The old saying Prevention is better than cure is invariably excellent advice which also applies to stopping pet goldfish becoming sick in the first place, rather than try to cure the illness when it has become established. There are some practices that an aquarium keeper should take in order to minimize the risk of a pet goldfish becoming ill.

When new fish are added into the aquarium they require extra care to overcome any stress from transportation and moving into a new environment. New goldfish are susceptible to goldfish diseases as a result of this stress. To reduce inital stress, let the bag float they are transported in in the tank for approximately 20 to 30 minutes so they can get acclimatized to the water temperature and their new tank. Look out for goldfish ich disease otherwise known as goldfish whitespot disease after introducing new fish.

Like all animals, Goldfish require to be fed using a good quality food that meets their dietary needs. A decent goldfish food can be well digested, minimizing the volume of waste the goldfish release into the water. Inferior quality goldfish feeds could result in a diet that could be short of essential nutritional requirements, potentially they might also lead to too much waste being released into the tank, messing up the gravel bed and polluting the water.

The tank must have a suitably sized filter which helps to extract solid and liquid wastes. The basic function of filters is to remove waste and pollutants and keep the water quality high. All aquariums requires an oxygen supply in addition to the oxygen absorbed naturally at the water surface. This is done by using an air-pump in conjunction with tubing and an air stone or alternative device to dissipate the pumped air into hundreds of tiny air bubbles. A quality air pump achieves this quietly and efficiently. Gravel at the base of the aquarium needs to be kept reasonably clean with a gravel syphon as accumulated dirt can affect water quality. Water needs to be changed every 3 or 4 weeks. Mains water needs to be treated utilizing a reputable water conditioning product which can be obtained from online pet stores or aquatic centers.