Printable owner manual
Stop guessing your goldfish's tank targets.
A 49-page printable manual with the exact tank size, filtration, cycling and water targets goldfish actually need, feeding by age, quarantine, the Minnesota and New York rules on never releasing one, and health triage, not bowl-era advice recycled across the internet.
Not sure yet? Download the first 5 pages free, contents page included.
- 49 pages, print or view
- Beginner friendly
- No external links inside the PDF
Edition 3.1
Oct 2026 路 49 pages
Care-sheet roulette
- "A bowl is fine to start"
- No real cycling before the fish goes in
- No idea what a red flag symptom actually looks like
- Advice with no source, no version, no way to check it
This guide
- Real tank size and filtration targets, no bowls
- A cycling plan before the fish ever goes in, and the water tests that prove it
- Ammonia poisoning, ich, fin rot, swim bladder disorder and dropsy called out clearly
- Every number sourced, versioned and dated, printed and kept by the tank
What's inside 路 49 pages
Everything from first setup to daily routine.
Tank and filtration
Tank size, type and the bowl myth, water temperature, heater and lid, filter sizing, filter media and the air pump, substrate, plants and decor.
Cycling and water
Cycling with or without a fish, water targets and testing, water changes, cleaning and hygiene.
Health and red flags
Red flags and finding a vet, ammonia poisoning and ich, fin rot, fungus, ulcers and dropsy, flukes, anchor worm and velvet, swim bladder disorder, and reading waste.
Feeding by age
Diet by age, pellets, gel and flake, vegetables, protein foods and treats, the never-feed list, and what to do when a goldfish stops eating.
Arrival, spawning and the law
Choosing a healthy goldfish, quarantine and the hospital tank, sexing, spawning and fry, heat waves and pond winters, and the Minnesota and New York rules on never releasing a goldfish.
Owner tools
Setup checklist, emergency card, budget and shopping list, first 30 days, symptom reference, pet-sitter sheet, and the logs.
Every page, section by sectionThe package's own contents page, all 49 pages of it. Nothing here is a teaser for something sold separately.
Getting Started
- How to Use This Package
Profile
- Quick Profile & Cost Overview
- The Goldfish, Varieties, Size & Lifespan
Housing & Environment
- Tank Size, Type & the Bowl Myth
- Water Temperature, Heater & Lid
- Filtration: Sizing the Filter
- Filter Media, Air Pump & Maintenance
- Cycling, With or Without a Fish
- Water Targets & Testing
- Water Changes, Cleaning & Hygiene
- Substrate, Plants & Decor
Feeding
- Diet by Age
- Pellets, Gel, Flake & Presentation
- Vegetables, Protein Foods & Treats
- The Never-Feed List
- When a Goldfish Stops Eating
Handling & Behavior
- Handling: Net and Cup, Never Hands
- Normal Behavior & Body Language
- Enrichment & Common Mistakes
Arrival & Life Stages
- Choosing a Healthy Goldfish & Bringing It Home
- Quarantine & the Hospital Tank
- Sexing, Spawning & Fry
- Heat Waves, Pond Winters & Moving Outdoors
The Law
- Never Release a Goldfish: the Law
Health & Common Issues
- Red Flags & Finding a Vet
- Ammonia Poisoning & Ich
- Fin Rot, Fungus, Ulcers, Popeye & Dropsy
- Flukes, Anchor Worm & Velvet
- Swim Bladder Disorder & Constipation
- Reading Waste & When Euthanasia Is Kindest
Quick Reference
- Setup Checklist & Targets
- Emergency & Quick Targets Card
Owner Tools
- Budget: Setup Costs
- Budget: Running Costs & Shopping List
- First 30 Days
- Symptom Quick Reference
- Daily, Weekly & Seasonal Routine
- Power Outages, Heat Waves, Travel & Transport
- Pet-Sitter Sheet
- Owner Log
- Equipment & Vet Log
- Enrichment Checklist & Log
Reference
- Glossary, A to H
- Glossary, I to Z
- Sources
- Where the Sources Disagree
- Version History & About
Take a look inside
Print-first pages, clearly marked.
Click a page to see it at full size. The contents page is complete; the others fade out where the paid content starts.
The first 5 pages, free
Pages 1 to 5 as a PDF: the contents page and the opening pages before the care sections start, so you can see every page the full package covers.
Who this is for
- New goldfish owners setting up a proper tank for the first time
- Keepers who want one consistent standard
- Anyone tired of bowl advice and scattered forum threads
What it's not
- Not a substitute for an aquatic-experienced veterinarian
- Not a live website mirror, a clean printable package instead
- Not a subscription, one purchase and every corrected edition is free
What changed
This is edition 3.1.
Bought before? Re-download free from your library. Minnesota and New York release rules as of October 2026.
- 3.1, Oct 2026. Now 49 pages. Costs: every item priced and rounded to the nearest $5; setup $310 to $615, monthly $10 to $30, the budget now over two pages. Other changes are wording only.
- 3.0, Oct 2026. Rebuilt on the current outline, 48 pages. Safety: pH 6.5 to 7.5; fishless cycle dosed to 3 ppm; fish-in change of at least a third at 0.1 ppm; bag floated 20 to 30 minutes; adults fed once a day or the same ration split in two, no fasting day; ich treated with salt or malachite green until spots gone for days, heat no higher than 75掳F; anchor worm dose 0.066 mg/L; no home antibiotic for fin rot; floor bare, or sand or gravel at least 1/2 in across; temperature changes no faster than 1掳F an hour; outage surface agitation every 10 to 15 minutes in a small tank, 20 to 30 in a larger one; goldfish and koi can cross; never feed bread, refined starches, raw meat, cheese or onions. Legal: a new page on never releasing a goldfish, Minnesota and New York rules. Costs: equipment $105 to $270, monthly $10 to $30. Other changes are wording only.
- 2.1, Sep 2026. Safety: turnover raised to 10 times an hour; KH retargeted to 100 ppm and up; GH 60 to 180 ppm; quarantine raised to a 30-day minimum; fish-in action line 0.1 to 0.25 ppm. Replaced by 3.0.
- 2.0, Sep 2026. Rebuilt, 39 pages, with a fish-in cycling plan, a power-outage plan and a pet-sitter sheet. Replaced by 2.1.
- 1.0, Aug 2026. First edition, 21 pages. Replaced by 2.0.
Ready when you are
Goldfish Care Package
49 pages. PDF. Print it or keep it open on your phone, tablet, or computer. Yours the moment you check out.
Edition 3.1, published October 3, 2026. Paid through Stripe. The download link arrives on the next page, and it stays in your library for as long as the package exists, always as the current edition. Not a substitute for a vet.
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The free goldfish guide is still free
This package is the same research as our goldfish care guide, reformatted into an offline manual with the checklists, logs, and triage tables the web pages do not carry. Read the free guide first and buy this only if you want it in your hands.