I have one goldfish which is about 4inches and a 16litre tank, and I don't know whether to get another goldfish to keep it company. I have a filter and air pump in the tank so their should be enough oxygen for another fish. Would it be best to keep the goldfish alone? p.s I can't get a bigger tank and am keeping water quality at the highest.
2007-08-04 06:14:18 · 16 answers · asked by misslawyer5461 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
my goldfish has been living in a slightly smaller tank for five years when it was about 2-3 inches and seemed to be happy. The new tank looks asif the fish has loads of space and I heard that goldfish only grew to the size of their tank.
2007-08-04 22:01:22 · update #1
Your goldfish will be fine alone and in fact that's the best case for him at the present. He will quickly out grow your tank and is pushing the limit at 4" already. Any other fish added to the tank would result in over crowding and constant problems.
MM
2007-08-04 06:18:06 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hi Miss Lawyer, Well done for keeping your water quality spot-on & having a filtered tank!
To answer your question, although Goldfish do not habitually 'school' they certainly appear to enjoy each others company & are visibly more active in groups & I would never recommend keeping one alone. However, the size of your tank, approximately 3 or 4 gallons, UK or US sizes respectively is really too small to be keeping such a potentially large fish as a Goldy in so I would have to say don't get him a buddy.
You say you can't get a bigger tank-a 20 gallon would be ideal for 2 similar sized fish & if this is due to finances then you might try posting a 'Fishtank Wanted' on your local Freecycle. Several of the members of my forum have done just that & now own huge tanks! If it's due to space limitations then you might consider a 20 gallon long will only take up approximately 30" x 12" space. At 4" your fish will very soon be facing the possibility of getting stunted which is fatal from living in such a confined space so please consider the options!
2007-08-04 07:54:49 · answer #2 · answered by John 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They advise goldfish need something like from 35 litres each! But in saying that I had one goldfish in a 6 litre tank which lived for years and years and years (seriously this was the never to die fish!).
I believe they do like company, and if you were able to do more water changes you could try. The only other problem is if they try to fight which happened when I added my second. I had to out the original in a small tank to teach him a lesson!! they are the best of friends now!!!!
2007-08-04 07:19:35 · answer #3 · answered by CD123 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Goldfish are perfectly fine on their own and with this size tank i wouldn't recommend getting any more than one other. The problem here is you would presumably be getting a baby fish to join him. You might wake up one day to find he's been digested by the bigger one!
2007-08-04 06:17:42 · answer #4 · answered by pants_deb 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i'd advise getting yet another gold fish to pass with it. it is not thoroughly mandatory although. once you get a goldfish be sure you face on the tank and watch the habit of each fish. this form you are able to opt for the friendlier timid ones. My brother had a tank that he stored his gold fish in. it additionally hand angel fish and silver funds. be sure although in case you do combination fish which you get the comparable non aggression point in the event that they're non aggressive goldfish
2016-10-01 09:36:35 · answer #5 · answered by mcglothlen 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well i had a goldfish that was alone and after 2 months it just swam boredly
We got another one and all of a sudden it sprang into life seriously!!
I think it would be a good idea to buy another fish for it.
2007-08-04 10:20:00 · answer #6 · answered by DaisysMumma13 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well i used to have a goldfish and the first i had one i left it alone and then i think it died...The best thing is if you buy another goldfish cause the goldfish you have may feel lonely..
2007-08-04 07:53:27 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Should be OK on its own. You don't say how big the tank is so if you intend to buy another fish make sure it's big enough.
2007-08-04 10:36:39 · answer #8 · answered by tomsp10 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
we had one for about 6 years living alone he did not mind, a goldfish has a very short memory he does not need a play mate
2007-08-04 07:18:02 · answer #9 · answered by Diamond 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i think you should get another one as a mate for it because the get lonley. i started of with two goldfish and then got two shubumkins they get along great.
2007-08-04 09:18:12 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋