After quite a bit of drilling around, doing my research etc, I decided on converting my standard 55 gallon into a goldfish tank. I'm running clean, cycled water with a penguin 350, have a heater in there keeping temperature at 77(it was previously for a tropical community) and have an air pump rated at 60 gallons keeping the water well oxygenated. It has plenty of plastic plant shelter, some fake wood etc along with medium gravel mixed with some larger pieces. Ph is just around 7.0 and nitrates are at minimal levels. I was wondering if I could support goldfish at all, and if so how many, what kinds...and any further thoughts?
First goldfish tank! help!
- Thread starter technaturalist
- Start date
Dangerdoll
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you can probably have 3 or 4 round bodied goldfish in there, I would just lower the temp to about 74 though for their comfort.
the only issue i see with the set up is the whole "clean cycled water" thing. if the tank is empty and you are not adding an ammonia source to it, it is no longer cycled even if it had fish in it before. the bacteria starve and die without food. you will have to start over with the cycle before adding your goldfish.
Agreed. I have an Aquaclear 300 and an Emperor HOB on my 55 gallon tank where I have 3 goldfish. My tank is without a heater since room temp stays at about 70F.
Good luck
It hasn't been too long since I last had quite a few fish in the tank, and I didn't over-clean the gravel so I think my bacteria should be fine. If I installed another filter on there, would I be able to fit 5 fish in there? I was considering 3 round bodies with a pair of comets or shubunkins. Also, its far easier to find high quality koi food for relativily cheap around I've noticed, would I be alright feeding my fish koi food?
Why the distinction between comets and shubbies? They are both long bodied types, and both get huge. I'd really stick with fancies for this tank, as a 55 is only really good for temporary housing for the comets. Heck, even the fancies may very well outgrow your current tank. Also, 3 is the highest number I'd put in there as well. Though some people have had success mixing the two types, more often than not, doing so leads to the slower and less efficient fancies being out-competed for food, so it's best to stick to the round body type for now.
Yes, that size tank is not large enough for long-bodied goldfish.
I would recommend getting about 6 and then as they grow pick which ones you want to keep in there and rehome the others to good homes.
Yes, the filtration needs to be upgraded. I do nto focus on gph, moving water doesn't clean it. I focus on what the filter claims it can handle. In general I cut it in half, so if it claims it can handle 100 gallons, it is worth about 50 gallons. With high bioload fish like cichlids and goldfish I add even more filtration. The difference is really shown with canisters, frequently canisters have a lower flow but can handle much more than other filters of the same flow rate. Fortunately either way you end up with enough filtration, but don't get caught up on exactly how much flow it is putting out. I personally would add a Fluval 405.
I would recommend getting about 6 and then as they grow pick which ones you want to keep in there and rehome the others to good homes.
Yes, the filtration needs to be upgraded. I do nto focus on gph, moving water doesn't clean it. I focus on what the filter claims it can handle. In general I cut it in half, so if it claims it can handle 100 gallons, it is worth about 50 gallons. With high bioload fish like cichlids and goldfish I add even more filtration. The difference is really shown with canisters, frequently canisters have a lower flow but can handle much more than other filters of the same flow rate. Fortunately either way you end up with enough filtration, but don't get caught up on exactly how much flow it is putting out. I personally would add a Fluval 405.
Upgrade that filter and you can easily fit 3-5 fancies. A 55 is much too small for any singletails, but fancies would do quite well.