goldfish company

[Fishguy2727]

Lifespan is a good factor indetermining quality of life, but not the only. Just because someone's oscar lived in a 40 for 15 years doesn't mean it was any good for them. For the most part lifespan is a good way to determine it, but not the only thing. Just like the fastest growth isn't necessarily the best growth.

Another issue is hibernation. Animals that hibernate tend to live longer when they hibernate as opposed to when they do not. This doesn't necessarily mean they didn't have an even better life because they didn't hibernate, but there are other things to determine.

I just don't see any evidence that a well-maintained tank or pond is any better or worse because it is warmer.

[Rue]

Of course there are a myriad of others factors that come into play...very difficult to account for all variables...

I just don't see any evidence that a well-maintained tank or pond is any better or worse because it is warmer.

Yes, you can say that...but by the same token, you can also say there's no evidence to suggest temperature isn't a factor in overall well being...

Unless someone does experiments, all we have is conjecture. And based on my knowledge base, I do think temperature plays an important role.

[Fishguy2727]

I just found a study in a scientific journal (Aquaculture Nutrition) partially about the effects of temperature on color development. It found that the best temperatires for pigment development were 78-86F. The other part of the study found that the best carotenoid concentration was with astaxanthin diets. Obviously pigment does not equal health, but I thought I would post this as it is somewhat related.

[Rue]

For what it's worth, carotenoid levels in developing ducks can be an indicator of health...

...but that's a total aside...

[relsoft]

Trust me, I count anything that brings the quality of life down from ideal as harm. I have not seen anything that tells me there is harm when they are properly cared for and the temperature happens to be warmer than they are classically kept in. Some of the best good old-fashioned orange goldfish I have seen were in an outdoor pond in Florida just outside of the Everglades. Obviously with an outdoor pond there are other factors, but it shows that the temperature will not necessarily do any harm.

I'd vouch for this. I live in the topics (Philippines) and I've kept goldfish (when I was a breeder) for 7 years in an outdoor pond with no filtration and no aeration.
You only need to change water(20%) every week and put in lots of live plants(a tricky thing to do since Goldies tend to be voracious plant eaters).

Oh yeah, I'm getting back into Goldie breeding(just starting out again) with the same formula. Outdoor pond, no filtration and no aerators.