I have a 10 litre tank, I have two goldfish in it and they seem happy WITHOUT a filter, Is This Cruel?

Question

Is this cruel, as i am 15 , and cannot afford a bigger tank or a filter, Both there back fins are up and they seem happy and i change 50% of there water atliest once a week if not twice, they seem to enjoy themselfs, Surely this cannot be crue as it MUST be better than being in a tank the same size with 30 others in a pett shop ? Please leave imput

Answer 1

Yes it is cruel. If you cannot provide the fish with the minimum that they need then you shouldn't of bought them. Would you buy a dog and lock it in a closet and only clean it out at the most twice a week? I hope not. If you can't buy them a bigger tank and a filter then if you can please return them.

They should grow between 8-12 inches (if they are fancy goldfish) and live for around 20 years or more but if left in that tank with no filter I doubt they will make it a year, probably not even a month either.

If you would like to look up more info about how to care for goldfish then check out this site, http://kokosgoldfish.com/

Answer 2

Hi there, it is good that you are considering if what you are doing is cruel to the fish because many people won't even care , thats good on your part :-)
Maybe you can consider getting a plastic tank , it is much cheaper than a glass one and get a second hand filter, as the 10 litre tank will very soon be too small for 2 goldfishs , and it will stunt their growth and they may die . The rule of thumb for goldfish is 60cm square per cm of goldfish.
A filter will be much better as goldfish are very messy, i am rearing a betta without a filter and i change about 50% of his water about 2-3 times a week and he is much less messy than a goldfish so maybe you got to increase the number of times you change the water in case your goldfish dies from nitrite or ammonia poisoning( the tank may not look dirty but there can still be high levels of them)
Petshops have v gd filteration systems and the fish don't stay there for too long so the goldfish may not too be bad there.
For now , guess you have to constantly check their happiness level and make sure they are OK. i am sure you want the best for your goldfish! All the best!

Answer 3

Yes it is very cruel. Even if you had a filter there is nothing that can save the life of a fish that gets huge and is living in a tiny tank. No it is actually MORE cruel than at the pet store, because at the pet store they are only there for a week or 2 tops. Stores also have massive filtration to deal with the huge load. Since you cannot afford a bigger tank, take those fish back to the store and get a betta or something else that is small enough for your tank.

I hope you do the right thing, and don't listen to the majority on this one. Since you have a computer, do a search on yahoo or google and learn about goldfish, how big they get, and what size tnak you need. You will find out that your tank is not even close to big enough. Fancy goldfish are the smallest goldfish, and they need a 20 gallon tank for one goldfish all alone. shubunkins and comet goldfish need tanks in the 100s of gallons, ponds are better. Pet stores tell you they can live in small tanks because they want your money. They don't caer about the well being of the fish, in fact, they want that fish to die so you will come back to them and give them more of your money.

Answer 4

Goldfish are VERY HARDY! Again a 10L tank is very small. About 2.5 gallons. No filter is required. The goldfish may get bigger depending on the species, but i doubt it. You're doing a good job by changing the water. Be careful when changing the water, because after a while the fish's waste will build up in the gravel. So if you can clean the gravel about once a month. Don't ever pour water directly on the gravel. It will stir up the waste, which is very toxic to any fish. :) I hope this helps

Answer 5

With a tank so small and not using a clear out and heater you haven't any longer any thoughts. The link you presented isn't a tank. it relatively is a critter keeper used for transport of animals or very non everlasting housing.

Answer 6

Okay. There is something you must know about goldfish. They are DIRTY. Their waste can overrun a tank and mess up the nitrate and pH levels. It is imperative that you have a filtration system in order to keep them healthy. I prefer over the top filters (as opposed to under gravel).
As far as the tank size is concerned, your fish need about 1 gallon of water for every inch they are in size. It sounds to me like your current tank is not enough room for both of them. You could keep them in something like that if they are small, but they won't grow very large.

Answer 7

Gold fish are relatives of the bottom feeding carp family and don't need filters and all the fancy extras. As long as you periodically change the water to remove harmfull bacteria growth, they will do very well without one. They are very hardy fish. They will how ever tend to over eat and can grow quickly to large sizes so make sure you don't over feed. (that also speeds up bacteria growth and water cloudiness). They do need air though so either run a air line in or remember to "stir" the water to create air. (you can do this by using a small cup a scooping up water and slowly pooring it back in to create bubbles and air). It is best to have a small air line though so you don't have to mess with them as much. Two fish won't make much mess though and a filter wouldn't be needed.

Answer 8

keep up the water changes and you are ok. twice a week is better. chances are good they are playing a biological game of survivor. goldfish in small spaces are usually better alone. many people will start with more than one and the others will die off til there is one and that one lives forever.

if you want to keep them around you might want to be saving your pennies for a larger tank. they would be much happier with a 40 litre and an 80 litre would be ideal.

Answer 9

anybody notice he said 10 litre? that is only 2.6 gallons

if you could at least get an air stone in there it would help them out

as they grow they will need at bare minimum a 15 gallon or 57 litre tank to be content

Answer 10

I think that it would be fine to leave them in that tank. If I remember correctly Goldfish don't need a filter as long as the water is changed often. But, I could be wrong. Do your homework check websites for more info. Good Luck.