Goldfish Tank Question?

Question

I have a 10 gal aquarium w/ 1 Oranda, 1 Lionhead & 2 Fantail Goldfish, and while they started out small they've nearly doubled in size since I bought them - I've read that goldfish need 2gals of water per 1 inch of fish. Is this true? I have a friend who has 7 goldfish, 1 Pleco, & 1 catfish in a 10 gal aquarium and he says I'm worrying about the size of the aquarium for nothing. Since buying a larger tank at this point is not an option financially, what is the best way to care for them, and keep them healthy until I can afford a larger one?

Answer 1

You 10 gallon is actually too small. Since gold fish are POND fish, the rule of thumb is not 1" =1 gallon or two gallons it is 1" of fish per 1 sq. ft. of surface water. Your gold fish will not stop growing because of the size of your tank, and gold fish need room to swim.

Your friend's aquarium is over loaded and will soon cause him grief. Plus overloading his 10 gallon is not healthy for his fish.

For now, keep an eye on your water quality. Do not overfeed your fish. It is always better to under feed than over feed. You may want to start waterchanges every week vs. every other or every three. Until you can get a larger tank, keeping an eye on things should keep them healthy and happy for now.

Answer 2

Your tank is far, far, too small for those fish. You need at least a 55 gallon aquarium. Your friend's aquarium is also extremely overstocked, and he is mixing tropical fish with coldwater fish. Really, I would suggest taking the fish back to the store and buying some fish that would be more appropriate for your 10 gallon. Otherwise the ammonia and nitrates in your water will get out of control fast--goldfish are extremely messy--and you will likely lose your fish.

Answer 3

The rule of thumb is actually 1 baby fancy goldfish per 10 gallons and 20+ when adults. If you don't want to get rid of them then you must do water changes at least twice a week until you can get them a much larger tank. As you may know they are very messy fish but there are other reasons why they shoudn't be in small tanks. Did you know they can also become stunted, its where their insides continue to grow but their outsides don't which can be very painful and eventually kill them?

For more information about caring for goldfish check out this site, join the message board for even more info. http://kokosgoldfish.com/
Lots of people over there actually use those big plastic containers as makeshift tanks until they can get a real one, just check the message board for help with that idea.

Answer 4

i like goldfish considering they do exchange into extremely great and by some ability "smarter" than maximum fish. they work together extra purely with people than small tropical fish frequently do and in wonderful condition extra purely into the class of "puppy". 2 small goldfish would paintings in that tank extremely nicely for a stable whilst. in case you prefer some thing extra exciting, although, i'd advise getting some livebearers. A trio or 2 each and each of platies and guppies. they are going to right this moment populate the tank in case you have some plant life to furnish the fry hide and this is often exciting to work out the features of the extremely some mom and dad being handed alongside. The livebearers would get alongside nicely with a shoal of cory cats besides. it would desire to no longer sound like an exceedingly dramatic set-up, besides the indisputable fact that this is an low-cost set of fish which would be waiting to handle commonest aquarium problems (ich, questionable water high quality, etc) with few casualties.

Answer 5

for a ten gal, your puhing it at 4 fish. If you buy fish that will grow larger, always keep them in a larger tank so they have room. The ammonia will build up and kill them. I had that happen a few times when I first started my goldfish tank. That too was a 10 gal.
Your friend shouldnt put fresh water fish with goldfish, ever! Again, the ammonia will kill the catfish. The pleco is fine though,

Answer 6

As everyone has already told you, your tank is way too small for a goldfish.. if you cant afford to buy a bigger tank i think you might want to consider looking for new homes for your goldfish.. you might get lucky and find someone with a pond looking for new fish, or maybe you oculd sell them back to the petstore.. You could also look for some used fishtanks, the bigger the better... or as someone suggested you can use large plastic bins, you can but a huge one at walmart for maybe $5? just dont put a heater in them (ive read stories of heaters melting holes in them.. big water mess everywhere.. goldfish dont need heaters anyway)
as for your 10 gal tank, it is not even big enough for one goldfish.. so after you get them outta there, i would recommend looking into fish like guppies mollies, platies or neons tetras..

Answer 7

Make sure you test the water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates every 2-3 days and anytime it looks cloudy. Read up on the nitrogen cycle of aquariums. That might give you an idea as to why the fish can't be in such a small tank. Its not because of their size, but because of the amount of toxins they release into the water.

Answer 8

i don't like repeating really, but the others are right, far too small. if you want to keep your fish you're going to need about 60 gallons of tank, and fairly soon, goldies grow fast!

and as for your friend, he needs a 100 gallon+ tank. and that's just for the common plec. the goldfish need a separate tank of their own. as for the catfish, there are hundreds of fish that could be.

Answer 9

Goldfish can get quite large ( 4 to 5 inches ) and your ten gallon tank is just not big enough for the population you have. You might be able to keep one faantail in a ten gallon for an extended period of time, assuming you have a decent filter, but the fish you currently have are going to have to move to a much larger tank, at least a 35 gallon, fairly soon or they will simply die ........ ten gallons is just not enough.