thinking of plunging deeper into goldies

E

euglossa

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Nov 9, 2006
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I've had my redcap Oranda almost a year. It's time to move him to a larger tank and I want to get a companion. I had my eye on a 46 gallon bowfront, but then I clicked on that rain garden link in a lower thread and found that just one more fish won't do....

The solution is fairly easy, but wrenching. If I can find good homes for my tropicals I think I will convert my 75 gallon tank to a goldfish only tank.

This is the largest tank I can keep in my tiny home-so how many fancy goldfish can I keep in it for the rest of their lives? I don't want to get too many when they are small and have to thin the herd when they get really large. three? four?

Jack is now about 3 inches. I know I want a black ranchu. And at Rain Garden I saw my first Tosakin goldfish.... oh my. They look like they will be more on the oranda or ranchu body plan than a comet-so I think one would be compatable with an oranda and a ranchu?

I'll move Jack to the big tank once it's cleaned out and decorated and use his current tank for a quarantine for the new fish. And after quarantine I'll set aside the smaller one for emergencies and move the Rena filter to supplement the present filtration, which will give me two Rena filters (1 & 2) and an Emperor 400 on the 75 gallon tank.

Ellen
 
i think you could easily fit six in there, if you go with all fancies. generally i recommend 20 gal for the first fancy, 10 gal per additional.

you're correct in thinking that a tosakin has a fancy-type body. there's a fabulous page on the BAS about them, with good pictures from all angles:
http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/tosakin/tosakin.htm
 
thanks for the tosakin page-I hadn't seen any side views of them.

I did some more reading up on them and they are not supposed to be good swimmers. Any idea if they would be ok in a tank with two canister spray bars, plus HOB outlet, and several more agile tankmates? Seems like of the fancies I fancy, the oranda is the most agile, then the ranchu, then the tosakin.

If I had four I might have the one oranda, one ranchu and two tosakin.... The tosakin fins are cool, but even more, of the fish at the rain garden site I fell in love with the colors. They had several that look like sunsets, orange with lemon yellow accents.

With the tosakin being poor swimmers I think I would opt for fewer fish-less chance of collisions.

BTW, how do you pronounce ranchu? Is is Ran-chew or Rang-koo or something else?

I talked to my friend last night and he will happily provide a home for my tropicals.

I drew a mural and have to order tiles for a mosaic backdrop for the tank, so I am still some weeks from ordering the fish. And on second thought, if I order three fish, I would quarantine them in the big tank and move my oranda in after the quarantine period. Three at once would be too much for the 20 gallon.

Ellen
 
5-6 depending upon your own comfort level with tank maintenance.
 
Ellen, if you see fish at raingarden that you want, i would email and ask Steve to hold them for you now, so that when you have the tank ready you can have them shipped to you. you don't want to have the tank ready and then find out that your favorite fish are sold! :[

going with fewer fish is a good bet, it will also help the fish you do order grow quickly, lengthen their finnage, and deepen their colors. i think they will be find in that kind of current, as long as you have spray bars on the outlets i don't forsee a problem.

ranchu is ran-chew. :)
 
More than 5 will be a problem once any of them pass the 4/5 inch mark (not including finnage). My 75 has 4 fish in it, and still requires 80% water changes twice a week.

Tosakin SERIOUSLY cannot be reccomended for your (or any) tank. In order for their finnage to develop properly, they must be kept in still water. Breeders and groomers raise their fish in earthenware bowls no filtration/aeration and multiple daily water changes. Also, they are bred specifically for top-view appreciation, so they don't look that hot from the side. Most importantly, they are very delicate fish, and are a challenge even for very experienced goldfish enthusiasts.

I'd suggest going to www.rafflesgold.com and doing a search for tosakin to get a better idea of the immense amount of work their care can entail.

If you are ready to take the plunge on high end fish, then it would be invaluable to get familiar with the amount of work that it takes to keep them looking good.
 
hmm. after doing a little more thorough research, i sort of agree with inka about how to keep tosakins.

i don't think that current would be much of a problem even with the two canister and HOB outlets, as long as the current is diffused with spraybars pointing backward toward the tank wall and the HOB outlet drops into a plant or onto some other decoration. you could also try putting fine netting across the outlet to help.

however, you might have a problem with tank depth and shape. most keepers recommend a shallow, round tank.

here are a couple of threads specifically about keeping tosakin:

http://www.rafflesgold.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5072&hl=

http://thegab.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=103252

and one article:

http://www.koitime.com/goldfish/Tosakin/tosakin_info.htm


so perhaps it's better not to go with tosakin....?

although i do disagree with inka about the number of fish. i believe you could happily keep six in there. but as with any goldfish, fewer fish in more water is always best. :)
 
Well, I was interested in the colors of a few of the tosakin, not the breed itself and enquired of rain garden if they had any other fish with this fabulous sunset coloration-orange/yellow (at the rain garden site, take a look at tosakin # 1541 and 1547). He said they turn red with maturation, so the point is moot.

I'll happily stick with orandas and ranchus. However, I think some breeders ought to take a look at those colors and see if they can make them stick, on an easier breed. I'd be first in line

If I see any that I really must have I will email about holding fish.

I saw calico ranchu at another site yesterday with the most fabulous dalmation spots, but it was 6 inches and I'd rather get 2 inchers and watch them grow up. I'll email there and see if they have littler ones.

I'm planning to get four. That way if a truly irresistable fish shows up later I could possibly still add one more. But I like the idea of fewer and getting to know them as individuals, rather than a flock.

Ellen
 
they are really dirty little buggers, i had 2 orandas in a 30long and it was getting crowded as they grew ad the weren't noway near fullgrown, i'd do no more than 4 and double up on your filters,.. it will prove to be kinda hard to keep up with them as they grow...

full grown 4 is pushing it,.. i've seen them full grown and they get huge...a little past footlong counting fins/tails
 
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