Goldfish Question.....?

Question

Okay I have about a 1 1/2" black fancy goldfish & he lives in a very clean 10 gallon tank my question is this.....I came home today & my sons friend had given him a very small(about 1/2" total length) juvenile chiclid & its in teh tank w Jaws(our goldfish) .they seem to fine..no aggression or stress....my question is will they be able to live together peacefully at least untill they are both bigger & we have to upgrade the tank size to accomadate? Mind you they are both quite small & seem to gettin on fine Im just wanting to make sure this will be an alright situation? No smart *** remarks "please" I take very good care of my pets but I wasnt expecting this adition & am asking to be sure they will be happy & healthy.

thank you Kara...yes I am aware tht chiclids are mildy to rather aggressive thats why Im a bbit concerned but like I sadi the chiclid is "very" small right now...also my goldfish believe it or not is rather aggressive himslef, as in he attacks the decor in his tank(we have fake fish in there with him) & swims fulll force into the littel water fall that comes from teh outer tank filter & spins rapidly in the current...its rather funny actually but as the same time as I said he's a bit more aggressive than any other goldfish Ive ever seen

Ok so I checked out the cichlid site given & just by looking he appears to most look like the red peacock, however it says they thrive best in at least a 50 gallon tank & I know for a fact that the person who gave my son the fish on ly has a 33 gallon & it is stocked w/ the parents to the juvenile I have about 4 other babies, a couple angel fish & about 4-5 other fishes of various types...a couple tetras & all thier fish seem to be happy & healthy with no problems....I will find out for sure what kind he(actualy Im pretty sure they told us it was a female) is & I will add it later...its very early here & Im not gonna call untill it gets to be a more reasonable hour.....thanks in advance & rest assured we will do what is best for the fishes involved......

ok ok so Im about positive that the chiclid in question is a Gold Sexfasciatus Cichlid & I foudn Jaws on a fish site too, he is in fact a Black Moore Goldfish...Sooooo needless to say there are going to have to be some changes made to house them properly...Im honestly considering taking the cichlid back to my sons friends to be back where it came from as it seems it may not work out in the long run... thanks to you who sincerely tried to help me out & to those of you who seem to think all people other than your holier than tho sleves are out to hurt others you can go to h ell...you suck you know you do & I only feel bad that you think you have to down play others & try to make them look bad to make yourselves feel better about you...it is YOU who are sad & pathetic.....I was never ignorant to the fact that fish like all creatures have special needs I jsut needed some advice to see what my options were & where I needed to go from where I was......so basically you can piss off

Answer 1

Do you know what type of cichlid this is? The fish will probably need different water temperature for the best environment for each - goldfish do best in cooler temperatures (65-75o) while cichlids are tropical (76o-80o, some higher). If the cichlid is an African species, it should have a higher pH and may need some salt in the water (1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water). Without knowing the species, it's difficult to give you more specifics.

You could try looking at the photos from this link to see if you can identify the cichlid: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pcatid=830 , then if you post the species as an "added details", we could give more info on what's needed for its care.

Answer 2

No, goldfish are cold water fish, and chinchlids are warm water fish, so right there one or the other is going to have damaging temperature conditions. In addition, almost eveyr chinchlid is aggressive and if it gets large, it will grow faster than the goldie and eat it. Besides, your 10 gallon is WAYYYYY too small for even the goldie, since goldfish grow one foot long. You may very well take good care of your pets, but it is the truth your fish will have organs that continue to grow as it stints, and if you ignore that it is animal cruelty. Appearing healthy and being tortured inside are two different things, and it is a shame you are more concerned about "smart" remarks than being good to live animals.
Man, people like you exasperate me. Just because a baby fish lives fine in a 33 gallon is no excuse to be el cheapo animal torturer and let it grow up in a tiny tank. People abuse human children all the time, that doesn't make it OK for you to do it. You are just looking for excuses to enjoy fish, and give nothing back to the fish for what they do for you. so sad.

Answer 3

well, the first problem is that a goldfish is a cold water fish (approx 60-68 F) chiclids prefer warm water 72F + I have seen tropical and goldfish mixed before at about 70F play with it maybe it'l work. the chiclid will nip fins though, I think it would work better in a 25 gallon setup where they have more territory. but be prepared for more frequent cleanings as both produce a load of waste!

Answer 4

I think while he's still little, the cichlid will be okay with the gold fish temporarily. But cichlids are mildly agressive and become so once they mature. My sister-in-law has been having a hard time grasping why her little cichlids are okay with her gold fish when they're small but then become agressive when they get older. She just doesn't get it and those cichlids end up tearing the little, more placid ones to shreds.

Answer 5

if your goldfish grow fast enoughf with the cichlid? then they will be okay, but if later your cichlid is bigger then the goldfish the cichlid might hurt or even kill the goldfish