by Samantha Overmyer

Created on: December 14, 2008

There are a few simple steps on how to clean your dirty goldfish bowl. It may seem hard, but if you follow a ten step process it'll be a snap from here on out. The ten steps I always follow are below:

Goldfish Bowl Cleaning Step number one: Fill a separate bowl with room temperature water. Using your net, scoop out your goldfish and gently put them into the other bowl.

Goldfish Bowl Cleaning Step number two: Poor all the dirty water out of the dirty goldfish bowl and pour it down the sink carefully so you don't pour any rocks down the drain.

Goldfish Bowl Cleaning Step number three: Rinse out the inside of the goldfish bowl, rocks, and goldfish bowl accessories with really hot water before sticking your hand in there.

Goldfish Bowl Cleaning Step number four: Drain the dirty water out carefully again and then pull out all the accessories and set them in the sink.

Goldfish Bowl Cleaning Step number five: Pour all the rocks into a third bowl.

Goldfish Bowl Cleaning Step number six: Run the rocks under really hot water and rub them clean (without soap) repeatedly until you feel no more algae on them.

Goldfish Bowl Cleaning Step number seven: Rub all the algae off the inside of the goldfish bowl with a paper towel and then rinse clean with really hot water.

Repeat until it all comes off.

Goldfish Bowl Cleaning Step number eight: Rinse out the inside of the goldfish bowl with some cold water.

Cold water makes the glass less foggy so that you can see if you missed anything on it or not.

Goldfish Bowl Cleaning Step number nine: Clean all the goldfish bowl accessories (fish castles, fake plants, fake scuba divers, fake signs that say, "Fish x-ing", and fake sunken treasure chests) with really hot water and rub them clean repeatedly until you can feel that there is no more algae on them.

Goldfish Bowl Cleaning Step number ten: Fill the goldfish bowl with room temperature water after putting all the rocks and accessories back in it first. Then rinse your goldfish net of any algae that may still be on it.

Then scoop your goldfish out of their temporary bowl and gently place them back into their new clean bowl of water.

Let them adjust to the water first for a minute, and then give them some food or a treat for being such good sports.

(The excitement makes them hungry, or so I always thought.)

Wait about a week or so, and when the tank begins to look dirty again, repeat the cleaning steps 1-10. It's as easy as that.

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