misinformed and in need of help!

M

mushroomfish

AC Members
Jul 20, 2006
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0
Toronto, Ontario
Hi everyone,

Im a new member here and i was hoping to recieve help from people more experienced than I.

I recently purchased a 20g aquarium kit which cam with a filter rated for 30g. i also own a small filter rated for 10g which i may want to use in conjunction with the other.

It won't surprise anyone to hear that i was told that i can keep 5 or 6 medium goldfish in the 20g. i thought this to be unreasonable so i only purchased 3 babies.(2 pearlscales and 1 ordinary fantail) all of which are 1-1.5". i also added an existing goldfish (looks to be a ryukin with a veiltail) who is aprox. 2-3".

After doing furthur research, i now know that i am still overstocked!! In the spring, i plan to build a pond but until then i cannot afford anything bigger.
I have been taking good care of the tank and perform weekly water changes with a gravel syphon. i always add aged, treated water.

3/4 of my fish are still small and i would hate to have to give any up. would it be unreasonable to keep these guys in 5g per fish for another 10-12 months?

If it is not unreasonable, my question is:

Is there any measures i can take to make my 5g per fish more livable. (eg) more frequent water changes, extra filtration>>?? lighting??? anything at all.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
 
I agree with the above. You can never have to much filtration in a tank. It will only help. I wouldn't say to do water changes everyday but every 3-4 days do a water change of about 30%-40%. As long as your water levels stay stable and the fish don't outgrow the tank then you should be fine for a bit. Keep an eye on the fish if they start acting stressed out then you may need to do something. If worst comes to worst go get another 20g Long tank and split them.
 
hmmm. good idea...
 
it's going to be very difficult to keep the levels stable as the fish grow, especially with a ryunkin in there. I would opt for a large rubbermaid and put some in there to split them up.
 
mushroomfish said:
Hi everyone,

Im a new member here and i was hoping to recieve help from people more experienced than I.

I recently purchased a 20g aquarium kit which cam with a filter rated for 30g. i also own a small filter rated for 10g which i may want to use in conjunction with the other.

It won't surprise anyone to hear that i was told that i can keep 5 or 6 medium goldfish in the 20g. i thought this to be unreasonable so i only purchased 3 babies.(2 pearlscales and 1 ordinary fantail) all of which are 1-1.5". i also added an existing goldfish (looks to be a ryukin with a veiltail) who is aprox. 2-3".

After doing furthur research, i now know that i am still overstocked!! In the spring, i plan to build a pond but until then i cannot afford anything bigger.
I have been taking good care of the tank and perform weekly water changes with a gravel syphon. i always add aged, treated water.

3/4 of my fish are still small and i would hate to have to give any up. would it be unreasonable to keep these guys in 5g per fish for another 10-12 months?

If it is not unreasonable, my question is:

Is there any measures i can take to make my 5g per fish more livable. (eg) more frequent water changes, extra filtration>>?? lighting??? anything at all.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Of course we're going to tell you that you have to make a $1000 investment to keep your fish happy. Not true.

While you can buy a 55-gallon and stand at Wal-Mart for about $160, you may want to consider finances and space considerations. Do you have room, in your house or in your budget, for all these extra accomodations?

If not, you're in luck. You still have a couple of years to supply them.

Although it's not perfect and the goldfish may become slightly territorial, you can keep them stocked for at least a year at a level of one inch of fish per gallon of water. I for example have a 10-gallon with three common goldfish, two are 3" and another is 2.5". When I move out on my own, provided that as an amateur I don't kill them before then, I'll probably a 55 for my commons to live out full lives in.

Extra accomodations? Just change the water about once a week. Once your tank is cycled, you don't have to worry about toxins as much ... as long as you don't interrupt the biological state of the aquarium. Nitrate doesn't become poisonous to fish until it's off the chart, though some would say it stunts the fish's growth. To prevent that from happening, add a plant or two. But you really don't have to worry much about that yet. Your fish are still relatively tiny.

But if you want your fish to live 43 years, keep it in a tiny cramped bowl like that old lady in England did.. lol. Tish the goldfish, says the British news service (whatever it was) died peacefully in its bowl. He was apparently stunted at 4.5", but some people don't want their fish to grow too large anyway.
 
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You are just uneducated.

A goldfish does most of its growing in the first 3 years of its life. A full grown goldfish should reach at least 8 inches when 6 years old and if genetics are good can get to 12 inches plus.
For that reason I believe goldfish should only be kept in ponds but if subjected to four glass walls of a prison have the decency to admit it will eventually need 75+ gallons.
Would you keep a full grown oscar of 12 inches in less than 15 gallons? I would hope not
Fantails can and do get to 12 inches plus but again genetics may not allow much morew than 8.
To keep goldfish in a gallon of water per inch is just down right cruel. If you cant afford to house an animal properly, whatever it is, then dont buy it. Simple.

A common goldfish needs at least 20 gallons each in the first 3 years of life so it can grow without becoming stunted and deformed. Fantails arent the great swimmers that common types are and can live quite happily for a year in a 10 gallon.

The example you gave of Tish is one of extreme cruelty. Yes the fish lived for a long time but did it have a quality of life? I doubt it.
 
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