Help Stocking Goldfish Tank!

[lilim10]

It's been a while since I've been on these forums since I've been busy with school, but since it's summer and my mother wants to start keeping goldfish, I thought I'd set it up for her. The tank is the one in my signature, but it's been empty save for a lone rosy red and a nerite snail or two for the past few years.

I've never kept goldfish before (except incorrectly many a year ago in the horrible bowls, but fish torture doesn't count as fish keeping), but I know the general info on them from browsing around. Preferably, I want to keep long-bodied golfish because I like their look and their activeness. The tank was bought as a 90 gallon, but I remember doing measurements a looong while back and having the volume come out to something a bit less, about 80-some. I'll do another measurement once I'm back home in a week or so. There's two rena xp3 cannister filters, as well as a large hang on back. At the moment, only one rena xp3 is on, the other filters have been sitting dry for a while. There's sand as substrate, but I'm planning on removing it to keep the goldfish (knowing how messy they are! Bare bottom would be easier). From what I've read, these specs should be able to accommodate long-bodied goldfish.

My questions are regarding the more specifics of stocking with long-bodied goldfish. I'm aware there are three main types: common, comet, and shubunkin, and all three grow quite large. But I read somewhere that shubunkins are slightly smaller than comets, which are slightly smaller than commons, on average. Is this true? I'd like to have as many long-bodied goldfish as possible in my tank and have a normal water change schedule. Therefore I want the smallest strain possible, so are shubunkins my best bet? Also, would there be breeders who know the genetics of their fish and would be able to provide slightly smaller long-bodied ones? (By smaller I mean 8-10 inches instead of 12-16 inches) If there are, I might try getting fish from them.

From reading, I figure I can probably hold 3-4 long-bodied goldies, but that's very few fish for a big tank. So I was thinking maybe scale back a goldfish (3?) and add in some rosy reds for extra interest. How does that sound?

Thanks!

 

[kissofcrimson]

Honestly I don't believe Comets, Commons, or Shubunkins should be housed in tanks because they fare so much better in a pond setting but it can be done in a large tank if you provide good maintenance.

The smallest of the three would actually be Comets, as they are a smaller, long-tailed version of a Common and usually max out at 14 inches but they can get bigger. Shubunkins are known to reach 16+ inches as well as Commons, so your best bet if doing long bodied Goldfish would be Comets.

Why not fancy Goldfish though? You could put three times as many and not have to worry about potentially upgrading the tank in the future. I would say 3-4 Comets would be okay in an 80-90 gallon but you could have 6-8 Fancies (depending on breed) in a tank of the same size.

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[SANDYBOTTOM]

2 would be pushing it. i would stick to fancy types.in a 80 gallon you could house 5 or 6. they have loads of personality and can live 20+ years. use a filter that can push out 800 gallons per hour atleast. you may need 2 cannister filters to achieve this.when you clean the filters, alternate. don't clean both on the same day. also use a bubbler as goldies are oxygen hogs.

 

[tiger_cory]

Agree with kissofcrimson. Long- bodied goldfish would fare much better in a pond, and maybe in that tank just one comet/shubunkin would just about fill it. How about the fancy goldfish? Ryukins are fairly hardy fish but they're extremely deep- bodied. If you like deep bodies then they should be fine. My LFS sells them as fantails. There are also celestials, bubble eyes, and telescope eyes. In my opinion they look sort of creepy because their eyes are you know... bigger. But anyway, that's just my opinion. Orandas and lionheads both have brain- like growths on their heads called a hood. Lionheads don't have dorsal fins, making them less hardy than other fancy goldfish. Ranchus are lionheads without hoods. If you don't like deep bodies, spherical bodies, or brains growing out of a fish's head, why not try a wakin? Only grow to about six inches and are twin-tailed varieties of common goldfish.
Every fish listed here has a twin tail.

P.S. Fancy goldfish should only be kept with other fancy goldfish. They are slow to the food and would be outcompeted by single tailed varieties and wakins.

 

[SANDYBOTTOM]

i disagree with a few of tiger corys points. fantails and ryukins are not similar.ryukins have a humpback. lionheads are straight backed with a raspberry like head growth called a wen.true that they are dorsal-less.but having no dorsal does not make them less hardy.ranchus are round back fish also without a dorsal.ranchus also have wens.and wakins can get bigger than 6 inches.they should be kept in ponds ideally.