I'm a newbie, and I got a free 25gal tank today :D

Z

ZoeHale

AC Members
Dec 7, 2009
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So my buddy Cody is a total fish nerd, has been since he was 6. And my hubby wanted to get a bigger tank than the crappy .5gal tank from WalMart. And I asked Cody if he had any extra tanks lying around that he didn't want and guess what? He did! I now have a 25gal tank with 2 black moors, a golden fantail, and 7 common goldfish. Yeee!

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Hello and welcome to Aquaria Central. :) Congratulations on your new tank. I have a question though; did you cycle this tank before adding these fishes? You said you just got this free tank today and you already have fish inside. So I'm hoping that perhaps your friend Cody gave you a fully cycled tank? I surely hope so. ;)
 
By cycled you mean cleaned out and had it running for 24 hrs? Why yes.
I'm not a complete 'tard.
 
Hey Zoe,
Welcome to AC and congrats on your new tank. I've been coming here for a few months and can't tell you how much I have learned from everyone here. Even from reading other peoples posts without interacting. You'll find that everyone here is very willing to help and loves their fish just as much as people love their cats and dogs and want to know that they are as well cared for as possible. please do yourself (and your fish)a favor and read the sticky on tank cycling. don't be affraid to ask question. I bothered everyone for at least two months on it, LOL
 
ZoeHale said:
By cycled you mean cleaned out and had it running for 24 hrs? Why yes.
I'm not a complete 'tard.
Click to expand...

Hello again, I apologize if I offended you and no, I absolutely do not think you are a 'tard' in any way. However, cycling is a much more complex process than running a tank for 24 hours. For some, cycling can take up to several months. I don't want to stress you out or suggest or make you feel that I'm insulting your good name and integrity so if I may, I would really like to urge you to read the sticky on properly cycling a tank here: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598

And of course, I'm sure your friend Cody can help you with any questions that you have. Once again, welcome and I truly hope you enjoy your time here. Thank you for sharing pictures of your fish with us. Have a great weekend.
 
Welcome to AC! Nice tank and congrats on the freebie!

Visit our coldwater section and read some of the threads there. You may need to do some decisions on the fish you have in that tank.
 
:welcome: to AC, Zoe!

Stargazer covered the nitrogen cycle issue already so I will just focus on your other issues. This will be a tad overwhelming so please bear with me!

Okay, so we are dealing with 2 black moors, a golden fantail, and 7 common goldfish, all housed in a 25g. Unfortunately, your tank is already overcrowded and on a permanent basis, I wold suggest housing at least two small fancy variants only which neither of the fantail and black moor can accomplish. A good guideline when keeping large fancy varieties is 15g per fish. A lot of fancy goldfish such as fantails and black moors grow to 8-12 inches. They are very bulky as they grow and a 25g will not provide adequate space for that. If you insist keeping goldfish in a 25g, the only goldfish I would ever recommend are the Siamese dolls that grow no more than 5 inches. They are telescopes that are smaller than the regular ones that reach up to 12". Most of the Siamese dolls sold are albinos but they are still very rare to come by.

Here's a good example of how a Siamese doll looks. Currently, Cash is in the quarantine tank until I clear him off for flukes, fish lice and other parasites.
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Telescopes unfortunately are sight-challenged so please do not keep them with fish that are very boisterous and can easily outcompete them for food. Make sure the tankmates you are selecting for them can compete with them equally. IMO, I'd keep them with pearlscales, celestials and bubble eyes only. Ryukins and fantails are far too boisterous to be good tankmates for the telescopes although some people have luck combining them.

I would not suggest keeping only one goldfish on a long term basis. They are sociable fish and therefore should not be deprived of their company. I've observed goldfish to fare much better when kept in pair or groups than individually.

As for the common goldfish (hibuna), these ones grow very large at 12-18 inches. They require plenty of space. A good guideline when stocking them is 20g per fish but these are absolutely not the right choice for any tank smaller than a 75g as they need plenty of space in order to swim properly. A 55g is not an option as it is narrower for them to turn around. They are best kept in large ponds rather than in tanks especially as they have a much better tolerance to cooler temperature than the fancy varieties. Along with the comets and shubunkins, please do not mix the hibunas with fancy varieties. They are very feisty by nature and can quickly outstrip competition for food with the fancies.

Hope this helps.:) If you have any questions, please feel free to ask away!
 
:headshake2: oh dear, so thats 25 gallons, so at absolute maximum you will be keeping 2 fantails, once you have learnt what cycling is all about. i guess if you dont read up on cycling, your fish will most likely die anyway so grossly over stocking wont be an issue. i dont think theres any need for you to come on and acuse people of calling you a 'tard' when you log into a fish forum which is full of people offering advice etc and you obviously need it.
 
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