to be an air stone in the water to keep it oxygenated. Though the hardiest of goldfish can live in water that isn't well oxygenated, I can almost guarantee it will shorten it's lifespan. Daily water changes definitely help though, as long as the water is being dechlorinated.

If you had a filter and aerated the water though, the goldfish will pretty much live forever, but they do get quite large (pushing two feet in length).

Come to think of it, I think plants oxygenate the water too, but don't quote me on that.

edit: This should get you pretty much all of the information you need: Common goldfish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also, from the first paragraph of "Housing"

It is a common practice to keep common goldfish in a small bowl but this allows waste in the water to build up to toxic levels and does not provide enough oxygen. They should ideally be kept in an aquarium of at least 10 gallons or 37 L with a good filter, and no heater, because these fish can get larger than 12 inches (34 cm). Tank recommendations range up to 75 gallons or 283 L. It is possible to keep small goldfish in smaller tanks, but such an arrangement will be very difficult to maintain once the fish grows older. If there is concern about the fish not getting enough oxygen, particularly when it is warm, an air pump with an airstone or bubble strip will work well. Goldfish will die without sufficient dissolved oxygen in the water. A filter that can do at least 10x filtration is best, which means that for every 10 gallons or litres of water, the filter should be able to cycle 100 gallons or litres per hour.

edit2: Fun fact here

Goldfish can have lifespans up to 20+ years if they are fed a varied diet and housed in exceptional water conditions. The oldest living Goldfish to date was a goldfish named Tishy owned by Hilda and Gordon Hand of Thirsk, N. Yorkshire, England. Tish lived for 43 years after being won at a fairground in 1956.

[ssgheislerswife]

Originally Posted by Beatrx4621

I have 2 common goldfish. They're in a bowl with no filter and fed TetraFin Flakes. (I change the bowl everyday.) Would they live short lives? They've only been living for 22 days.

You get some Karma sweetie! For coming on this forum to find out how to take care of your new pets.

[cannedmulder]

I have had gold fish for years and finally had to turn them in to LFS because they were starting to bully my other fish. He was just too big!

[feixjai]

goldfish can live for years under the right conditions. My friend keeps goldfish with his kois in his pond and they are huge. I met him in 6th grade and they are still alive and really healthy. Im a junior in highschool now btw. He feeds tuem koi food, flies, and even earthworms that he finds and cleans up

[phoenixhieghts]

When i was growing up, we had a pet goldfish in a bowl, it wasnt changed regularly but it lived for 14 years. The only reason it died was because i put a star fish in the bowl that i found on the beach

[Beatrx4621]

What's the longest It'll live? Well the earthquake made Moop's dorsal fin go down.

[gazog]

I have about 5 or 6 Common gold fish in my pond and have had the for so many years now I can remember when we got them. I know at least 2 came from my kids and a fun festival they went to when they were kids and the youngest is 23 now!