Can Goldfish Live Alone? (7 Steps Guide)

A fish owner can keep goldfish easily with adequate care and nutrition.

If you are confused, can goldfish live alone? Goldfish is a social species, and it stays happier in a group. Keeping a single goldfish is okay with appropriate circumstances.

In this article, you can learn how goldfish can live lonely lives with the right equipment.

Table Of Contents

Can Goldfish Live Alone?

If you want to know that, can goldfish live alone? A goldfish can be kept healthy by itself if you put it in a good size tank, provide filtration, clean the environment, and provide quality food properly. But goldfish are social creatures and prefer to live with other fish to stay happy and healthy.

Follow some significant points before giving a goldfish a solitary life. It is recommended not to put them lonely.

Set Up a Tank for A Single Goldfish: 7 Steps Guide

Goldfish are social creatures, so they can easily spend their life alone, which doesn’t affect them mentally.

If you want to keep a single goldfish alone, you must follow some precautions.

What you’ll need–

Tank
Water conditioner
Filter
Heater
Gravel vacuum
ph
Food

Setting up process–

Step 1: Choose the tank

If you want to keep a big goldfish, you must choose a 40-gallon tank as it grows up to 12 inches with fancy flowy fins. On the other hand, you can go for a 30-gallon tank if you want a small goldfish.

Goldfish need spaces to move around and release their waste. Small tanks will quickly get dirty and develop ammonia in the water, which will harm goldfish’s health.

To make your goldfish feel cozy, you need to choose at least a 30-gallon tank. Otherwise, they may feel they are in a trap.

Step 2: Use a water conditioner

Goldfish are pond fish, and in the pond, the existence of bacteria controls ammonia, which increases their lifespan.

When you add the tap water to the tank, this tap water contains chlorine which is not suitable for bacteria.

So, to remove chlorine, you need to put some water conditioner before two months of putting the goldfish in the tank.

Without chlorine, a water conditioner can slowly form bacteria in the tank, decreasing the ammonia level and creating an outstanding environment for longer life.

Step 3: Put a filter.

Use a water filter in the tank as goldfish poops a lot, creating ammonia.

To have crystal clear water, use a water filter regularly. Oxygen is needed for goldfish as well, so a filter is required.

Step 4: Choose a heater

Goldfish prefer cold temperatures so choose a heater. They need 68 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

Before adding the goldfish, make sure to float the plastic bag of the goldfish in the tank to have a similar temperature.

Warm temperatures can improve the metabolism rate, which is not good for your goldfish.

Step 5: Use a gravel vacuum

As your goldfish poops a lot, it’s better to use a gravel vacuum to clean the water. It will remove the dirt and control the ammonia level.

You can also put a snail to control the algae in the tank.

Step 6: Maintain the ph

The ph value of goldfish is 7 to 8.4.

Ensure to use 50% of the shopkeeper’s water to maintain the water parameters.

Step 7: Provide adequate food

Provide your goldfish with less food and quality food twice a day to keep them active. Overfeeding is not good for the goldfish’s health as it will cloud the water.

Goldfish are omnivores as they eat vegetables. So make sure to spread the food into the tank.

Are Goldfish Social Creatures?

Goldfish stays happy with other companies. Goldfish are social creatures, and they are found to swim together in the same direction.

Generally, they imitate other fish’s habits and stay happy with their tankmates. Goldfish mimic each other to avoid any boredom.

Keeping multiple goldfish in a tank is better as they are not schooling fish. But make sure to put the same-sized fish in a tank to avoid fighting.

Can Goldfish Get Depressed?

It is not easy to identify whether your goldfish is depressed or not.

If your goldfish is swimming on the tank’s surface, it means they are feeling sad and depressed.

If your goldfish are roaming at the top of the tank, they are happy and having a perfect time. The goldfish that are staying in the bottom lines incorporate the depression.

Can You Put a Single Fish in a Bowl?

Keeping your single fish in a bowl is not a good idea. They can’t be able to move in the bowl.

The bowl has no system to add any filter, and goldfish make the water dirty quickly.

The bowl is too small, which is difficult to escape. It is best to keep any single fish, not goldfish, as it requires more space.

Bowl doesn’t provide any light, filter, or decorations and goldfish need special water conditions. Otherwise, it may create different diseases and even kill the goldfish.

What Type of Tankmates Does Your Goldfish Need?

Following some basic fish care instructions and providing adequate nutrition can ensure a happy and healthy environment.

Goldfish is a calm fish that can easily adapt to other fish with proper care.

Tank size

You need to choose at least a 30-gallon tank for a goldfish. Then, for adding each fish, you need to add ten more gallons to keep a healthy atmosphere.

Goldfish is an aggressive species only when there is less space in the tank.

Fish types

You need to keep the same size and same type of fish together.

Goldfish avoid the company of smaller tropical fish and the fish which have bubble eyes.

Make sure to ignore comet goldfish as it has a larger diet plan and makes the water dirty easily.

The age and size difference should not be too large to avoid the attack.

Water parameters

Different fish have different parameters. Make sure to choose the fish with a similar temperature and ph value to create a stable water condition.

Pick the omnivores

Goldfish is an omnivore fish. So try to pick the other omnivores to provide the same food in the tank and get less waste.

If you keep different food habits fish, the leftover food from other fish may make the water dirty easily.

Which Tankmates Do You Need to Choose for Goldfish?

Make sure to keep the fish that follows the same food habits and water condition.

You can collect the following fish for goldfish–

Silver dollar fish, Koi carp, Tropical dwarf cichlid, freshwater loach, Pleco fish, Honey gourami, tetra fish, Senegal fish, Dwarf Gourami, Swordtail fish, guppy fish, silver shark, balloon molly, zebra fish, angel fish, and African cichlid.

Which Tank Mates Do You Need to Avoid for Goldfish?

Avoid the following fish for goldfish–

Molly fish, parrot fish, tiger barb fish, rosy barb fish, oscar fish, and a group of angel fish.

Conclusion

If you are still concerned that goldfish can live alone, keep them lonely or in groups! Then in this article, you can learn how goldfish can live alone–

A goldfish can be kept healthy by itself if you put it in an adequate size tank
Provide filtration, clean, and give quality foods properly.
But goldfish are social creatures and prefer to live with other fish to stay happy and healthy.

Besides, now you know how it can live alone and why it needs company.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Do Your Goldfish Like Living on Their Own?

Goldfish are social fish, and they can stay happily with other tankmates. But if you want to put them alone. It won’t create any problems as they can live their own life. They don’t need any company to have a healthy life.

Q2. Why Did Your Goldfish Eat Your Other Goldfish?

If you add any goldfish to the tank, you must add 10 gallons for each fish. But if your goldfish is in a tiny tank that is overcrowded, it may create stress within them.

To release the stress and clear the tank, your goldfish may eat the other goldfish.

Q3. Can Your Goldfish Live Without a Filter or Air Pump?

Your goldfish can live without an air pump if your tank’s surface can quickly get the oxygen. So, you need to ensure oxygen if you don’t want to use an air pump or filter.

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