All living things on this earth need sufficient oxygen to survive. In the same way, our goldfish have a special need for adequate oxygen. Goldfish require 6 to 8 mg/L of dissolved oxygen in the tank water.
We can easily control the oxygen levels in the water in our goldfish tank by using an air pump or oxygen pump. We also keep various aquatic plants in our goldfish tanks, which help increase the oxygen levels in our tank water.
Many times we keep other fish in our aquarium along with goldfish, which also need adequate oxygen. We also need some good bacteria to carry out the nitrogen cycle in our aquarium. These bacteria require a sufficient amount of oxygen. Therefore, we need a good air pump to improve the environment in our goldfish tank.
Why do Goldfish need an air pump?
An air pump or oxygen pump helps supply air from outside the aquarium into the aquarium. An air pump creates very fine bubbles in the water, which helps increase the amount of dissolved oxygen in our aquarium water.
- If the amount of dissolved oxygen in our tank water decreases, our goldfish can become sick very quickly.
- Not only that, due to the lack of oxygen, the nitrogen cycle in our aquarium will not be carried out properly, which will result in a poor environment in our aquarium.
- The amount of harmful substances such as ammonia and nitrite in our aquarium will increase, which is one of the reasons why our goldfish get sick.
- Also, excess food used for our goldfish and goldfish waste accumulate at the bottom of the tank. So if we don’t clean our goldfish tank at the right time, the amount of various harmful particles in our aquarium will increase. If the amount of harmful particles in our goldfish tank increases, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water in our tank also decreases significantly.
- The amount of dissolved oxygen in the water in a goldfish tank depends largely on the temperature of the water, meaning that if our water temperature is low, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water is high.
- However, if we live in a region with a warm climate, the temperature of the water in our tank will be much higher. If the temperature of the water in our tank is high, the amount of dissolved oxygen in that water is also much lower.
So if we use an air pump or oxygen pump for our goldfish tank, we can easily increase or control the amount of dissolved oxygen in the tank water.
Other source of dissolved oxygen in the aquarium:
Goldfish generally require the most oxygen of all the fish we keep in aquariums. Most of the time we use a large tank for goldfish, which also has a high dissolved oxygen content.
We also keep various types of aquatic plants in the aquarium. This aquatic plant helps increase the amount of dissolved oxygen in our aquarium.
In some cases, we use filters in our goldfish tanks, which constantly circulate the water in the aquarium from one place to another. If the water in our aquarium is constantly being moved from one place to another, there is a possibility that the amount of dissolved oxygen in that water will increase.
Many times we use bio filters or biological filters in our goldfish tanks. This bio filter contains a large number of good bacteria that help organize the nitrogen cycle. After this nitrifying process is complete, a large amount of dissolved oxygen is released into the water. However, these good bacteria that complete the nitrogen cycle require sufficient oxygen.
Five signs that goldfish are suffering from lack of oxygen:
If for some reason the dissolved oxygen levels in our tank decrease, the environment in our tank will start to deteriorate and the chances of our goldfish getting sick will increase significantly.
However, by looking at some signs, we can feel that there is a lack of oxygen in our goldfish tank.
- When the dissolved oxygen level in our goldfish tank is low, our goldfish will constantly swim to the surface of the tank.
- Due to lack of oxygen, the activity of our fish decreases significantly, and the way our fish breathe changes significantly. The gills used by our fish to breathe are constantly moving in slow motion.
- When our goldfish lack oxygen, they show no interest in eating or reduce their food intake completely.
- If goldfish suffer from a lack of oxygen, the problem is called hypoxia. As a result, the chances of our goldfish developing heart-related diseases are greatly increased.
- The swimming style of our goldfish changes a lot. Our goldfish like to stay in a specific spot in the tank most of the time and move very little. Not only that, the way our goldfish moves its fins also becomes much slower.
How does an air pump or oxygen pump work?
Air pumps suitable for aquariums usually work mechanically with the help of electricity. The main function of an air pump or oxygen pump is to introduce air from outside the aquarium into the aquarium.
With the help of an air pump or oxygen pump, outside air is circulated into the aquarium in the form of bubbles. As a result, the amount of dissolved oxygen in our aquarium increases.
Using an air pump allows for continuous air movement within the aquarium, which in turn creates a slight movement in the aquarium water. Which helps us improve the environment of our aquarium.
Are Air Stones or Bubblers Really Necessary with a Goldfish Air Pump?
Air stones have many tiny holes in them that help convert the air from the air pump into very small bubbles. As a result, the level of dissolved oxygen in our water increases rapidly.
Also, if we use air stones in our aquarium, it creates very fine bubbles which are very nice to look at and greatly enhance the beauty of our aquarium.
However, it is possible to reach dissolved oxygen in our aquarium without using air stones. So the information that air stones are a special need for our aquarium is not at all correct.
Can Goldfish live without an oxygen pump?
The only reason we need an oxygen pump in our goldfish tank is to control the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water.
If we can control the amount of dissolved oxygen in our goldfish tank water without an oxygen pump or air pump, then there is no need for an oxygen pump.
To control the dissolved oxygen levels in our goldfish tank water, we need to keep a few things in mind, such as:
- The reason why you need a tank as large as possible is because a larger tank will have a higher amount of dissolved oxygen. However, compared to an extra deep tank, a shallower and wider tank is better for our goldfish. A lack of dissolved oxygen is seen at the bottom of an excessively deep tank.
- If we keep aquatic plants in our goldfish tank, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water in our tank is increased or controlled.
- We use bio filters to reduce ammonia, nitrite and various harmful substances in our goldfish tank. This bio filter contains many good bacteria that complete the nitrifying process, which results in the nitrogen cycle occurring in the tank and the release of much more dissolved oxygen. However, these good bacteria also require a lot of dissolved oxygen.
How long can Goldfish survive without an oxygen pump?
How long our goldfish will survive without an oxygen pump depends on many factors. The only need for an oxygen pump in our aquarium is to increase or control the amount of dissolved oxygen.
However, if we can control the dissolved oxygen levels in our tank water without an oxygen pump, our goldfish will not have any problems.
Typically, our goldfish tank needs 6 to 8 mg/L of dissolved oxygen. So if we use a slightly larger tank for our goldfish and keep a number of aquatic plants in the tank, it is still possible to control our oxygen levels.
However, it is very important to control the temperature of our aquarium because if the temperature increases excessively, the level of dissolved oxygen in our tank decreases significantly.
Also, if our goldfish tank is too deep or our weather is too warm or too cold, the amount of dissolved oxygen in our tank may be low. In that case, we need to use an oxygen pump or air pump.
Do Goldfish need an air pump if they have a filter?
The function of the filter in our aquarium is to control or reduce the amount of harmful substances in the aquarium water.
The function of the air pump in our aquarium is to regulate the amount of dissolved oxygen in the aquarium water.
This means that the functions of the air pump and filter will be completely different, so both of these items have special needs for our goldfish tank.
However, there is an aeration system within the sponge filter. It absorbs excess food used for goldfish, goldfish waste, and various harmful substances that accumulate at the bottom of the aquarium and disperses air into the aquarium in the form of bubbles.
Using this type of sponge filter does not require any separate air pump for our aquarium. Although the functionality of this type of sponge filter is very simple, it is essential for us to clean this sponge filter thoroughly at least once a month.
Welcome to our website Aquarium Fish Zone. My name is Sagar Ghosh and I live in Kolkata. I am a science graduate.
I have kept fish in aquariums since I was very young. I loved seeing the colorful fish in the aquarium.
I have always tried to maintain and care for the fish properly. So me and my team members have created this website.As a result, we can provide you with accurate information about how aquarium fish are kept.