Goldfish are among the most neglected companion animals despite being highly sentient fish.
Goldfish welfare is profoundly neglected, partly because of pervasive myths about their limited intelligence and short memory. In reality, goldfish are sentient fish capable of learning, remembering, and experiencing chronic stress. The classic goldfish bowl — insufficient volume, no filtration, inappropriate temperature — causes a slow decline in health and welfare. Most goldfish die prematurely from preventable causes: ammonia toxicity, inadequate oxygenation, and temperature extremes. Treating goldfish as throwaway prizes or low-maintenance pets creates chronic suffering for billions of individual fish.