80 Gallon Goldfish Tank a d Tankmates

[Circus]

So I am setting up an 80 gallon for goldfish. I was thinking I wanted 5 goldfish, with some tank mates. What are my options? Ph around 7.4 and hardness tends toward 110 ppm.

It would be an unheated tank, so think 68 to 70 °F.

I was thinking 3 Hoplo catfish and a BN Pleco.

 

[Sgooosh]

So I am setting up an 80 gallon for goldfish. I was thinking I wanted 5 goldfish, with some tank mates. What are my options? Ph around 7.4 and hardness tends toward 110 ppm.

It would be an unheated tank, so think 68 to 70 °F.

I was thinking 3 Hoplo catfish and a BN Pleco.

what type of goldfish? some are too big to put in a 80 gal.

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

The water is probably a bit cold for hoplos and bristlenose

 

[Circus]

I can put in a heater if I need to for tank mates. It is 48 3/4x18.5x20.5.

 

[Circus]

I saw some fantail goldfish. There were some calico ones, they looked pretty cool.

 

[GobyMaster11276]

Hey, to help with your planning I would recommend taking a look at the tool Aqadvisor. Very easy to use and it will flag some stocking or setup issues.

That aside, goldfish are very messy fish with a particular set of needs, so it is easier to keep them in a species tank. It is possible to have tankmates, but you would need to be aware of their temperaments and water needs. For example, goldfish prefer still water while other species want currents. Also, fancy goldfish, due to their breeding and anatomy, can be easily outcompeted for food by faster, more ’optimised’ fish, so this could be an issue.

I don’t have experience with BN plecos or catfish, so I can’t say much on them. Just watch out that, if you choose to have a tankmate, they won’t eat each other!

 

[Circus]

Hmm. So if I were to keep just the goldfish, could I keep 5 or 6? I like the fan tails, but oranda and telescopes also look nice.

 

[GobyMaster11276]

I think you shouldn’t have issues mixing them, as long as they aren’t of very different sizes (since anything that can fit in a goldfish’s mouth will likely be eaten). Ideally, if you can get them from the same place at once, you’ll have less to worry about with disease and aggression. Be sure not to mix-and-match common and fancy goldfish, since common can outcompete them.

Another thing is that, if you use Aqadvisor, be sure to input your filter type, as this will affect your bioload. For example, if you have a very powerful filter, you could possibly keep a fish or two more (if you wanted to, or just enjoy the clean water ).

 

[Circus]

Thank you guys for the help!

 

[GobyMaster11276]

No problem! I look forward to seeing what you go with

 

[LordHappy]

Happy day...a friend in MD has a 4-foot deep pond and he keeps crayfish (not dwarf) in his with his koi and fancy golds. As long as it has a few piles of rocks to move between, it should be fine. Carp are filthy fish, so ammonia buildup is something to consider.