Ideas for a 29gal goldfish tank

[Rook Bartley]

I have kept tropical fish for many years, but I've never kept any goldfish. My mom want a goldfish tank setup for Christmas and I have a 29 gal with stand at my disposal. The gravel I want to keep natural. All my other tanks use it and I'm going to borrow some from them to jump start the cycle. I'm going to be using a Rena air pump for some bubbles. Other than that, I'm not sure how to set it up. What kind of decor goes well with gold fish. What kind would be nice for a 29? How many? I have a spare AC300 and a 40 watt hood. Will that be to bright or should I get a 20 watt hood? No live plants and no other kinds of fish.

Any ideas? Pictures would be great too! Thanks!

[val]

I have two 29g setups with GF. One has three 4-inch fantails and the other has four moors (1 is a significantly smaller than the others). I would think 3 or 4 young ones would do you well.

I use 10 year old wet/dry filters that can't be found anymore, but I would think that AC300s or Emperors with bio wheels will be sufficient. I've always used bubble wands with air pumps to provide additional aeration.

GF aren't particularly timid, so I would think a 40w bulb wouldn't be a problem, though I've never seen bulbs that high that are just 24". I don't think you'll need a heater, unless you've got serious room temperature issues.

I gave up trying to grow plants in a GF tank, not because they ate them, but because the temps weren't conducive to growing plants. I find that there are some really beautiful silk plants now, and I have no regrets about giving up on real plants. I heartily approve of natural gravel, and I use a lot of wood in my tanks.

What kind of GF did you have in mind?

Let us know how it goes...

Val

[Rook Bartley]

Ok, well, i picked up a Rena air pump. It's rated for a 30 gal, but I figure I'm only going to use one wand, so I'm hoping it does the trick.

I have a single 20 watt buld and a twin strip light fixture available to use. I think I will start will the 20 watt and see how that looks.

I'm looking at some basic fantails. Something that doesn't grow very long. So Koi and comets etc will not be seeing my tank.

Now with my tropical tanks, I use live plants not only to enhance appearances, but also to suck up fish waste and to suck up extra nutrients to help me with algea. Any measures or hints in preventing algea?


I did pickup natural looking gravel. 25lbs of large pebbles and 25 lbs of smaller stuff of the same color.

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but I'll kepp everyone posted. Thanks for the input so far!!

[val]

As far as the air pump goes, you could have had even a smaller one, if money is an issue. I've been told that Renas are quite good (the pump on one of my tanks is starting to rumble a bit, it is 9 years old, and I'm going to get a new one the next time I place an on-line order).

I've never had that much trouble with algae, and your 20w bulb will be better for that. For the new silk-like plants, a little algae on the leaves gives them a more natural appearance. I also only turn on the light for only 4-5 hours a day, usually when I'm only in the room...

GF do produce a lot of poop, so a regular vacuuming regime is very important, and that will have to be a focus for this tank.

I really like my all moor tank. Someday I'm going to get a 150g tank and it will be all moors...

Val

[JeffP]

29G with a couple of ryunkins or orandas would look real nice IMO. AC300 should be fine. You can always add a second AC later on if you think its necessary.

I have my light on a timer 10 hours per day to encourage algea growth on my back wall. I use black background so the algea doesn't look bad and the GF like to nibble on it.

I think goldfish look best in natural or dark gravel. I have one tank with light-colored quartz gravel and I don't like it.

It really is hard to beat goldfish as a colorful, active fish that can grow to an eye-catching size.

[Darkangel]

Not sure everyone is going to agree with me but a 29 gallon tank is a little small for goldfish. While many people can and do keep GF in these size tanks in large numbers for best growth, looks and health they need more space. I am not sure if you are aware of the true growth potential of fancy GF but they do get big. My three ryukins are currently 6 inches long each. I expect they will get half again as big in the coming years. What is decieving about a fish that is only 6 inches long is the surprising amount of bio mass that that one fish represents. I would guess that each of these fish weighs about the same as 100 neon tetra size fish. You can see where I am going here. For the health of your fish you will need to limit their numbers and eventually I would think you would want only one full size GF in this tank. Most of the authorities on GF recomend at least 20 gallons per fish some even more. Mine spend their winters in a 65 gallon tank and their summers in a 300 gallon pond. Just my two cents worth here, if treated right these fish will live for many many years. Twenty to thirty years is not unreasonable or unheard of. Good luck.

[JeffP]

Show quality goldfish would require 20-30G per fish to provide them more optimum conditions to reach their full potential. Size is important with show quality goldfish so show quality fish tend to be larger. Also, most show quality goldfish undergo extensive line breeding which can decrease their vigor....hence giving them more water per fish is especially important.

29G should be sufficient for a couple of standard ryunkins or orandas or something similar. Fish on average reach about 8"...some a little larger and some less. Keep up with maintenance and they should be fine. You have much more control in an aquarium versus a pond which is why there are usually differences in the fish-per-gallon recommendations between the two.

[Darkangel]

So are you saying that two 8 inch long fish would do fine in a 29 gallon tank? Seems like an awefull lot of fish and not so much water to me. Not something I would do show fish or not. They would be pkay as very small fish but I would think two 4 inch fish in that tank would be good. Just my two cents worth.

[Rook Bartley]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I have several tropical tanks that I have been keeping for many years and I tend to understock them. I know goldfish have the potential to live a long time ie easily 10-15 years. And that they can get big. Unfortunately, I cannot use anything larger than a 29gal. It would be nice to put them in a 75 or a 90, but I have to work with what I got. I'm leaning toward Orandas or some plain Fantails. They get big, but I don't think they are fast swimmers (at least not compared to most tropicals), so I think maybe 3 or 4 should do fine.

How big do Moors gets? Could I do 2 Orandas and a Moor?

[val]

Moors run the same size as the other varities you mentioned.

This is purely anecdotal, and if you have some experience, it may not be as much of an issue, but I never had much success with moors until I kept them in pairs. Since I started a tank with only moors, I haven't lost one (in four years), so I can only recommend two moors, although a single moor would make a beautiful color point vis a vis the orandas...

Val

[Minxnfella]

Hiya,
Well I know you've already got your natural substrate, but I would really recommend darker substrate! I have 3 sarossa comet gf and they are now in with blue and black gravel, against a black background and they look fabulous!

As for the plants...just pond weed. 85p a bunch in the UK (I don't know whereabouts you are) and the fish don't destroy it too much. They eat the algae off it but that's about it now, and with the light on it it's growing!

The gf are in about an 18 gallon *UK* tank with about 15 minnows, and they're doing brilliantly!

As for the gravel....I think you'll find you don't need to clean it all that much as the fish eat anything and everything except their poo, which gets sucked into the filter right? Certainly algae isn't a problem or wasted food , or maybe that's just my fish? These aare of course the fish that headbutt the side of the tank when they decide theyre hungry....or if you put your hand in decide thats dindins too! Bruce Penelope and Lolita, my lil babies!

I've not got all that much experience with fish having only started on the fish thing in the summer but I know that my goldfish are certainly much more entertaining than the guppies...but that's another story. My only regret is that after 3 cycles and loads of moves and temperatures soaring and falling that they might not make the 20 years I'd hoped, but hopefully they'll live to see a bigger, much bigger tank!

OOOH, and they love playing in the bubbles!!!!!!!

[Rook Bartley]

Welp, its all setup!

I wound up with 1 Moor, 3 Ryunkins, 1 Lion head. All about 1" in size. Had them for almost 2 weeks and no casualties yet. They are really lovely and have some personality. The one thing I like about the goldfish is that they are not shy! They don't dart away when I walk near the tank!

Oh yeah, I have a 12" bubble wand thing and a few silk plants. The silk plants were much more expensive than the regular plastic ones, but IMO, I think they were worth it. The Rena air pump is great too as its very quite. Almost too quite!