A general question that a fishkeeper has before adding a goldfish to their tank is the survival of their fish without oxygen. So can your goldfish live without oxygen? Let us discuss this below:
Goldfish cannot survive for more than 48 hours without oxygen. Goldfish use their gills to grab oxygen from water. However, you can keep your tank oxygenated by adding an air pump to your fish tank. In addition, live aquatic plants also help maintain a healthy ecosystem and keep the tank oxygenated.
Let us dive into the article to know about the importance of oxygen for your goldfish. Along with this, we will also discuss the ways to keep your goldfish tank oxygenated.
Contents
How long can goldfish live without oxygen?
Goldfish require oxygen to live a healthy life. The survival of your goldfish without oxygen depends upon the tank size.
Suppose you have placed your goldfish in an averaged size bowl, then your goldfish will not be able to survive for more than 48 hours.
Your goldfish will pass away due to a lack of oxygen and the absence of the water filter and air pump.
However, we advise you to provide a big size tank to your goldfish than placing them in a bowl.
A bowl offers little to no space for your goldfish to swim appropriately, eventually leading to stress in your goldfish.
In the case of a tank, you will require a well filtration system to keep your tank oxygenated. Goldfish are messy fish that produce a lot of waste, making your tank’s water pollute quickly.
A polluted tank can lead to a drop in oxygen, eventually making your goldfish pass away due to insufficient oxygen in the water.
So, it will be advisable to provide a well-filtered tank for your goldfish to live happily.
Also read: Can Goldfish Live In A Bowl?
How does oxygen exchange work in water?
H2O develops water molecules ( Two hydrogens, one oxygen). Water holds oxygen, but your goldfish cannot use it for survival.
We want you to know that goldfish require oxygen molecules (O2) to survive.
You can add oxygen molecules into the water in the following ways:
- Add fresh water to your goldfish aquarium.
- Agitating the water’s surface with the help of an air stone or an air pump.
Increasing the water surface will help to increase the tank’s oxygen level.
Also read: Can Goldfish Live Without An Air pump?
How can you provide an oxygenated tank to your goldfish?
You can provide an oxygenated tank to your goldfish in the following ways:
- Add a water filter to your tank.
- Add an air pump.
- Add live aquatic plants.
- Ensure regular water change
Add a water filter to your tank:
A water filter helps to keep your goldfish tank clean and keep your tank oxygenated.
As goldfish are messy fish, they produce a lot of waste leading to a spike in the ammonia level in the tank.
The polluted water also leads to a drop in oxygen, eventually making your goldfish gasp for air at the water’s surface.
A water filter helps eliminate the harmful toxins from the water and develop a healthy environment in your goldfish tank.
In addition, a water filter eliminates the need for a frequent water change. So, it will be advisable to provide a big size tank with a well filtration system for your goldfish’s proper growth and development.
Also read: Do Goldfish Need Filters?
Add an air pump:
You can also add an air pump to your goldfish tank to maintain the proper flow of oxygen in the tank.
We want you to know that an air pump increases the water and surface movements that help maintain the tank’s oxygen level.
An air pump ensures the regular flow of oxygen in the water required for your goldfish’s proper development.
However, if you don’t want to add an air pump to your goldfish tank, you must add live aquatic plants and ensure regular water change to keep your tank well oxygenated.
Add live aquatic plants:
You can also add live aquatic plants to keep your goldfish tank well oxygenated.
Live aquatic plants help to increase the oxygen level in the tank. In addition to this, it helps decrease the ammonia and carbon dioxide levels in the tank.
Live aquatic plants have many other benefits. It helps prevent algae growth and reduces your goldfish stress by developing an ecosystem in your goldfish aquarium.
Some of the live aquatic plants you can add to your goldfish aquarium are as follows:
- Java Moss
- Java Moss
- Anubias ( Anubias barteri)
- Cryptocoryne Plant
So, it will be advisable to add live aquatic plants to your goldfish tank to provide a healthy environment for your fish.
Also read: Do Goldfish Eat Plants?
Ensure regular water change:
You can keep your goldfish tank well oxygenated by ensuring regular water change.
As goldfish produce a lot of waste in the tank, it pollutes the water very quickly, leading to a drop in the oxygen level.
Polluted water can lead to severe health issues like stress in your goldfish, further leading to the passing away of your fish.
So by ensuring regular water change, you can keep your goldfish tank well oxygenated and provide a healthy environment to your fish.
How to detect if your tank requires more oxygen?
You can detect whether your tank requires more oxygen in the following ways:
- If you discover your goldfish increasing its gills movement or breathing heavily, it indicates inadequate oxygen in the tank.
- If you discover your goldfish swimming in unusual patterns, it indicates insufficient oxygen in the tank.
- Your goldfish gasping at the water surface indicates inadequate oxygen in the tank.
- No water movements in the tank indicate insufficient oxygen in the tank.
These were the ways to determine whether your goldfish tank requires more oxygen.
However, you should always provide a well-oxygenated tank to your goldfish for their proper growth and development.
Conclusion:
- Goldfish require oxygen to survive. Your fish cannot survive for more than 48 hours without oxygen.
- You can provide a well-oxygenated tank by adding an air pump, water filter, and live aquatic plants in your goldfish tank.
- If you detect your goldfish gasping at the water surface, it indicates inadequate oxygen in the tank.
- You should provide a well-oxygenated tank to your goldfish for their proper growth and development.
- You must provide a big size tank to your goldfish than a bowl for the proper growth of your fish.
Reference: NCBI