8 Amazing Goldfish Facts!

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goldfish

If you thought goldfish were boring read these 8 amazing facts!

goldfish

Lots of people think that goldfish are boring, but they really aren’t! Here are 8 amazing facts to prove anyone who thinks goldfish are boring wrong:

1. Goldfish have teeth in their throats!

Here’s another weird fact, goldfish have teeth, but they aren’t in their mouth, so you can’t see them. Their teeth are in their throat, so they can bite their food on its way down!

2. Goldfish don’t have stomachs

If you thought it was a weird fact that fish have teeth in their throat, did you know that they don’t have stomachs? Our stomachs do two very important jobs, they help us to store food and they help us to break food down. Goldfish need to be fed little bits quite often because they don’t have anywhere to store the food to keep them going. This is also why they need to poop a lot, food really does go straight through them! Since goldfish do not have stomachs, it is very important to be careful when you are feeding them. Only feed them small amounts of food at a time, and make sure that it is the right kind of food for goldfish. Without a stomach to help them break food down, feeding goldfish the wrong thing can make them very sick.

3. Goldfish can grow to over the length of a 30cm ruler

When you think of goldfish perhaps you think of a bowl or a small tank with a few small goldfish swimming around. Goldfish don’t have to be small though, they can grow to over 30cm in length. Next time you are out somewhere where fish are able to swim in a bigger tank, or even in a pond outside, have a competition over who can find the biggest goldfish.

4. Goldfish can live for over 40 years

If you have ever had a goldfish of your own, they may not have lived very long. It has been reported, however, that the oldest goldfish to have ever lived was 45 years old. Most goldfish do not live this long, but some goldfish can live for a very long time. Another weird fact is that, if you want to tell how old a goldfish is, you just have to look at its scales. A goldfish grows a year on its scales for every year it lives, so, just like a tree, count the rings and you will know how old the fish is!

5. A goldfish can see more colours than you

Humans are able to see primary colours (red, yellow and blue) and whatever colours you can make by mixing them together. Goldfish can see these colours and a fourth colour, ultraviolet (UV) light. UV light helps them see movement in the water. Goldfish need to be able to see this fourth light because they can’t see very far and, since their eyes are placed on either side of their head, they can’t see straight ahead like we can. Would you rather be able to see four colours, but not be able to look in front of you, or three colours like us?

6. Goldfish have a longer memory than you think

Here’s another interesting fact about goldfish, they have a memory of about three months, not three seconds. This means that they can learn things because they can remember things you are trying to teach them. If you have a goldfish at home, feed them at the same time every day and you will see that, at about the time you are going to feed them, they will start looking for food and will know that you are coming to feed them when they see you.

7. Goldfish can learn tricks

If goldfish can learn things like what time you are going to feed them at, then they can learn how to do tricks as well. Take a look at this video of a goldfish doing tricks.

8. Goldfish sleep with their eyes open

Another amazing fact about goldfish is that they don’t have any eyelids. This means they can’t blink, and they sleep with their eyes open!

Want to learn more fascinating facts about other animals? Then have a look here.

Sources:

www.thegoldfishtank.com/goldfish-facts/

http://puregoldfish.com/facts/

http://www.swallowaquatics.co.uk/blog/17-crazy-facts-fish/

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/fish-bowl/articles/fun-fish-facts/

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