As mentioned earlier, there is a lot of out of date thinking about goldfish, and sadly this is sometimes the case in shops. While most shops are responsible, and many are trying to move away from advocating goldfish for small tanks, there are still some which have yet to catch up with best practice. The photos below were posted on Practical Fishkeeping forum and show the goldfish section at a Maidenhead Aquatics and a Pets at Home store.
Reproduced with kind permission of the forum members. The goldfish growth chart is available from fishkeeping. The best advice we can offer here is to do your research fully and trust your own judgement. If you think, having considered all the points raised above, that a tank is too small, or that X number of goldfish will be too many for it, then stick to your guns.
Your fish will thank you for it. Do fish grow to the size of their tank? Understanding fish stocking guides Tankbusters Just starting out? Avoid a BIG Mistake. Author: Suzanne Constance. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Skip to content What size tank for goldfish is a question that often arises on fishkeeping forums and usually results in a wide variety of opinions and suggestions.
The difference between common or singletail goldfish, and fancy goldfish Different tank sizes are often quoted for common or singletail goldfish, and fancy goldfish. Why are the tank dimensions so important? Potential adult size A fully-grown fancy goldfish can easily reach 30cm long and 30cm tall or more including fins and tail , with a body the size of a grapefruit and weight approaching half a kilogram.
Rocket was 30cm long and 30cm tall from fin tip to fin tip, She weighed over 1lb.. This photo shows a fully grown goldfish next to a domestic cat — you can see the goldfish is a big chap! Swimming abilities Fancy goldfish tend to have compromised swimming abilities due to long fins, rounded bodies, heavy headgrowth, poor vision those googly eyes!
Surface area A large footprint translates to a large surface area. Bioload Generally speaking the larger the fish the more waste it will produce. Goldfish are social fish Goldfish should not be kept alone as they are social fish and benefit from company of their own kind. Goldfish are social fish and enjoy company This means that any tank needs to be able to house at least three fish at maximum potential size.
Remember that your goldfish is an omnivorous eats anything scavenger, so provide him with a varied and high carbohydrate diet. Many goldfish foods are available on the market today, and most frozen fish foods are also appropriate, provided you do not feed meaty foods too often. Goldfish have large appetites, but they also graze for food constantly.
Don't let their 'mock hunger' and grousing around for food fool you into over feeding them. Your fish should be able to consume all the food you offer within two minutes of feeding. If there is food in the aquarium after this time has elapsed, this will contribute to poor water quality and make your goldfish more susceptible to disease.
You will only need to feed your goldfish once a day. Providing a proper diet will increase your goldfish's life expectancy and bolster their immune system.
This means a 40 gallon tank can hold 3 adult sized Fancy Goldfish. We need to ensure an aquarium is big enough not only for them to have room to swim around, but also so you are not a slave to water changes. For a common variety of Goldfish like a Comet, you will want to consider a aquarium size of 30 gallons and target at least 4 feet in length. Each subsequent comet you add would need an additional 12 gallons so for a 55 gallon tank, we are talking about 3 full size Comets.
Again, not a lot of fish. Keep in mind that Comets can grow up to 12 inches in length! For a Fancy Goldfish setup, I would recommend a larger aquarium like this Fluval 45 Bowfont or 55 gallon tank. This 36 inch long tank offers everything you need to get started. You can go cheaper if you wait for a dollar per gallon sale at your local chain pet store and pick up a 40 gallon breeder or 55 gallon tank.
Goldfish in general are very hard on the bioload of an aquarium. They are large, messy, eat constantly throughout the day, and stir up your Aquarium Substrate all day.
Maintaining a Goldfish tank requires a hefty filter. Keeping in mind that Goldfish are usually an entry level fish for Aquarists, we are going to focus on more budget friendly options. Our best option is a good quality aquarium Power Filter like a Hagen Aquaclear. The Hagen Aquaclear is a quality made, readily available power filter that has stood the test of time. It is very easy to customize each section of the filter stages to suit your needs. It will provide years of reliable operation.
Make sure you size up one model that is made for a larger aquarium. A goldfish aquarium tends to produce a lot of waste, so get try aiming for over sized filtration. The main thing with Goldfish tanks once you have the tank cycled is consistently monitoring your Nitrate and pH levels. Ammonia is generally a concern when you first cycle the tank or when you add new fish. Goldfish, due to their messiness and consistent desire to eat will produce a lot of waste.
A full goldfish tank will usually end up running higher nitrate levels as a result. You want to test your nitrate levels regularly with a proper Aquarium Test Kit. This will ensure you have the best water quality possible. The pH levels of the your Goldfish aquarium are also critical. Goldfish like an aquarium at pH at all times. This is different from many tropical fish and planted aquarium environments which prefer a pH at an acidic level lower than 7.
Make sure your tap water has the proper pH and adjust accordingly if your tap is below 7. Always use a water conditioner like Sea Chem Prime to treat your water water. A water conditioner will remove harmful chemicals out of your tap water like ammonia and chlorine and make it aquarium safe.
Goldfish are cold water fish. Anything over 75 degrees for a Goldfish is going to stress out your fish. Goldfish actually have a large range of temperatures that they can live in. The range is generally from degrees F, with the general ideal range being degrees. This means that if you keep your home at room temperature, you should be fine without having an Aquarium Heater in your tank. There are two things we have to keep in mind with Goldfish tanks. If you live in a hotter climate, you may need to control the temperature in your aquarium in the summer.
This may require an Aquarium Chiller or getting your specific room where your tank is to a cooler temperature with a mobile AC. If you live in a cold climate with very cold winters, you may want to consider having a heater handy when the temperatures get below freezing in your area.
When we think about Decorations for a Goldfish tank, we have to consider both space and safety. Common Goldfish are fast and enjoy swimming around. Fancy Goldfish are slow, clumsy, and have delicate fins.
Both types of Goldfish need their space to swim. Consider having an open aquascape when building out a Goldfish tank. When it comes to the decor itself, we want to consider rocks, and artificial plants without sharp edges.
We take the same consideration like we do with Betta Fish where we avoid sharp edge as the long fins of our Fancy Goldfish can get caught and damaged.
Silk plants that are designed to be gentle on fish with fancy fins like Bettas and Fancy Goldfish. We turn to Marina Naturals when looking at silk artificial plants. These plants will not damage the fins of your Fancy Goldfish.
You will need to keep in mind that goldfish like to dig out plants. It may be a good ideal to anchor these down with rocks. Goldfish love to stir the substrate in search of food. They have big mouths, so substrates that are medium or larger in size can pose a problem for them as they can accidentally shallow the pebbles. We want to make sure that goldfish have a substrate that they can easily stir and scavenge around. Knowing this, the best Goldfish Tank Substrate is going to be a sandy one.
A sandy grain size substrate like the one pictured above from Caribsea is what we are looking for. We want to work with a thin layer of sand. This is to counteract the big pitfalls of sand substrate. Sand can compact and create anaerobic pockets, which can be very dangerous for your fish. This sandy substrate will get stirred all day by your Goldfish and mimics their natural environment.
Don't forget to treat tap water with Aqueon Water Conditioner before refilling your aquarium! Goldfish should never be kept in bowls, small aquariums or any unfiltered container! In addition to having relatively high oxygen demands, they grow to be quite large and generate a significant amount of waste, which can be harmful if allowed to accumulate.
Common goldfish, comets and shubunkins make excellent outdoor pond fish and are known to survive relatively cold winters.
Fancy goldfish, such as orandas, ryukins, moors and others, can also be kept in outdoor ponds, but are more vulnerable to predators and must be brought in during winter in harsh climates. In aquariums, adult common goldfish, comets and shubunkins should have at least 20 gallons of water per fish, while adult fancy goldfish should have at least 10 gallons per adult fish.
The filter should be slightly over-sized to accommodate high waste production and additional aeration is recommended when goldfish are kept at warmer temperatures. Larger goldfish will eat many types of live plants, with the possible exception of Cryptocorynes, Java fern and Anubias, although they may uproot these, too.
Avoid decorations with sharp edges and abrasive rocks such as lava and tufa, which may tear delicate fins as well as eye sacs on bubble eyes, celestial eyes, moors and telescopes. Goldfish like to forage in the substrate, so avoid jagged or crushed glass gravel.
Provide adequate water flow but avoid strong currents. Goldfish get along well with most peaceful, similarly sized fish.
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