goldfish and tropical fish together?

Question

i am buying my brother a new fish tank for christmas, he currently has 3 goldfish living in a tank at about 25oC.

If the larger tank i intend to buy him is also kept at that temperature, can i keep the goldfish in it and add some tropical fish, or will the goldfish eat them.

Hope that makes sense

dont really want to keep two tanks, and can't get rid of goldfish, i'd get stupicly emotional (i know they only fish, but i a softy)

Answer 1

I have kept goldfish and tropical fish together with no problems. I have good filtration and lots of space. Goodfish do produce alot of waste. If you have a good filter I think you should be fine, just don't over stock and do partial water changes. Keep your filter clean! Good luck! And no your goldfish won't eat the other fish and they live fine at the same temparature. I kept a one foot goldfish in with my other tropicals. Goldfish like temps of 50 degrees to 74.

Answer 2

Technically, you're right... And while this is plausible, doesn't it defeat the purpose of keeping fish in the first place? The goal of all fish keepers should be to give your pets the ideal environment and do your best [within reason] to simulate their natural habitat. Goldfish get quite large (Common Goldfish will be about 1.5 feet and Fancies will get 6+ inches), so Common Goldfish will likely end up eating some of the smaller fish, simply because they'll eat anything. EDIT: The issue of the waste produced by a Goldfish can easily be overcome with ample filtration and weekly maintenance... Also, a Goldfish needs FAR more than 10 gallons per... I would never consider keeping a 16-18" fish in a 10 gallon tank (which is only 10 inches wide)...

Answer 3

The goldfish are far more forgiving to changes in their environment. So while the goldfish adapt well to the tropical fishes tank conditions the reverse is not true. Once you introduce the tropical fish the tanks temperature, ph and everything must be just right. I've successfully had both together, just be careful with the tropical fish. Keep the temp at the low end of the tropical fish range about 76ºF, the golds like cooler water but will do fine in slightly warmer. Also, the golds are dirty fish and so your filtration is very important.

Answer 4

Goldfish do like cooler water and tropicals do like warmer water but there are other reasons why they shouldn't be kept together. Goldfish need a strong filter and that is usually too much for the smaller tropicals. When the goldfish are big enough (they get up to 8"-12", can you image how big their mouths are at that size?) they most likely will eat the tropicals and they both need completely different foods. If your tank is smaller then a 55 gallon then you wouldn't be able to fit more fish in there and keep them all healthy since adult goldfish need around 20 gallons each. While the goldfish are small it could probably be done but I wouldn't do it.

Answer 5

Goldfish are traditionaly kept apart, but it can be done if you're careful. As others have pointed out, your best off keeping the tank at a tropical temperature and making sure it's well filtered.
Some other things to watch out for:
1. Goldfish with long fins may tempt some tropical fish to harrass them.
2. Goldfish grow faster than many tropical fish (I'm assuming this is a non-agressive comunity tank) and will try to eat anything they can fit in their mouth. So be prepared to move them if they outgrow their tropical neighbors.

Answer 6

Usually one would advice against mixing the two for temperature reasons however if your goldfish are already used to 25C, that's 77F which is already in the tropical fish range. Set the heater to 25-26C so that it won't fall below this and you should be fine. Many goldfish/koi ponds exceed these temperatures during the summer heat and besides oxygen reduction it often poses little to no threat to any of them.

Hope that helps, good luck and make sure any change is gradual.

Answer 7

The people who said they keep the 2 together and everything is fine are effin idiots. For them fish keeping needs to be a revokable priveledge.

Reasons why goldfish and tropicals shouldnt be kept together

1. Temp differences. Goldfish need alot of dissolved oxygen in the water. Colder water holds more dissolved oxygen then warmer water. Keeping coldwater fish in warmer water, speeds up their metabolism, causing them to crap more, weakens their immune system leaving them prone to parasites such as ich and bacterial and fungal diseases. It will also kill them faster.

2. Dietary differences. Goldfish are primarily vegetarian. Where as most tropicals need more protein. However they are opportunistic and will eat fish small enough to fit in their mouths. They do afterall grow to be 12-14 inches . Ive seen 14 inch black moors and there is Bruce a 15 inch oranda. Goldfish need supplementation with veggies such as green peas, cucumbers, zuccini, romaine lettuce, spinach, squash, live aquatic plants such as anacharis, watersprite, water lettuce, liverwort, and duckweed.

3. Diseases. There are diseases that the goldfish could be carrying that might not effect the goldfish but could affect the tropical fish and vice versa.

Answer 8

Goldfish live in cold water so I don't recommend tropical fish. Try rudd,tench, or koi, compatible fish. Search Wikipedia they have info on Goldfish! Merry Christamas!

Answer 9

I have a 55 gallon tank i have had it for about 8 years now and ive had a little of everything in it over those 8 years. i have right now a couple poppy eyed goldfish 2 koi (i grow these up to put in our pond) and i have tetras and barbs in it as well as one betta. all are doing great and i have had all of these for almost a year together. i have always had tropical fish of some sort (angels were my favorite so far) and ive never put a heater in my tank although i would advise havig one if you have a drafty or very cool home i keep mine right at 70 degrees year round and my fish do great.

Answer 10

goldfish and tropical fish need differnet tempatures. Tropical fish live in warm water while goldfish live in cold water so they are not compatible with each other. (goldfish are not compatible with any other fish other than other types of goldfish.) I hope this helps u a lot.(^_^)