30 Long Goldie Tank Journal *updated*

[PhoenixsDeadAgain]

Hello All!


Not to many starting a coldwater journal so I will put my two cents in

Let me give you a brief history on my tank:

It's a 30 gallon long former saltwater refugium. I got it because it had a crack in it. My friends husband wanted to throw it out and I caught it in time. I poured boiling water all over it and let it dry for a week. I was so happy to have a bigger tank.

My lights came a bit later because my friends husband wanted new ones for their tank. I got $180 lights, new bulbs in the lights, 4 boxes of new bulbs, and the only thing thats wrong is the back lights don't work. Hence why one half of my tank is blue. He wanted her to throw them away so I again snagged them. She says it might be a transformer shes not sure. They stick out of my tank about an inch each side but hey they were free and all my critters love them. Especially the moon lights

Introductions

At the time of this picture being taken I had 2 comets. One white gold (Esme), one goldish black (Bob). I also had one Apple Snail (Snude), and two Wood Shrimp.

When I got my shrimp they were a brownish, and one was much bigger then the other (the bigger one tried to jump down the drain when she was being gotten out of the tank). A little big after I got them the bigger one started getting red. One day she disappeared and I found her molt. She popped out a few days later bright red with a stripe. I thought that was the coolest thing ever.

Snude is the hardest thing to take a picture of, but I will keep trying.

Bob jumped out of the tank and into a box. Both comets loved to play in the tank current, and I believe one day he over swam it.

I am not sure what time he jumped out but I noticed that night. I was frantically pulling everything out of the tank looking for some trace of him. When I didn't find any I checked the floor and found nothing. I was very upset as I had grown very attached to bob (I tend to name animals I get attached to bob...don't ask).

Two days later we had an idea of where he went. I had to have my husband get him while I left the room. Looking back at the picture of him makes me kinda sad. I know its odd to get attached to fish but I really feel as much care for my fish as I do my cat and dog.

Well onto better things...kinda...

Switching to Sand

In all my years of keeping fish I have not done to many advanced things. Meaning I just did goldfish, fake plants, and gravel. Well after reading on these forums and doing alot of solo research I decided to take a leap forward. Hence the shrimps, plants, and snail.

Next step, sand. I always loved the look of sand, and hear good things.

Well I read the tutorial on switching to sand and decided to take it on. I went out and got some white playsand. Brought it home, all excited....didn't wash it. don't ask me why. It seems stupid now but at the time it seemed logical.

Here is the result (tank on the right is my husband tropical he was starting to cycle):

Let's just say my reaction was of words you can not say on this forum.

So I ended up dumping all of the water. 100% water change in two tanks. Pulled the sand..and let me tell you trying to get out wet sand is a huge pain. Dumped all the sand in a bucket and washed it until it ran clear (8 min a half of a bucket).

Which got me to this more desirable result:

Since I have taken these pics I have moved my tank and rearranged everything. I wasn't happy with the arrangement in that picture and am still not happy.

I will take some pictures of my new setup and post them soon.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Nice tank and goldies .

I do have to warn you though that comet and common goldfish will grow too large for your tank, they can grow to 15inches+, i've been keeping mine for almost two years now and they have grown to about 10inches long now and still growing, so i would advise that you start saving up for a much larger tank or pond in the future . Shrimp is probably fine in the tank for now with the goldfish, but as the goldfish grow larger and larger the shrimp could become a potential meal for them, so be careful about that. Is the shrimp a fan/filter feeding type shrimp ?

 

[PhoenixsDeadAgain]

Thank you!

I know all about comets size. First one I had grew to be a foot long and had her about...oy 12-15 years. Loved her, and she would eat out of my hand and trained the others to do so. She was so smart. Ive been keeping them 20 years now.

But anyway don't worry I already have a place for her. My mothers pond that my husband and I are building for her. I love my comets and tend to feel the need to rescue them from the "tank of death". So I make sure I have a place for them to go when they outgrow me . My mother has been keeping fish for 40 years now.

Thank you for your concern though. It's rare people in the fish stores tell people how big these fish get and so many of them end up being cramped and becoming disfigured because people don't want to upgrade that 20 gallon they started with.

Well I am going to go put in the wood I have been curing for the past week and I'll be back with some pictures!

I am wanting to re-create a lake look. Well sort of, I am still trying to find my direction with this new tank.We shall see what we end up with!

EDIT: Ack didn't see the shrimp question. Yep they are filter shrimp. The shrimp of many names, Bamboo, Wood, Fan, Filter. I think they are very interesting little buggers. I can't wait until the other matures and they both reach their 2in size. They will be gorgeous.

 

[PhoenixsDeadAgain]

Here are some updates. I put the wood I was soaking in the tank. I think it is looking great. My shrimp love it.

I also added in some bamboo (going for a semi Asian theme) for background plants. I believe that pulls things together much better.

I finally got a decent picture of Snude being her regular ole apple snail self

And a wonderful picture of my shrimp

Her companion finally molted and turned out a wonderful deep green.

Another tank overview with caulerpa added. Yes it is a saltwater plant. My friend gives me her clippings once a week. It only lasts a few days before it is devoured.

Speaking of which I got a new filter from her. You can see bits of it in the pictures.

There is my java moss that my Comet tore loose the string attaching it to the rock. They remind me so much of dogs.

Here is an interesting picture of Jack. Named for Jack Sparrow because of his eye patch.

Here is a great picture of Esme

Here are Jack and Esme schooling together

Here is a picture of the blue half of my tank which I call the dark side of the moon. I had my friend and her husband over and they love the effect.

I got a new apple snail. He is gorgeous. He has been dubbed Snide and he will get his debut soon.

Thanks for looking everyone.

 

[TheguppyKing]

hey doesent the lucky bamboo die in the water?
or wat do u do with the roots?