Cold Water Tank Plan

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Peekaboo

Some Guy
Jul 14, 2004
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New Westminster, BC Canada
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I have a flat-backed-pentagonal tank. Its dimensions are length 37 inches, width 14, and height 16. It has an under-gravel filter (hopefully set up right!), side filter, and a double pump bubbler. It has 2 inches gravel in front inclining to 3 inches at the back.

I plan to have in it:

6 Fancy Goldfish
9 Whiteclouds
2 Ghost Shrimp

I will keep it at room temperature. I will feed goldfish flakes. I've started the cycle with 10 tiny formerly-feeder Whiteclouds.

Are there any comments on mistakes or things to look out for. This is my second tank and I’ve only been at the hobby for a month and I’m doing my best to keep my fish healthy and happy!
 
By the way, the more I read the more I suspect that 6 full-sized goldfish are too much for a 33 gallon tank. If that is so, how long would it take them to outgrow it if they start at an inch long. I may get a third tank or a pond in a couple of years.
 
2 seems like an extreme minimum. I think my revised plan will be.

4 Fancy Goldfish
9 Whiteclouds
2 Ghost Shrimp

Do weekly water changes and cut down to 3 goldfish if the water quality is poor or they seem crowded in a year. I know a guy who would take an extra goldfish for his pond if it could survive the transition.

Any other issues I may have to deal with apart from overcrowding?
 
Fancy goldfish are not pond fish. I would say 3 at max in that tank as they do not tend to get as long as regulars. Also check out the exact type of fancy as some are not coldwater at all but more temperat.

Don't get more fish than your current setup can handle. Don't assume that in the future there will be a good place to put excess fish, especially a tank you don't already own.
 
Also white clouds aren't meant to eat goldfish food. I would do a mix of goldfish and tropical food. That should help keep them healthier.
 
And in 6 months you'll be down to 4 goldfish as they will chow the white clouds and the shrimp. And out grow that tank. 2 is a decent bio load for that tank.
*sighs*
Good Luck
 
Originally posted by Peekaboo 2 seems like an extreme minimum.
Click to expand...

It does now, when they are young but as an informed (experienced) fish keeper, you must think ahead and have the patience needed to keep a healthy aquarium.

I have two close friends who are married and every time I come to their home, they ask if I want one of their goldfish (which are all fancy). They have 4 goldfish in a 55-gallon, and are looking to upgrade.

Fancy goldfish can product just as much waste as pond fish, and can easily get 8-10 inches. Many reach one foot.
 
So the white clouds will become a meal for the goldfish? I was informed they wouldn't be by the so-called authority at the store. Can anyone confirm that the goldfish will eat the white clouds at some point?

I also have a friend who has had kept 2 fancy goldfish (Orandas, I think) in an outdoor barrel pond for 5 years now. So they can survive in that sort of environment, perhaps if not mixed with koi or something? I live in Vancouver Canada as well so it aint the warmest place!!!!!!! She does have to melt the ice once and a while with her coffee mug in the morning. So I know that that advice is at least partially incorrect.

Given everyone is so gunho about 1 goldfish per 500 acres of water. ;) I guess I'll go with 3. I hope they don't eat the white clouds. But if they do, so be it.


Thanks for the advice on mixing the two foods together, that is very helpful.

And if the monsters do work into a foot long....I'll make arrangements somehow to cut down to two. Thanks for the warning, I was thinking 6 inches maximum.
 
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So to summarize, my current plan

3 Fancy Goldfish
9 Whiteclouds
2 Shrimp of some kind (voted most likely not to be eaten)

And hope the goldfish don't eat the whiteclouds, and make sure one goldfish is a fantail or something fairly hardy so I can move him outside into a small pond if he gets too big.

And feed a mix of tropical and goldfish flakes.

Potential problems:
a) Shrimp and/or whiteclouds may get eaten.
b) Goldfish become monsters and 3 may be too many so I may have to move one outside in the spring or summer, but some say fancy goldfish aren't hardy enough for that.
 
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