by Rebecca Saint

Created on: May 10, 2009

While nice to look at, and rather amusing at times, cleaning your goldfish bowl is perhaps the single most daunting chore any goldfish keeper looks forward to regularly. Goldfish are extremely dirty fish and in order to keep them healthy, or any fish for that matter, their homes need to be kept clean to avoid excrement poisoning.

When the time comes to clean that dirty fish bowl out, you should already have your water ready to go. Many people purchase pure distilled water from their grocery stores, and others use plain old tap water with chlorine remover. Tap water with chlorine remover is sufficient for gold fish, as many of the other minerals in tap water is actually good for them. If you have to treat your water, let it sit for two-three hours before you begin cleaning out the bowl.

Pour about 1/4 of the water in the bowl into an ice cream bucket or other dish. Grab your net and pull the goldfish out, putting them into the other dish or bucket immediately. Once all of your goldfish are in their temporary spot, you can remove the remainder of the water. Many people opt to use a colander, and remove their ornaments once their bowl is about 3/4 empty. A colander will help you prevent from losing any gravel down the drain.

Boil a large quantity of water. Put any ornaments and gravel in the boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove with tongs or other utensil and set aside until they are room temperature once more. Now, use a small quantity of gentle soap on a soft rag, such as baby body wash to wipe the bowl clean and sterilize it. Be sure to rinse extremely well with very hot water and be sure there is absolutely no soap residue left behind before you reassemble your fish bowl.

Once everything has cooled to room temperature and is clear of any dirt or residue, it's time to put your bowl back together. Add your water slowly to ensure you don't disrupt your design! Once your bowl is full, you can add treatments such as cleaner which will reduce the build up of excrement and fungi. Now, take your fish out of their old dirty water and add them to their clean bowl.

Repeat this every week to keep your goldfish happy and healthy! Maintaining goldfish bowls can be challenging without a disciplined routine, and replacing goldfish who die because of a dirty tank is frustrating. An hour once a week will heighten your pleasure in fishkeeping and can be a very relaxing and creative experience.

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