New to the Zoo

[Queen Chubs]

For all those fish I'd go with a tank not smaller then 50 gallons. All goldfish aqre pooping machines that require larger tanks and a very strong filtration.

Let us know the size of the tank and what filter you are using

our tank has been running for about a year and a half. we have a 20 gallon tank with a 30 gallon aquaclear filter system. We had turtles previously. we had of course cleaned the tank and put in fresh water, which ran for about a week or so before we added a few fish..then a few more etc as per instructed by the 'fish guys' at the pet store. our tank stays at about 72 degrees and we were told that we could have platy's and the lionhead all living happily. we also have a plecko (which we were told can't survive in cooler water, although we've had him for a year and a half and he's grown about 4 inches) Oh..and we also but a bit of aquarium salt in the tank for the ph due to the mollies (also told to do by the fish guys)

we are just worried about the couple of platy's (just one kind in particular) that seem to be picking at the lionhead...will this stress him too much? should we just put the 2 evil platy's in another tank?

 

[patoloco]

Tropical fish and coldwater fish have different requirements: temperature, feeding, filtration, oxigenation.

If a fish is being picked constantly by another, it will be stressed and his inmune system performance will be reduced thus becoming a sick/sad fish.

Ny best advice would be to put tropicals and coldwater fish in separate tanks. And goldfish requirew tanks larger then 20 gl. For a single goldfish, a 30 would be a strict minimum. For 2, 50 gallons minimum, and so on. Also, consider a stronger filtration.

Also, stocking limits vary among those fish. Coldwater fish require more dissolved oxigen in the water (cooler water transports more oxigen than warm water) so they require more surface area per fish than their tropical conterparts.

 

[Dangerdoll]

I think it would be your best bet... a pleco is another big fish that will need a lot of filtration. What size is the other tank?

 

[mishi8]

I'd honestly house the goldfish in another, bigger tank, because of potential problems with keeping coldwater and tropical fish together and the fact that the goldfish will do better with a larger tank.

Regarding the platy behaviour, they are generally peaceful, but it's always possible that one can have a more agressive personality. I've got a platy like that who is not friendly to any other fish, especially when he's "interested" in one of my female platies. Additionally, it's also not unusual for fish to pick on an unhealthy fish.

 

[sumthin fishy]

It should be noted there is a King and a Queen chubs here.

Ok, as stated before it is very dificult to find a reputable fish store. many of the things they will tell you are myths that have propogated by the industry, and sadly, have been touted as facs. You can let a tank run empty for a year, and it still wont be suitable for fish without a means of supporting the benificial bacteria (a source of ammonia). You really should read up on the cycle, youwill get more accurate informtion here than at most petstores.

Aquarium salt is not needed for mollies. The reason it is recomended is due to the fact that they can be found in brackish water in the wild. Problem is, those sold at petstores are a far cry from thier wild cousins and do better in freshwater. Another problem is that aquatium salt is not the same as marine salt which is needed to create brackish water. So there goes another myth perpetuated by uneducated fish stores.

The cycle will relate to your problem, as stated above, if the fish is being harmed by the lack of a proper cycle, it will be picked on, since it is slowly dying. You asked one question, but gave us sufficient information to asess the bigger problems you are having, or will be having soon.

Do you have a test kit? For ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? that will be a good start if you want to care for these fish properly. As has been said, you wont be able to keep all those fish together, nor will that tank size be suitable for the fish you wish to keep.

 

[Roan Art]

It's very possible that the platy is picking on the lionhead because he just simply cannot get away. Lionheads are very very slow swimmers. They do not have a dorsal fin and once their cap gets to the "ideal size" can't see very well. Thus they are "handicapped". The platy is probably seeing that as a weakness or sickness. To the platy, all fish have dorsal fins, this guy doesn't and he can't swim, ergo, I must eliminate him. That's natural for a fish to do that IMO. Bear in mind that Lionheads aren't "natural" fish, they are bred for that genetic mutation.

Further to that, there are certain types of goldfish that shouldn't be kept with each other because of aggression. Goldies, as you've probably seen, are always hungry and will compete with each other for food. While this isn't usualy a problem when the goldies are "equal" in swimming speed, it becomes a migrating factor when one fish is much slower than the other. Pond comets and koi are very fast fish. Fancy Goldfish, like Fantails, Moores, Redcaps are far slower. Very Fancy Goldfish like Bubble Eyes, Lionheads and others that have "mutated" bodies are very very slow moving.

Because of this, Fancy Goldfish should not be housed with Very Fancy Goldfish. It's quite common for a Fancy to kill a Very Fancy Goldfish. Bubble eyes and warty heads are great targets for biting and the Very Fancy will not be able to get away.

I'd make a choice of whether to keep the Oranda or the Lionhead, or take the Oranda back and get another Lionhead instead.

That said, you really do need to move those goldies to at least a 50g tank. They will both get around 10" in size and goldfish stunt *very* easily if kept in a tank with not enough room to grow. With good care and proper housing your Chubs could live over 20 years. Isn't that kinda neat that your fish might outlive you?

Roan

 

[King Chubs]

Thanks for the responses everone, very much appreciated. For now we've decided to take the two troublesome Platties out of the tank, they have a new, temporary home, until likely tomorrow, and we're going to take them back to the store we got them from. As far as a new tank goes right now it's not in the budget, but maybe in the not so distant future. Thanks again, I will keep everyone updated on the progress of Chubs.

 

[Emg]

our tank has been running for about a year and a half. we have a 20 gallon tank with a 30 gallon aquaclear filter system. We had turtles previously. we had of course cleaned the tank and put in fresh water, which ran for about a week or so before we added a few fish..then a few more etc as per instructed by the 'fish guys' at the pet store. our tank stays at about 72 degrees and we were told that we could have platy's and the lionhead all living happily. we also have a plecko (which we were told can't survive in cooler water, although we've had him for a year and a half and he's grown about 4 inches) Oh..and we also but a bit of aquarium salt in the tank for the ph due to the mollies (also told to do by the fish guys)

Q-Chubs said that the tank has been running for a year....with turtles in it before they cleaned it out for the fish.... I'm assuming that it has the same filter and she didn't say anything about changing the substrate, if there was any..... so it's probably cycled or at least partially so...

The problem most likely is that the goldfish is larger and slower moving...and a difficult to resist target for your platys.......best bet would be to remove the goldfish to a tank of thier own.........they really shouldn't be in with tropical fish no matter what the folks at the fish store told you....sometimes those people will tell you anything in order to sell you a fish. I would recommend doing some research into the fish you are interested in purchasing in the future and take what the LFS tells you...with a few grains of salt...lol...