180 Gallon Cold Water

[kniesh]

Hi, just after some suggestions really. I have decided to set my 6x2x2 180gallon up as a coldwater tank now and have bought;

4x Black Moors
4x Fancy Golds (2xgold...1xgold an black, an 1xgold, black an white)
2x Unidentified more slender bodied goldfish, they seem quite slow moving though

I am planning on getting some Hillstream Loaches and Weather Loaches too but am just after suggestions for other unusual type coldwater fish really. I know I have slow moving fish so far that may struggle with anything quicker, but is this rule going to count as much in this size tank if I try to concentrate on sinking foods?

Any suggestions or websites most welcome really as I am a novice with coldwater, Ive always had tropicals tbh.

Thanks in advance, Vinny

 

[nmonks]

You probably want to get across to Wildwoods in Enfield. They have a tonne of coldwater stuff: minnows, shiners, catfish, gobies, Enneacanthus sunfish, gar, even livebearers. In the UK at least the selection is somewhat constrained because of DEFRA regulations, but Wildwoods tends to be the store with the best range that I'm aware of.

Mixing fancy goldfish with anything other than other fancy goldfish isn't generally a good idea, and certainly not a good idea if you want to keep "oddball" coldwater fish. But standard single-tail goldfish (including comets and shubunkins) should get along fine with most other carp and minnows of comparable size (i.e., shiners, roach, orfe, bitterling, etc). Ameiurus catfish will obviously eat anything they can swallow, and would likely harass fancy goldfish, but weather loaches should be fine. Sunfish and gobies are too slow at feeding time to be combined with goldfish, and since Enneacanthus sunfish need soft, acidic water, while goldfish need hard, basic water, these aren't compatible anyway.

Cheers, Neale

 

[kniesh]

Thanks Neale, much appreciated. I am gonna go look at some of the mentioned there, the only real things I've been typing into searches was the goldfish.

 

[kniesh]

Are Paradise fish ok for this tank? They have some in my local shop and the research I've done say they are best in the low 70s in terms of temp. My tank seems to have a natural temp of 70 at the moment and cant see it getting much lower?

 

[nmonks]

Paradise fish would be fine. But they are aggressive, and I wouldn't trust them around fancy goldfish. Given the size of the tank you might be fine -- but if you see signs of nipped fins, you'll know why!

Cheers, Neale

 

[kniesh]

Thanks again Neale, ended up getting 4. They seem to have settled in well, all taking up little territories, in an amongst the slate,rocks and plants. However I have had a disaster with on e of my Black Moores. I was doing a water change earlier, I just use a hosepipe straight from the tap to drain it then add it back in. Unfortunately I wasnt keeping a close eye on it and forgot how slow these fish can be. One of the BM's had got trapped in the opening of the hosepipe. I have no idea how long it had been there. This was about 7 hours ago now and he is still alive, however he appears to have his intestines hanging out his back. He is swimming a little gingerly, but nothing over the top and generally seems ok besides being able to see his insides. I can only hope now, but presumably with fish this is something that just wont be able to be fixed? I feel so bad for not noticing it sooner.

 

[nmonks]

If the fish genuinely has its guts hanging out, then it should be euthanised (unless you're able to take it to a vet for medical treatment). Sooner or later such a wound will become infected, and the fish will die. I've written a piece for wetwebmedia.com about euthanasia, and that gives you some tips on the best methods (most humane methods) to use.

Cheers, Neale