How many goldfish in a 20 gallon tank?
- Thread starter S2000
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Woah - 2 gold fish for a 20 gallon tank?!
I never once thought you would need that big of a tank for a goldfish...
I remember when I was little, my parents got me 4 goldfish, and those made it a good 7-odd years in a standard ten gallon with an aerator and a filter that looked like a little greenish box filled with salt and pepper and suctioned onto the side.
They got to be at least three to four inches long.
I thought gold fish grew to match the size of their tank...
:feedback:
I never once thought you would need that big of a tank for a goldfish...
I remember when I was little, my parents got me 4 goldfish, and those made it a good 7-odd years in a standard ten gallon with an aerator and a filter that looked like a little greenish box filled with salt and pepper and suctioned onto the side.
They got to be at least three to four inches long.
I thought gold fish grew to match the size of their tank...
:feedback:
A 3-4" goldfish is either still young or stunted...sounds like the latter. The average goldfish can live well beyond 10 years.
Nothing grows to the size of its tank if it is healthy. That is the catch though...a cramped fish isn't healthy.
Nothing grows to the size of its tank if it is healthy. That is the catch though...a cramped fish isn't healthy.
This is a really old post, but since it's been revived I guess I will chime in.
I have seen my share of stunted goldfish in 10 gallon tanks. Perhaps they did live to 10 years or perhaps slightly more, which seems like a pretty good run, but remember these fish can potentially live 30 years or more. I doubt they lived their lives without experiencing ich, finrot, fungus, or other issues. Finally they got one last illness, a more serious one - maybe popeye, dropsy, furunculosis, etc - and it finally did them in. These are environmental diseases. The fish get sick from being in dirty water, because even a small stunted goldfish will still foul a 10 gallon tank, making it acidic with nitrates unacceptably high. If the person is keeping the tank well, changing water every week, the goldfish will actually outgrow the tank, because it is not the size of the tank that stunts the fish, it is the waste products produced (many of them unmeasurable, such as metabolites) that keep them stunted. They have done studies where they keep fry (I believe rainbow trout) in 5 gallon containers and have fresh water continuously flowing and they actually grow so big they cannot turn around in there any longer. I am sorry, but I can't remember the details to site the source.
Most diseases of goldfish are environmental in nature, and can be avoided with the right sized tank and diet. These are things you have to focus on with goldfish, much more so than most other common fish. Plenty of fish are great for small tanks, goldfish are just not one of them.
Much of the literature says you can keep a goldfish in 20 gallons but this is very much their minimum requirements, just like an oscar in a 55 gallon is the minimum. Everybody who has seen a goldfish and an oscar thriving knows they need a bigger tank than this, but the minimum requirements are unlikely to change. Same with a "breeding pair of angels in a 20 gallon high" - rubbish! Ok, this is fine for the breeding tank, but as a permanent home? It is not adequate.
I have seen my share of stunted goldfish in 10 gallon tanks. Perhaps they did live to 10 years or perhaps slightly more, which seems like a pretty good run, but remember these fish can potentially live 30 years or more. I doubt they lived their lives without experiencing ich, finrot, fungus, or other issues. Finally they got one last illness, a more serious one - maybe popeye, dropsy, furunculosis, etc - and it finally did them in. These are environmental diseases. The fish get sick from being in dirty water, because even a small stunted goldfish will still foul a 10 gallon tank, making it acidic with nitrates unacceptably high. If the person is keeping the tank well, changing water every week, the goldfish will actually outgrow the tank, because it is not the size of the tank that stunts the fish, it is the waste products produced (many of them unmeasurable, such as metabolites) that keep them stunted. They have done studies where they keep fry (I believe rainbow trout) in 5 gallon containers and have fresh water continuously flowing and they actually grow so big they cannot turn around in there any longer. I am sorry, but I can't remember the details to site the source.
Most diseases of goldfish are environmental in nature, and can be avoided with the right sized tank and diet. These are things you have to focus on with goldfish, much more so than most other common fish. Plenty of fish are great for small tanks, goldfish are just not one of them.
Much of the literature says you can keep a goldfish in 20 gallons but this is very much their minimum requirements, just like an oscar in a 55 gallon is the minimum. Everybody who has seen a goldfish and an oscar thriving knows they need a bigger tank than this, but the minimum requirements are unlikely to change. Same with a "breeding pair of angels in a 20 gallon high" - rubbish! Ok, this is fine for the breeding tank, but as a permanent home? It is not adequate.
Wow, someone sure dredged up an old thread. Since there's a good share of misinformation posted here, I'll add a few comments.
Of the fancy goldfish, even the smallest types (pearlscales, tosakins, etc.) should have 15 gallons of water per fish.
Pond types as in comets and commons need 20 gallons per fish.
Goldfish are not solitary fish. There should be 3 or more together in the same tank or they won't thrive.
The very delicate fancies should never be mixed in with more boisterous pond types (or fantails which are classified as fancies but are more of an intermediate in body type between the fancies and pond fish).
To calculate minimum tank volume for a goldfish tank, figure out how many of them you'll have and add up the individual requirements (15 or 20 gallons per fish based on type).
In addition to water volume, set up the tank with 10 times the gallon size for filtering at gallons per hour. Example: A 60 gallon tank for goldfish should be set up with filter(s) that push 600 gallons of water per hour (GPH). Using multiple filters or combining canisters with HOBs to achieve this overall level of filtration works quite well.
Follow these minimum recommendations for your goldfish tank setup makes routine tank maintenance very simple. This allows you to do the same small partial water changes and gravel vacs the same way you would any other tropical community fish tank. No extra effort will be needed to keep your goldies alive, happy, disease free, and in good health.
The problem with overcrowding, overstocking, or under-filtering a gold fish tank is that it leads to high stress, disease, parasites, poor immunity, stunting, and early death.
Of the fancy goldfish, even the smallest types (pearlscales, tosakins, etc.) should have 15 gallons of water per fish.
Pond types as in comets and commons need 20 gallons per fish.
Goldfish are not solitary fish. There should be 3 or more together in the same tank or they won't thrive.
The very delicate fancies should never be mixed in with more boisterous pond types (or fantails which are classified as fancies but are more of an intermediate in body type between the fancies and pond fish).
To calculate minimum tank volume for a goldfish tank, figure out how many of them you'll have and add up the individual requirements (15 or 20 gallons per fish based on type).
In addition to water volume, set up the tank with 10 times the gallon size for filtering at gallons per hour. Example: A 60 gallon tank for goldfish should be set up with filter(s) that push 600 gallons of water per hour (GPH). Using multiple filters or combining canisters with HOBs to achieve this overall level of filtration works quite well.
Follow these minimum recommendations for your goldfish tank setup makes routine tank maintenance very simple. This allows you to do the same small partial water changes and gravel vacs the same way you would any other tropical community fish tank. No extra effort will be needed to keep your goldies alive, happy, disease free, and in good health.
The problem with overcrowding, overstocking, or under-filtering a gold fish tank is that it leads to high stress, disease, parasites, poor immunity, stunting, and early death.
(not my pics)
View attachment 83657
self explanatory
just be prepared for their maximum possible sizes
What kind of tank is that...??
So you would say that 3 comets in a 55 gallon tank is just about right?
While I agree it's not horrible, it's not really ideal either, because they can never reach their full potential. Look at this lovely common:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Goldfish3.jpg/560px-Goldfish3.jpg
I doubt it got that way being in a 55 gallon tank!
They routinely reach 8" but can grow much larger, up to a foot. Three 8-12" fish in a 55 gallon tank? Just not enough, IMO.
a single 8-12" fish in a 55gal would be fine but multiple 8-12" would need a bigger home.
The pic you provide looks like some big goldies in what I would guess to be a 55gal or 75gal. Look how close it is to the bottom and how much room is left for him to get to the top. I would love goldfish but I prefer the pond types and I got no room for a pond
The pic you provide looks like some big goldies in what I would guess to be a 55gal or 75gal. Look how close it is to the bottom and how much room is left for him to get to the top. I would love goldfish but I prefer the pond types and I got no room for a pond
i have 3 shubunkins in a 90 and that is pushing it to the limit they need at least 125 or bigger,.. but alas i don't have the floor for it,.. so trying to find a place for a pond,.. and mine are only 8 inches as of now
The other problem is that a standard 55g is only 12" wide. That wouldn't give a full grown comet nearly enough space to turn around in comfortably.
