Yesterday I went to my friend’s house. He is my aquarium buddy and he has a large Goldfish tank.
I was looking at his big Fantail Goldfish and wondering how long do Fantail Goldfish live?
My friend didn’t have the answer so I took the matter in my hand and found the answer.
On average Fantail Goldfish live about 10 years in a fish tank and 20 years in a pond.
The lifespan of a Fantail Goldfish is really depended on the environment in which it lives.
If you take good care, it can live longer. In fact, the oldest Goldfish is about 45 years!
Table of Contents
How long do fantail Goldfish live?
Fantail Goldfish live in slow-moving rivers, lakes, and ponds naturally.
They typically live about 6 to 7 years in the wild.
Keeping Fantail Goldfish or any Goldfish in a pond is a great idea.
Because they require a lot of space for their optimum growth and pond provide them a lot of space.
Though how big a Goldfish will grow usually depends on its genetics but a Goldfish fish can grow up to 18 inches in a pond.
Fantail Goldfish live about 20 years in the pond if you maintain the pond properly.
How to maintain a pond properly for optimum growth of fantail Goldfish
- Stocking– A single Goldfish requires about 20 gallons of water so pond is a great place to keep them because ponds are usually pretty big. But you should make sure that you are not overcrowding the pond.
- Temperature– Fantail Goldfish are cold-water fish so you should maintain the temperature of about 73 to 75-degree Fahrenheit in your pond. If you live in a hot area then you should cover up the pond with a shade. If you live in a cold area then keeping the pond open, exposed to the sun rays will help to maintain an ideal temperature in the pond.
- Feeding– Fantail Goldfish are omnivorous scavengers so they eat both plants and insects. Pellets and flakes provide adequate nutrients but it’s not sufficient. You should also feed vegetables and fruits like spinach, chopped grapefruit, chopped apple, blueberries, etc.
- Filtration– Over time, the pond will create its own ecosystem but you should also install a good canister filter for the filtration of your pond, especially in the first year.
- Oxygen– You should maintain a healthy amount of oxygen in your pond. If you noticed a low oxygen level in your pond then you can use an air stone or fountain to increase oxygen in your pond.
- Mates-Fantail Goldfish usually do well with other Goldfish. Goldfish also require low water temperatures than other tropical fish. Also unless your Goldfish is very large it is not a good idea to keep them with turtles because they can eat them. So ideally you should keep Fantail Goldfish with other Goldfish.
Fantail Goldfish can live about 10 years in the aquarium if you properly maintain the aquarium.
How to maintain an aquarium for the optimum growth of Faintail Goldfish
- Tank size– Goldfish require a lot of space for their optimum growth. Or else their growth will get stunted i.e. they grow according to the size of the tank. So you should have a large tank for your Fantail Goldfish. 20 gallons per Goldfish is a good rule to follow or if you have a small Fantail Goldfish then 5 gallons per inch is a good rule to follow.
- Feeding– fantail Goldfish are omnivorous so you should feed them both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. Usually, flakes and pellets fulfill their non-vegetarian diet. You should also feed them various fruits and vegetables like chopped apple, grapes, spinach, broccoli, etc to fulfill their non-vegetarian diet. If you put some live plants into your tank then Goldfish sometimes munch on them. You can also feed them blood worms, small insects and larvae, etc.
- Temperature– Fantail Goldfish live in cold water. But they are sensitive to very cold water. Also, high water temperature can cause severe nerve damage to Goldfish. So you should maintain an ideal temperature of 73 to 74-degree Fahrenheit for your Fantail Goldfish.
- Oxygen– You should maintain a healthy amount of oxygen in your Fantail Goldfish aquarium. Your tank requires at least 5 parts per million PPM of dissolved oxygen in your aquarium. If you noticed the low oxygen level in your aquarium then there are several ways to increase the amount of oxygen in your aquarium.
- Mates– The ideal mates your Fantail Goldfish is other Goldfish. Goldfish require low water temperature than other tropical fish there is not a lot of options when it comes to mates for Goldfish. But you can keep fish like Zebra danios, Rosy barbs, Bristlenose plecos, etc.
In a nutshell, Goldfish live about seven years in the wild, about 10 years in a fish tank and about 20 years in a pond.
But these are just average numbers, they can live more or less depending on how you take care of them.
What factors affect the life expectancy of a Fantail Goldfish and how to maximize their life span
Food- Proper nutrition is essential for the growth of any fish. Fantail Goldfish is an omnivorous scavenger so you should feed them both vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods. Usually flakes and pellets provide adequate nutrients but they are not sufficient. You should feed them chopped apple, grapes, spinach, broccoli, etc. You can also feed them bloodworms, small insects, etc
Space– Goldfish require a lot of space for their optimum growth. You should put them into a large fish tank.
20 gallons per Goldfish is a good rule of thumb.
But if your Goldfish is small then 5 gallons per inch is sufficient for it.
Ponds are usually bigger in size so Goldfish thrive in pond.
But you should put Goldfish according to the size of your pond.
Overcrowding can slow down the growth of the Goldfish.
Water temperature- Fantail Goldfish are cold-water fish so you should maintain a low temperature in your pond or fish tank.
But they are also sensitive to very cold water.
If you put them into cold water for a prolonged period then they get into hibernation which affects their growth.
So you should not put them into very cold water for a prolonged period of time.
Also, if you put Fantail Goldfish into high-temperature water then it can cause severe nerve damage.
The ideal temperature for a Fantail Goldfish is about 73 to 74-degree Fahrenheit.
Oxygen- Any fish require an optimum level of oxygen to thrive so you should maintain a healthy amount of oxygen in your pond or fish tank.
There are several signs that can help you to determine if your aquarium has low oxygen levels.
If you noticed your Goldfish is moving around less, coming on the surface gasping for air, and making fast gills movement then probably your aquarium has low oxygen level.
In this case, you can do several things to increase oxygen.
The simplest way to increase oxygen is to use an air pump. Check out our recommended Air Pump
Or if you have a pond then using a fountain is a great way to increase oxygen.
Ammonia- Ideally your aquarium or pond should not contain ammonia. But if the water has ammonia more than 2.0 mg that is very bad for your Goldfish and if Goldfish stays in such water for a long period of time then it can affect its life expectancy.
So you should always keep track of the ammonia level. The simplest way to do so is by using an ammonia alert stripe.
There are several ways you can reduce ammonia in your tank like performing a large water change up to 50%, removing unnecessary waste from the aquarium or pond, like uneaten food rotton plants, etc.
Light- Like us, Goldfish too require a sufficient amount of light for their proper growth.
In their natural habitat, they get about 8 to 12 hours light during the day.
So we should emulate the same in our aquarium.
How much light do Fantail Goldfish require really depends on if the tank has live plants or not.
If you have a small tank with artificial plants then 1-2 watts per gallon of water will be sufficient.
But if you have live plants then they will require more lights for photosynthesis.
2-5 watt full spectrum light per gallon of water will be sufficient in tanks with live plants.
Conclusion
So fantail Goldfish live about 7 years in the wild, 10 years in the fish tank and 20 years in a pond.
But these are just average numbers they can live more if you take good care of them.
In fact, the oldest Goldfish in the world is 45 years.
There are various factors like water temperature, tank size, nutrition, etc that affects the life expectancy of a fantail Goldfish.
