I'm going to get spanked for this one...

[InR reason]

One of my tanks is a 2.5 gallon with a Nano filter (trust me this little sucker does big time work). I have 3 small goldfish in this thing- Calico, Black Moor, and Red Oranda. I've had them for about 2 months and they're fine. Water parameters are fine- ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, PH at 7.
Now some websites say you should have one goldfish per 10 gallons, etc. I change about 10-15% of the water everyday and my fish have had absolutely no problems. They are healthy eaters, curious about me, beautiful colorings, etc. As I've said even the ammonia level is 0 due to these daily water changes.
If my fish are healthy now and I plan on getting a larger tank when they get bigger am I being "cruel" keeping them in this environment? Or should I keep doing what has been working for both the fish and for me? Thanks.

 

[dorkfish]

well, if you take more than about 1-2 months more time in getting atleast a 29g(and even this will only be tempo.) than yes, it is cruel, and even then it's stil cruel for not starting out with a properly sized tank. if you wait for them to get bigger before getting a larger ank, they won't because thier growth is being stunted and yes, it is cruel. Upgrade ASAP, unless you want to join the many people who stunt thier goldfish, have them die in like three months, and are cruel (even though most of them un-knowingly) to thier fish.

 

[nursie]

Goldfish need more like 20~30 gallons of water per fish.
At this moment in time they may look OK to you, but as we speak they are becoming stunted and will overgrow their current home, and if kept there will die. 10 gallons is not enough. You need to look bigger. These fish will not physically fit in this tank.

 

[daveedka]

The stunting mentioned will essentially compress the internal organs and lead to premature failure of those organs. You may not see the stunting simply because even with dilligent water changes, and care you are sitting on a time bomb. That small of an amount of water will not be forgiving if there is any type of problem. So one little blip, one bad day or one family funeral when you forget about or don't have time for your fish and you'll be out three goldfish. I'm not sure about the normal reccomendations for Goldies, but I have heard 30g per fish mentioned far more than 10g per fish. Might as well look at a 75g or larger, you'll have these guys for 20-30 years if you treat them right.

Dave

 

[InR reason]

Alright thanks you guys. I sure as hell don't want to be cruel to my fish and if this is something I have to do than I will have to do it.