Goldfish and Plants?

[JenniferLynn]

I had a question about what plants would do well with goldfish but not make it so I have to get a lot of equipment that I just started reading about here. I’ve read that goldfish can be hard on plants but I’m thinking of plants for their enjoyment more than mine as long as it’s not replace plant daily :) I have the gem stones for the bottom of the tank now but don’t know if I will when I get my bigger tank that the plants would be in. I don’t know if something from bulbs would work with the gems or if I would defiantly have to change that to get plants. I also saw water lily bulbs at Wal-Mart for fish tanks but didn’t want to do it until I read more.

The only local LFS is Wal-Mart and next is over 100 miles away so I can’t get info from that source. When I picked up my goldies I had to convince the guy bagging them up to separate two male bettas someone had put in the same cup…He didn’t want to do it said he’d tell management, like management is going to help the situation if he waited and I had to say if he didn’t do it I would. Oh yeah also ended up with a leaking bag but discovered it before I got the the car and had to get a second bag...management heard about that one. I wouldn't have had any water when I got home 40 minutes away.

I’m just looking for some general ideas and see what has worked well for others so I can read more up before I do anything. Thanks for the help

[Mgamer20o0]

i would try anubias. though again they are known to eat plants. you can order them off line. i have them most times. nice that you can order and have them come to you when your so far away.

[msjinkzd]

I agree that some anubias would work well. You can anchor them to decoration. They are hardy, low light, and not palatable.

[KarlTh]

Java fern ditto.

[James0816]

With our goldie, we had java ferns and assorted sword plants. Used to have replant a few of the swords everyday until I came up with a fairly nifty idea. The thing with goldies is they like to constantly move the substrate. So what I did was use field stone and create a diamond and place the plant in the middle of it. This created a "safe" place for the plant and made it harder for the goldie to sift through that part of the substrate. He eventually just worked the areas around the plants and wouldn't bother them.

[6.5x55]

Egeria densa - extremely easy to grow and goldfish love to eat it. Goldfish are omnivorous and love eating this stuff :).

[THE V]

Some goldfish are fine with plants, others consider them salad.

If the plant is soft then it will probably not make it. If it is harder (higher lignin content) it has a better chance of surviving.

Even the harder plants can get torn up by goldfish if they are the only thing in the tank. I've found that by adding large quantities of softer plants to eat I can keep a few of the harder plants as decoration... until my common (Beast) decides it's shreddy time.

BTW Goldfish will devour duckweed and small pond snails like it's candy.

[JenniferLynn]

I'm ok with salad part of the time and I'll have to remember duckweek is a gift for special occasions;) Now that I have an idea where to start it's time to do some reading. Thanks for the help.

[Cliff Mayes]

I get Duckweed at Auction for a buck a bag 'cause no one wants it. The Goldfish get a couple of days of gorging but raising the stuff with Goldfish around is difficult. Any readily available food will be eaten until the stuff coming out is the same as what goes in. This is normal behavior.

The harder plants can eventually can get eaten but I have never tried to pawn them off onto other softer more preferred plants, which might work.

The constant foraging can be a trial in a planted tank but perserverance helps until the Goldfish decide to eat the plants.