Why Do People Hate Goldfish

[Jallen]

I don't dislike goldfish, I just think that it's stupid that they are so popular.

They get massive,
They poop like mad,
They eat like mad.

I don't see why they are so popular when white cloud minnows and zebra danios make so much better coldwater fish for small tanks.

 

[aquila]

Video of my goldfish

The tank has since been rescaped - as you can see, plants are regarded as snacks rather than decor.

I imagine the oranda will freak a few people out, but he lives a life of luxury with me, and I don't see how the fantails cannot be considered beautiful.

 

[Truck]

i love gold fish i just hate the incompetent people that wont be told they need a 30g.
;o
i mean ive seen one guy with 2 fantails 4 wcmms and a GAE in a 15 litre. and still wont be told

 

[Robot_Rooster]

its not really the people who buy goldfish all the time it is the incompetence of the staff at the fish stores they should really tell the buyers of the specs of a goldfish.

i used to have 3 goldfish probably like 12 or more years ago they were kept in a 20 litre tank and they lasted for years!! don't flame me tho or my parents since back then fish keeping was just a minor hobby.

 

[chr15_8]

So..Why do a lot of people on this forum hate goldfish? I mean have such negative opinions about them...

I noticed that whenever I am on a fish forum, people just think goldfish are crap machines, feeder fish and thats it... Why is that?

I mean goldfish produce just as much waste per bodyweight than any other fish...And you see Oscars and plecos are really messy fish and so are a lot of others but they don't get that negative tone when speaking of them...
And yeah, they grow big, but so do a lot of fish that are sold as pets to people who don't really have the means to keep them...

And as for being common... guppies, mollies, neons, angelfish...are all very common but they are not treated like #### (well most of the time anyway)

So people, what is it about goldfish that bothers you so much? and don't tell me because they are inbred - I am not just talking about fancys but also about commons and comets. And why are kois great and goldfish suck?

OK, just to explain. No, I don't have a goldfish and no I am not trying to be provocative (well maybe just a tiny bit ), I just am really curious about that...

Hm, yes and i do like goldies (maybe you have guessed by now ).

tbh you can't compare koi and goldfish. filters alone on a proper koi pond cost a lot more than most peoples decent fish tanks including there filters do. They also come in alot more colours than goldfish and are worth alot more (in general) so the people who by decent koi learn how to look after them before throwing them in anything due to the cost to replace/money lost if they only last 2 years.

goldfish are boring to me because they only come in red, black nd white. i have a pond full of goldfish which i spend 5 mins a month on max and have a koi pond where i spend a good 1-2 hours a week maintaining it.

 

[paw-paw]

well filters on koi ponds just cost more because people take care of kois not because goldfish wouldn't benefit from filters like that...

Well yes,but why are Kois more expensive when they are no harder to breed than goldfish? (just asking..)

 

[chr15_8]

well filters on koi ponds just cost more because people take care of kois not because goldfish wouldn't benefit from filters like that...

Well yes,but why are Kois more expensive when they are no harder to breed than goldfish? (just asking..)

because they are so much harder to get perfect.

you can pop into a lfs and pick a koi for £5 but this wont turn in to anything special. unlike a tategoi (means a koi with potential) you buy from a proper koi dealer for over £200. these type of fish will turn into proper koi and will look brillent when grown on

because of the price of the fish the ponds cost alot more (due to the size) most koi ponds should be at least 3500 gallons+

they also get alot larger meaning even more waste (koi produce more waste than goldfish as it is)

the goldfish in the pond breed year in year out where as i havent spawed one koi. koi are also culled (the crappy looking babies are killed) this happens a few times i believe. the first one is with in a month or so of it beig born

can't remember what the dearest price of goldfish ive seen but can't see it being over £40. where as koi can be as dear as £5000 even more so why would you spend £1500 on a goldfish pond filter if the fish is only worth £40? not the best example but hopefully you get my point

 

[Truck]

my local garden centre had £400,000 worth of koi stolen last week.

 

[chr15_8]

my local garden centre had £400,000 worth of koi stolen last week.

was it a proper koi dealer or a garden center like you said?

reason i ask is that is alot of koi for a garden center shop to hold. even the best koi dealer in the uk (2 1/2 hours away from me which i have travelled to find a few koi) wont have that much value of koi in the stock even after being on a trip to japan

 

[Honeythorn]

I've seen goldfish online ( a japanese site ) going for over £ 100 actually. One of which was a really stunning 7 inch long chocolate coloured butterfly fantail. But still, I wouldn't pay that price for him stunning as he was.

Shops simply WONT tell people how big goldfish get, how long the really can live, or what sort of setup and work they need, because people would either

A: Not believe them due to the old fashioned and spectacularly wrong practice of keeping them in bowls which has been done in the west for about...80 ish years ( the wealthy Victorians did at least have the sense to build ponds so how they devolved to keeping them in small bowls is a mystery ) and therefore must OBVIOUSLY be correct because" so and so down the road has had their goldfish in a pot for 10 years , never changed the water more than once a year, and it isn't dead yet! If it's not dead then that must be the right way!"

And would thus get one anyway and then become baffled when the poor thing dies of ammonia poisoning a few weeks ( or if it's REALLY unlucky, a few years) later

OR

B: Think for approximately a nanosecond about the horrific idea of actually having to get up off their backsides and actually leave the Xbox or Coronation street for more than a toilet break ( what a shocking idea ) , and actually be bothered to do the maintenence on the tank that is required to keep these fish big and healthy. Look after a FISH for 30 years or more? FILTER? CARRY Buckets of water? preposterous idea that, let's get a hamster they don't last as long and can get by on some cheap food from the petshop up the road.


Basically a good number of paying customers just won't put up with common sense and biology no matter which way you tell it. Shops want to make money and they want it quick. Goldfish are cheap to buy, and since more than half of the people who buy them haven't a gnat's knowledge of how to keep them correctly or have much of an inclination to care, they will repeatedly kill these fish and keep coming back for more because " that's just goldfish they don't last long ". It's a sure fire way of getting 3 or 4 quid out of people again and again and again.

 

[Syphoniera]

I don't dislike goldies but I do try to discourage people from buying them because they are NOT suitable for beginners in my opinion. They require too large of a tank and need too much work, and also, looking after the sort of filtration system needed to cope with fish that big is not always easy particularly if you don't fully understand the nitrogen cycle. I totally agree with Honeythorn, it really sucks that stores will continue to sell these fish to people who they must know won't look after them.

The worst thing is that pervasive, malicious myth that if you put a fish in a tank that is too small for it, it will not outgrow its tank. Well sure, if I locked a toddler in a cupboard, underfed it and left it to rot in its own waste, it probably wouldn't grow either. In fact, the same goes for most animals, if kept in a cramped and overcrowded space, underfed or given poor nutrition, and kept in unhygienic conditions - they grow up stunted. Now if you did that to something fluffy, all the 'animal lovers' would cry to the heavens about it. But when it's just a scaly little goldfish, nobody cares.

What I DO dislike are certain fancy strains of goldfish. (And certain fancy strains of guppy and to a point betta for that matter). I can understand that people think it's attractive to enlarge the fins, change their shape, introduce new colours etc. But I think there is simply no excuse for creating a fish that is unable to swim, unable to see, or unable to eat properly - and then to continue breeding the strain! I believe that since we have accepted responsibility for current and future generations of aquarium fish, we have also accepted the responsibility to ensure their welfare. Now if I went and crammed twenty guppies in a five gallon tank, and never cycled it, I would be flamed long and hard for the abuse of the fish's well being. What I can't understand is why nobody complains similarly about fish (and other animals) that have been selectively bred by humans in such a way that reduces their quality of life. I'm also talking about bulldogs that can't breathe properly or give birth naturally, cats that can't run or walk, various breeds of dog that are STILL bred from lines with established hip dysplasia, and the other various unfortunate creatures that are condemned to living their lives trapped in bodies that hardly work and would never have occurred in the wild. I think it is irresponsible and cruel of us to do it.

Excuse the rant. I will de soapbox because otherwise I'll go on all day.

Been reading this thread and cheering throughout - that was an excellent question posed, although I think a good deal of the impression of 'goldfish-hating' was gained by reading comments by those thinking of them only as feeders, (and apparently not very nutritious ones,) as well as the other reasons mentioned above.
But - among so many excellent comments - LauraFrog's statement in particular was so good and comprehensive I just had to add 'what she said!' although I couldn't have put it half so well myself.
It's people speaking out like this - and informing the uninformed/disinformed who read/hear it - that will alter the acceptance of such practices, and I'm so impressed with all those who did that I just had to say so.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

Please dont blame shops unless you have actually worked in one and seen the troubles they go through. Running a fish shop is actually a lot more work than you see and think it takes. Everybody blames the fish shops, but they dont realize that its a hard business. Fishkeeping is not necessary to live, so once the economy goes to crap like right now, lfs owners struggle and they need every sale they can get. If customers get a whole bunch of crap from the owner and workers about needing a ridiculous size tank for 1 stupid goldfish, they arent going to be customers for very long. We are hobbyists, thats why we care. You guys have to realize that not everybody cares about this hobby.

 

[dnn3]

i don't hate goldfish,they just don't seem very interesting to me.they can't compare with the beauty of an angel fish or the quirkiness of loaches or even that look that cichlids have in their eyes.just my opinion and to each his own.

 

[dcarmor927]

yea i think they are seen as standard fish, i dont hate em but i had one for about 4 years when i was 5 or so...no filter no water changes...i feel bad knowing all i do now, but he was a gift and he made it a long time imo...

 

[FBTgirl2]

I just got new Goldfish about 2 weeks ago *My first pair ever*. And I love them, In my opinion they are not to be kept in a small tank like a lot of people do. Anyway, Goldfish are cute, I got some black moor goldfish and I lot them to death!