How Often Should You Change Goldfish Water? (Complete Information)

Water plays an essential role in our fishes life as they live in the water for their whole life. So, providing good water conditions to your goldfish is very important to ensure their healthy growth and development.

Performing water change help to maintain the tank’s water quality. But how often should you change goldfish water? Is water change necessary? Let us find out.

Perform a 30% water change weekly in your goldfish tank to maintain the tank’s water quality. Performing regular water changes helps maintain the tank’s oxygen level and avoid ammonia spikes. Consider using a water conditioner to treat the tap water for your tank to prevent any harm to your fish.

The below article will discuss the necessity of water change in your goldfish tank. In addition, we will also learn how to perform a water change for goldfish.

How often should you change your goldfish’s water?

You should perform a 30% weekly water in your goldfish tank to maintain your tank’s water quality.

We advise you not to change the whole water at once as it can shock your goldfish, eventually making your goldfish suffer from stress.

Performing a complete water change at once can disturb the water chemistry making your goldfish sick and prone to several diseases.

Therefore, we advise performing partial water changes for the well-being of your fish.

Why is water change necessary?

Water changes are necessary to maintain the tank’s water quality. Goldfish are messy fishes that produce a lot of waste, leading to ammonia buildup in the tank.

Excessive ammonia in the tank can lead to ammonia poisoning in your goldfish, making them sick and prone to several diseases and parasites.

Not performing a water change in your goldfish tank can contaminate the tank’s water in no time.

Contaminated water is also the root cause of oxygen deficiency in the tank making your goldfish gasp for air at the top of the tank’s water surface.

So, it will be advisable to perform partial water changes weekly to maintain the tank’s water quality and ensure your fish’s healthy growth and development.

Can goldfish live in dirty water?

Your goldfish cannot survive for an extended period if you place them in dirty because contaminated holds less oxygen that can make your fish suffocate and pass away eventually.

Contaminated water can also lead to a drop in the tank’s pH level, making the water highly acidic, eventually burning the gills of your goldfish.

Placing your goldfish in dirty water can also make your fish suffer from significant health issues like losing appetite and stress.

Excessive stress further can also lead to the passing away of your goldfish.

So, we advise you to place your goldfish in good water conditions to ensure your fish’s healthy growth and development.

Also read: Can Goldfish Live In Dirty Water?

Why did my goldfish pass away after a water change?

Here are the reasons behind your goldfish passing away after a water change

1. If you perform a water change after a long gap, it can lead to stress in your goldfish, eventually making your fish pass away. It would be best to do a 30% weekly water change to ensure your fish’s healthy growth and development. 
2. Performing massive water changes at once can make your goldfish shock leading to excessive stress in your fish. Extreme stress can lead to the passing away of your goldfish.
3. A significant difference between the freshwater temperature and the tank water temperature can lead to excessive stress in your goldfish, eventually leading to the passing away of your fish.

Also read: My Goldfish Died After A Water Change

Things to be taken care of while performing a water change

Here are the things you should take care of while performing a water change.

1. Do not wash aquarium decors and tank equipment with tap water.
2. Treat the tap water before adding it to your tank.
3. Don’t add water too quickly.
4. Do not perform a massive water change.

Avoid using tap water to wash the aquarium decors and the tank equipment as it can kill the good bacteria in the gravel, decorations, and filter sponges. 

Instead, we advise you to use the tank water to clean the tank equipment and the aquarium decors. 

Ensure to treat the tap water before directly adding it to your goldfish tank. 

Tap water contains chlorine and other harmful metals that can damage your fish’s gills and weaken their immune system. 

It would be advisable to use water conditioners to treat your tap water before adding it to your tank. 

A water conditioner helps remove the chlorine and other heavy metals from the water essential for the well-being of your goldfish.

However, some water conditioners only help eliminate chlorine and chloramine, whereas others help eliminate chlorine, chloramine, and other chemicals.

So, you should always choose the right type of water conditioner to provide a healthy environment for your goldfish.

We advise you to use API Tap Water Conditioner for your goldfish as it helps eliminate the chlorine and chloramine from the water. It also detoxifies heavy metals from the water, making it an ideal option for your goldfish.

You can buy it from Amazon API TAP WATER CONDITIONER

You can also use pre-treated water or filtered water readily available in the pet store. However, water conditioners will be a cheaper option than pre-treated water.

Therefore, it will be advisable to use water conditioners in small quantities as excessive water conditioners can bind the oxygen leading to the oxygen deficiency in your goldfish tank.

You should not add the water quickly to your goldfish tank.

A significant difference between the freshwater and the tank water can lead to shock in your goldfish, eventually making your goldfish suffer from stress.

Suppose the temperature of your tank is 70°F, then the temperature of the freshwater you are adding to the tank should range between 69-74°F.

There should not be a significant difference in the water temperature as it can lead to stress in your goldfish.

Avoid performing massive water changes in the tank as it can disturb the water chemistry and lead to shock in your goldfish.

You should perform a 30% water change weekly to ensure your fish’s healthy growth and development.

Also read: Can Goldfish Live Without Oxygen?

How to perform a water change for goldfish?

All you need to perform a water change in your goldfish tank

1. An aquarium Vaccum( Also called a siphon or hose)
2. Bucket 
3. A cleaning sponge

Here are the steps to perform a water change

1.  Firstly, you should turn off any tank equipment like a filter.
2. Put one end of the vacuum in the bottom of your tank and the other end in the bucket. Switch on the vacuum to transfer the water to the bucket.
3. Keep vacuuming the water while moving the hoes to different gravel area until 30% of the water get transferred to the bucket.
4. Wash your biofilter with the tank water than using tap water. Squeeze the biofilter gently to eliminate the blockage from the filter.
5. Install the filter back to your tank.
6. Wash all the aquarium decors and other tank equipment with tank water.
7. Clean the walls of your aquarium with the help of a cleaning sponge.
8. You can use the remaining tank water in the bucket to water your outdoor plants. 
9. Fill the bucket with tap water and treat it with a water conditioner before adding it directly to your aquarium. Avoid using excessive water conditioners as they can bind the oxygen leading to oxygen deficiency in the tank.
10. Add the freshwater to your goldfish tank slowly as rapidly pouring the water in the tank can lead to shock in your goldfish. 
11. There should not be a major difference between the tank water temperature and the freshwater temperature as it can lead to shock in your goldfish. You can match the water temperature of tap water by using a heater or leaving it for some time.

Also read: Can I Use Aquarium Water For Plants?

Can I use tap water for my goldfish tank?

Your goldfish will not be able to survive in untreated tap water as it contains chlorine, lead, mercury, and chloramine that can damage the gills of your fish.

So, we advise treating the tap water with a water conditioner before adding it directly to your goldfish tank.

Also read: Can Goldfish Live In Tap Water?

Is rainwater safe for goldfish?

Avoid using rainwater for your goldfish as it contains harmful chemicals that can affect the health of your goldfish.

Rainwater does not contain chlorine but can hold toxins that can affect your goldfish’s health in the future.

Rainwater does not contain minerals, and the pH level also varies, which can affect the health of your goldfish.

So, we advise using treated tap water when performing a water change in your goldfish tank.

Conclusion:

1. You should perform a 30% water change weekly in your goldfish tank to maintain the tank’s water quality.
2. Goldfish are messy fish that produces a lot of waste in the tank, making water change necessary to maintain the tank’s water quality.
3. Your goldfish will not be able to survive for an extended period in dirty water as it holds less oxygen that can make your goldfish suffocate and pass away eventually.
4. Performing a water change after a long gap, doing massive water changes, and significant difference between the freshwater temperature and tank water temperature can be why your goldfish passes away after a water change. 
5. You should always treat the tap water with a water conditioner before adding it to your tank.
6. It would be best not to use rainwater for your goldfish as it contains harmful chemicals that can affect your fish.  

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Reference: ResearchGate ResearchGate