Ready to move beyond goldfish...

D

dbelmont

AC Members
Jun 25, 2005
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We've had goldfish for a while now, and I'm starting to get hooked on this "hobby". I'm starting to do research in preparation for putting together a larger tank.

I think I'd like to set up a 55-gallon bow-front. I also think that I'm going to try a planted tank. After a trip to the LFS and looking at the species profile here, I think we're going to try Platys. We like how colorful they are, and according to the profile, they're a hearty fish, good for newbies.

I'm also looking for other fish to go in with them. Are Mollys a compatible fish? According to the profiles they are both peaceful fish. The lower end of the temp range for the Mollys are compatible with the higher end for the Platy (70 - 74 is where they overlap), so it seems like they should be okay together, right? They're not showing up in the "Find Suitable Tankmates" selections for each other.
 
Why?

Not being facetious, just want to understand. Why would you do that?
 
How many?

How many platys could you put in a 10-gallon?
 
Kasakato said:
Goldfish are big and messy. The general rule for golfish is 1st in a 20g, and another 10g for everyone after that.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure where you keep whipping this rule out of, but I just helped someone move some goldfish this past weekend that were about 15" long and weighed at least 2lbs a piece. I wish I had brought my camera. 20 gallon tanks are far too small for goldfish.
 
Oi the goldfish problem... it surprises a lot of people to learn that the common goldfish is actually one of the least suited fish to an indoor tank. There are a lot of goldfish fans who successfully keep them in tanks for a while, even entire forums like this devouted to tank-dwelling goldfish. But I doubt they ever live their 20+ year lifespand in a tank. Common goldfish reach up to 2 feet in length. Fancy get about 10". They do best in an outdoor pond. I have some in a little pond outside. Some people keep 2 fancy goldfish in a 30 gallon and a couple more in a 55 gallon. You could do one common goldfish in a 30 gallon.

Platies are VERY hardy fish. I had platies a while ago, and i switched over to an amazon type tank so we threw them in the outdoor pond... they never die. They and we're on about their fourth generation of family come in every winter and go outside in the warmer months. Platies go great with mollies. Swordtails too (close cousins). They all like hard alkaline water (not important), and wont varaciously eat their babies. they will have babies... tons. They all like flake foods, frozen/live foods, and especially some vegetable matter (veggie or spirilina flakes). If you have mollies too, u may want to add a tiny bit of aquarium salt to the water. Get hardy plants as they will nibble at them. Three platies will do fine in a 10 gallon but u can add more fish if you put them in at least a 29 gallon. 55 gallons is the best size for a community tank.

Easy beginner plants, (need at least 1 watt per gallon of lighting), anacharis, hornwort, java moss*, anubias, crypts, java fern*. They wont eat the java fern or moss.
 
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