A Better Bubble
The fish we all know as a Goldfish has a long history in captive aquatics, perhaps the longest in regard to decorative fish. In fact, we can attribute the existence of the fishbowl to the Goldfish. It was originally intended as a temporary display for someone to show off an especially beautiful fish from their ponds to guests for a short period. The fish would then be released back to the pond. Goldfish are so hardy that somewhere along the line, they started being kept in the bowls full time, and the fishbowl became ubiquitous with a goldfish. This is not the right way to keep them today; we've learned a lot over the ages.
Over the centuries of history, Goldfish (Carassius auratus) have gone from being a somewhat drab looking carp, to a fish with brilliant coloration and dozens of different mutations and forms that have become popular over time. Very few of us would recognize that original fish as a Goldfish today. That forefather looks almost nothing like the Red and White Bubble Eye Goldfish we're going to delve into today!
Generally, Goldfish have made excellent aquarium fish. First for their looks, and second because they are usually very easy to care for, as is evidenced by how well State Fair won prizes often live! This being said, on the scale of easy to difficult, the Bubble Eye Goldfish are on the more advanced end of the spectrum. The sacs that give them their distinctive look require some specialist care that other Goldies just don't need. First on that list is that they should be kept in aquariums that only have smooth decorations. Those Bubbles under their eyes are fragile, and prone to infection when injured. When planning your display for Red and White Bubble Eyes, make sure it only contains very smooth décor, and very little of it, to limit the injury risk. The fish will not relish the cover supplied by decorations, preferring the open water so minimalist displays make the most sense. There is no requirement for sand, unless your aesthetic demands it.
While some Goldies can get quite large, Red and White Bubble Goldfish are usually about four inches long at maturity. Some exceptional specimens might get into the five-inch range. This means a single specimen would be good in a 40-gallon tank, and a small group of three to five could live happily in 55 to 75 gallons. They are messy fish, and need good filtration, but they are also plodding swimmers and don't deal well with strong flow. Filtration should turn the tank over five to ten times per hour, but return should be very gentle and diffuse. Frequent water changes help keep nutrients under control, which will help them stay healthy. This tank does not need to be covered. Plants can be a challenge with Goldfish as they'll graze on and perhaps uproot your greenery. If you'd like to go down this route, choose hardy, tough plants.
Your Red and White Bubs aren't super picky when it comes to water chemistry. As long as your pH and hardness aren't wildly out of line, they'll be just fine. There is one somewhat unexpected aspect of keeping Goldfish, and that is temperature. They prefer displays to be on the cooler side of what we're all used to. Temperatures between 65 and 75 are good, but the colder side of this range will allow for much more oxygen saturation (gasses stay dissolved better in colder water). High oxygen levels are good for fish (within reasonable limits) and will increase their activity levels! Water that gets warmer than 78 for extended periods will stress your Bubble Eyes.
The next question is what other fish to keep your Red and White Bubble Eye Goldfish with, and the best answer is more Bubble Eye Goldfish. It really makes the best display, and multiple color forms are available. There are solid black ones, gold ones, black and white ones, even calico ones! Though a display full of one-color scheme makes for a striking aquarium too. Having all Bubble Eyes in a tank makes sense because they all need the same kind of decorations and they all swim the same and are unlikely to pick on each other unless they're really overcrowded. If you're convinced that you need some other kinds of fish in this display, you'll need to avoid fish that would pick on the fins and the sac or aggressively push your Goldies around. Peaceful bottom dwellers that do a bit of cleanup would be a good choice.
Feeding Bubble Eye goldfish is so easy, we almost forgot to cover it. These fish have been aquacultured from the beginning of their existence and will eat just about anything you feed them. The one caveat here is that they generally only look up, a side effect of their liquid filled bubbles. So, food should either float or sink slowly. Any food that sinks past them will likely not get eaten by them. Here we rely on Nutramar Freshwater Complete pellets, which get fed slowly so they have ample opportunity to eat everything before it sinks. They would also happily take a high quality, goldfish specific flake food, or any number of frozen (thawed) treats available from Gamma, like Bloodworms, or Brine. We feed twice a day but once it would be sufficient if you took the time to spread the feeding out over multiple, small additions of food.
Nearly everyone who keeps aquariums has had a Goldfish at some point, maybe it was a gift, or perhaps you won one at a fair. An aquarium for Bubble Eyes is in another league in regard to how beautiful and rewarding it can be. A fishbowl isn't going to cut it, but they aren't that hard to keep if you pay attention to their basic needs and choose good tank-mates. Are you ready for a better bubble? Or maybe you want a Goldfish tank that is totally unique? Give Red and White Bubble Eye Goldfish a chance. Head over to your LFS and ask them about getting you a small group of them from Aquatropic today!