Moving goldfish from 1g to 15g tank

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Andrman

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Jul 26, 2004
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Naperville, IL/Peoria, IL
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Hi everyone,

My sister got me a goldfish for my birthday in a 1 gallon tank (see thread here ). While researching care (I'm totally new to this) I found that this tank is waaaaay too small. I am just about sure I'm going to spend my money and get a 15 gallon tank that was on sale at the LFS. Unless 15 gallons is still too small for one goldfish. Is it?

So my question is this: what's the best proccess to use in getting the fish in the new tank, keeping in mind his current (horrbile) living conditions? These are the options I can think of:

1) Fishless cycle in the 15 gallon tank - leave Hank in the old 1 gallon tank for the entire cycling period (2 weeks for fishless cycle?), nightly water changes

The only negative point I see in option 1 is that the 1 gallon tank is still unhealthy for him. But with nightly water changes, could he do it?

2) Move him to new tank 24 hours after filling, and let him be the cycle fish.

I know that fishy cycles are hard on fish, but would a cycle in a bigger tank be easier on him than a cycle in the current tank (because he is cycling his current tank right now)?

3) Start fishless cycle, but put him in somewhere in the middle before completion and let him "take over"

I'm not sure of the safety of this, but it was an idea I had. Has anyone ever done this? I think I'll search the forum later if I can...
 
Great!

15 is ideal for a single goldfish!

Do lots of water changes to keep ammonia at or below 1.0 if possible. Be sure to match temperature and to dechlorinate each time.

Be sure you have the right dechlorinator, I like Prime as it does everything and protects the fish during cycling from ammonia and nitrites while allowing the biofilter to get established. You can use it at high doses safely.

Give some thought to keeping the tank barebottom, just tape some colored paper or fabric or plastic to the bottom of the tank before you set it up. Make the tiny siphon wi the the airline and stick and vac that floor when you see it messy. You can still decorate with fake plants that have the weighted bottoms.

You can even have live plants tied to driftwood if you want, a 15 gallon tank is long and has a nice size flourescent light I think, you could do java fern and anubias easily, even have hornwort or anachris floating or tied to a suction cup at the back of the tank.

The anachris is "goldfish salad" and the fish will thank you! Set the tank on a timer for 12 hours of light a day. That's gonna be great!

In fact if you add those plants, even just the anachris floating right now, the plant will soak up the ammonia as fertilizer and protect the fish from most of the cycling damage! A symbiotic relationship.
 
So putting the fish and an anarchis plant in immediatley will allow a reasonably healthy cycling environment?

About keeping the tank bare-bottom... what are the advantages to this? I know that the ammonia-eating bacteria reside in the gravel, but I suppose also the nasty gunk can live there too. Is keeping a tank bare more common for goldfish?
 
I have never kept a gold fish (or a bare bottom tank), but I think the advantage to it is there is no place for gunk to collect. The bulk of your beneficial bacteria will be in your filter, not on your gravel (I did a 100% gravel change a while back and was told that I did not have to keep my old gravel in the tank for a few days to allow the bacteria to move onto the new gravel... I kept the old gravel in there anyway (in nylon stockings), but it was not necessary, as beneficial bacteria lives mainly in the filter).

That being said, I would never keep a bare bottom tank, only because I think it would spook the fish out a bit... as anonapersona recommended, you could put a piece of cloth under the bottom of the tank to darken that up (or, if the tank will be on a solid wood surface, as opposed to a metal stand, then that would make the bottom dark anyway).

If I were you, I'd probably do a very thin layer of substrate (like 1/2"), but that's just me, I think a tank looks better with something on the bottom.

I think your fish will be very happy in the new tank. And again, as anonapersona said, you could safely put the fish and some plants (if you want some plants) into the tank right away, after being sure the temperature is stable... just be sure to do water changes daily (which you would do anyway, if you kept him in the smaller tank)...

Good luck!

~Tara

ps... while you're at the fish store, you could always get a betta for that 1 gallon tank :D
 
I think somebody here is a big Betta fan... :)

I could definitely get a betta... but right now I just want to get the poor goldfish in a healthy environment!! I'm going to look into substrate, because I really do enjoy the thought of having something on the bottom. However goldfish sites seem to say that gravel is optional and just requires you clean more.

My shopping list: feel free to critique!

-tank (15 gallon)
-siphon
-buckets (2)
-light (if not with tank)
-filter, biowheel (if not with tank) <-will this provide enough water agitation?
-thermometer
-test kit <- do I really need this? is it expensive?
-algae scrubber <- do I really need this?
-anachris plant
 
What a lucky little goldfish

You're amazing! What a lucky little fish!
15g is great, he'll be very happy. I'd go with your option #2, get Hank into that new tank, put a good filter on it, and watch the water parameters. You'll still have to do daily water changes, but they'll be much less stressful for him in a big tank.
I'm with Tara, I'd give him some substrate. Goldfish LOVE to peck around in the substrate, and if you do gravel vacs when you water change it'll be fine. I don't recommend a UGF, though, since their hunting around can stir up the detritus that the filter collects. If you haven't got the filter yet, I suggest you get something with a higher flow rate than you'd normally buy for a 15g - find an Aquaclear or Penguin or other HOB that's rated for a larger tank so you've got enough biological media to safely deal with all that goldfish waste.
How goofy am I, I'm excited on your fish's behalf. He's gonna be so happy!
 
I love bettas, yes, I do, I'll admit it! Every time I go into the store I have to look at them, even though I've been forbidden to get anymore (I only have one right now, but if I had my way, I'd have 1 or 2 gallon bowls/tanks in every room, LOL!)

-tank (15 gallon) - good size

-siphon - yes

-buckets (2) yes, though if strapped for cash you can get away w/ one, but they're relatively cheap

-light (if not with tank) - good

-filter, biowheel (if not with tank) <-will this provide enough water agitation? Marineland bio-wheel Pro 60 is only $27.99 at big al's, and would be a great filter for your tank (plent of filtration and surface movement)http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=22313;category_id=1729;pcid1=2885;pcid2=
or even the Emperor biowheel 280, which is $1 more
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=22135;category_id=1721;pcid1=2885;pcid2=

-thermometer - yes, but don't let the store talk you into a heater, you do not need this unless for some reason your house gets down to like 30 degrees in the wintertime!

-test kit <- do I really need this? is it expensive? at a minimum get ammonia, nitrite and nitrate for now... I think about $4 each

-algae scrubber <- do I really need this? no, a good scrub with a sponge (used for fish tank only) or even a paper towel at every water change is sufficient

-anachris plant don't know much about plants, but anonapersona recommended it for goldies, so i'd take his word

The only thing I'd add is a small bag (like 5lbs) of some type of substrate, but then again, that's just my preference!

~Tara
 
Can I add substrate later if I want? I'm not sure I want it yet, but may later when I get onto the "decorating" phase.

As for the filter, should I have it already running when the fish goes in? I could get this one from Big Al's I suppose, and then just wait for it to arrive before I put Hank in?
 
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