New goldfish tank questions

[BakerBert]

Hello all
I have adopted 3 fancy goldfish(1 Gold fantail, 1 Calico Fantail and a black moor) They were given to me with a 10 gallon tank, Currently the largest one is only about 2 ½” long. The guy told me that the fish were bought less then a year ago.
I have found a good deal on a 37 gallon tank and a currently doing a fishless cycle, the tank should be ready in a week or two. On the 37 gallon I have an Aqua Clear 70 that moves 300 gph, and a full bubble wall for aeration.
My questions to you are;
Is this enough filtration for the tank?
Is this tank big enough for 3 goldfish?
And if it is big enough do you think that I could get away with a small school of 6 white cloud minnows?

Thank you for any advice.

 

[Notophthalmus]

The goldies will outgrow the 37. The usual rule-of-thumb is 30 gallons for one fancy goldfish, 20 more for each additional goldie. A 75 gallon would be ideal for your three goldfish and a school of white clouds.

The goldies will be fine in the 37 for the time being, though, and that filter should be adequate. I would hold off on the white clouds until you have a bigger tank.

 

[ITHURTZ]

For 3 fancies you should have no smaller than a 55gallon.

 

[reptileguy2727]

Since the tank they are already in is cycled you can skip fishless cycling the larger tank and just move them into the 37 AS LONG AS you move the filter that is on their current tank with them. Effectively all the nitrifying bacteria are in the filter so as long as the filter moves with them it will instantly cycle the new tank. To be safe you can feed lightly for a few days and up the water changes the first week or so.

I generally go by 20 gallons for one and an additional ten per additional goldfish. This assumes an adequate water change schedule (keeps nitrate concentration under 20ppm) and adequate filtraiton. By the basic guide they need at least a 40, effectively what you have. However they are a schooling species so therefore should be in groups of at least 6. This puts the minimum for them at a 75.

Stocking is more than just X gallons per fish. The most important thing is the water change schedule. An 'oversized' tank is not enough if not enough water changes are done. There is a whole article on stocking an aquarium in my blog, please read it. There is also a sticky goldfish article, please read that as well.

 

[April12]

I keep 4 fancy goldfish in a 38 with 2 Marineland Bio-Wheel 200 filters. I do 30-50% water changes weekly. The filters seem to handle the ammonia & nitrite without any problems, but the water gets somewhat murky before each water change.

As stated by others above, the usual recommendation is 10-20 gallons per goldfish depending on the size of the goldfish and the capacity of your filter.

 

[ITHURTZ]

April your doing nothing but harming your fish in the long run. IMO thats to little of a water change for that big of a stock. Your water should always stay clear. Time to bump up to 50% 2-3 time a week.

 

[reptileguy2727]

April:
What is the nitrate concentration?

Without this we CANNOT say that it is not enough water changes for that bioload. If it is remaining under 20ppm (right before the water change) then it is enough for now.

 

[April12]

Nitrate is between 0 and 5 right before the water change. At this point it's working. If my water parameters start getting out of whack, then I will adjust my stocking level accordingly.

While goldfish are capable of growing to be 10", not every goldfish is genetically capable of attaining that size.

 

[Flaringshutter]

April, I would disagree with that. The only goldfish I can think of that might possibly reach a total, healthy adult size of 10 inches would be a ranchu. Any other properly cared for goldfish will reach at least 8 inches in adult body length, not including fins, which can add another 4-5 inches. And with fancies, remember that length is really only the maximum dimension for some varieties. In ryukins, they might be another 8 inches tall, and 4 inches wide.... that's a big bruiser, with large tank requirements. Not to mention the appetite, and the waste production! Yikes.

 

[reptileguy2727]

[post truncated]

...However, this is by no means an excuse to be neglectful or stunt them and simply claim they would not have gotten any bigger anyways. Only under ideal conditions when some individuals in the tank are reaching very large sizes and other individuals stay smaller can you know for sure that those smaller individuals really are genetically set to be a little smaller.