Do I have too many fishes in my 5-1/2 gallon fish tank?

Question

I have 6 gold fishes. They are about 2-1/2 inches each. Is that okay or do I need a bigger tank?

Answer 1

WAAAY overstocked.

the 1inch of fish per gallon doens't work for goldfish. the general rule for gldfish is 10gallons to themselves when young and when full grown 20gallons to themselves. so when full grown you will need about 100-120 gallon tank.

it is true they'll stop growing if you don't get them a bigger tank, but only externally. everything inside still gorws and it because very painful for the fish and will eventually kill them.

goldfish are extremely dirty fish, they requiore a lot of room and a really good filter. they also need the water to be very aerated, so be sure to have a couple of air stones.

the smallest tnak you should have for them is 70gallons. this is going by full grown singular goldfish need 20 gallons, and 10 more gallons for every goldfish added to him. this still wouldn't be the best conditions for them and you would have to watch levels of ammonia, pH, nitrates, ect... like a hawk.

Answer 2

Well first off the 1" rule is a crock. It's so innacurate and full of exceptions thats it's pretty much useless. And even when it is right, it would apply to a filtered tank. Even then it doesn't take into account what sort of filter. A Wet/Dry sump will let you keep FAR more fish than say just an Undergravel filter. Anyway - you need a filter. You dont need an expensive one for a small tank like that, a sponge filter powered by an air pump will work, or one of the little power filters, even an old school undergravel filter is OK. Your fish are only surving in that tank because they are such hardy species. Get a small filter in there, and then you can think about a couple more small fish and or shrimps. Ian

Answer 3

as everyone has said, you need a MUCH larger tank!
if they are comet/normal looking goldfish, then you've got pond fish that need a pond to live in in the long-term, not a tank as they will grow too big really, unless you want a massive 100gallon tank for goldfish?
if they are fancy goldfish (bubble eyes, short bodies etc), then the best rule i've found is 20 US gallons for the first fish, and 10 US gallons per fish thereafter. so if you have all fancies, you need at LEAST 60 US gallons of tank.

if you have a mixture of fancy and common then you need to rehome the commons to a pond, commons and fancys should NOT be mixed. the commons will outcompete the fancies to food, and in being boisterous fish can damage a delicate fancies swimbladder causing swimming problems and that can even be fatal.

Answer 4

go bigger i recommend about 20 gallons. goldfish are the dirtiest fish and produce the most ammonia as well (this is true its not my opinion ive done lots of research on fish) they get very big as well so they need room to swim or theyll get stressed out. the rule i use is 1 fish per gallon but when they get as big as goldfish you might wanna give it 1 per 3 gallons to be safe.

Answer 5

I think you might need a bigger tank because the goldfish are going to grow soon. I also have maybe too much fish in a 5 gallon Im going to change them to a 20 gallon.
Good Luck!

Answer 6

You need a bigger tank. Gold fish get big and pollute the water fstser than most other kinds of fish. In a 5 gallon tank you should roughly have 5 inches worth of fish. You now have over 10 inches.

Answer 7

Yes you have too many fish in that tank. Goldfish are the messiest fish around, unless you are filtering the living crap out of that tank, you should give them back or spread them apart. I would suggest getting at least a 15-20 gallon for all of them, unless they are the larger kind, then i don't even know, a huge tank then.

Answer 8

Yes you need a bigger tank goldfish are very hardy and grow quickly.They can't be killed easy either (I never tried) by accident the heater went out for a least a week.I didn't know when I got home from vacation they were still alive.They stayed alive for many years after this was ten years ago.

Answer 9

They will end up dying, suffocating in their own waste.

Take them back or give them away, then get a betta, or four or five very small tetras like neons or glolights, or some cherry shrimp and some plants, or some (two or three, tops) african dwarf frogs.

Answer 10

a good rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon of water. also when you calculate how many fish can go in your fishtank subtract 10% of the water as this will be taken up with the gravel, plants, and other decorations. also i suggest you get at least a 30 gallon tank for your goldfish because with fantail variaties able to reach 13in. and common goldfish able to reach 2 ft.
( 24in.) they need room to grow.