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The old saying Prevention is better than cure is always sound advice which also applies to preventing aquarium goldfish falling sick in the first place, rather than try to cure it when it has happened. There are a number of practices that an aquarium keeper should follow in order to minimize the risk of a domestic goldfish becoming ill.

When goldfish are added to a tank they require special care to overcome the stress caused by transportation and being moved into a new fish tank. Newly introduced fish are more likely to suffer from goldfish illness as a result of this stress. To limit inital stress, float the bag they arrive in the aquarium for about 20 to 30 minutes so they become adjusted to the water temperature and their new tank. Look out for goldfish ich disease also known as goldfish white spot disease after adding new fish.

Like all creatures, Goldfish should be fed using a reasonable quality feed that fulfills their dietary requirements. A good goldfish food will be easily digested, limiting the volume of waste the goldfish release into the water. Inferior quality goldfish feeds can provide a diet that might be lacking in important nutrition, but they could also cause excessive waste in the aquarium, messing up the gravel bed and reducing the water quality.

The tank requires a correctly sized filtration system which acts to extract solid and liquid wastes. The basic function of a filtration system is to filter out waste and pollutants to help keep the water quality high. All aquariums requires an oxygen supply in addition to the oxygen absorbed by natural means at the water surface. This is achieved with an air-pump in conjunction with tubing and an air stone or other device that dissipates the pumped air into lots of tiny air bubbles. A quality air pump achieves this quietly and efficiently. Gravel at the foot of the aquarium needs to be kept reasonably clean with a gravel syphon because accumulated waste can reduce water quality. Water requires to be changed at 3 to 4 weeks. Mains water should be treated with a well known water conditioning product obtainable from local or online pet stores and aquatic centers.