A Question On Food

[dant1875]

Hi,
I think I know the answer anyway, seeing as they eat pretty much anything, but is there any tropical foods that you shouldn't give to Goldfish? They are just standard 'little'uns', in a 25l tank (3 of them), I've bought a big tank to start keeping tropical fish & bought a lot of food, so I feel guilty now because they've been sort of left out recently . If anything is fine - is there a particular food they love?
Thanks in advance

 

[Honeythorn]

You can feed them tropical flake. There isn't a great deal of difference really.

But forget keeping tropicals in the big tank. You will need that for your goldfish. They have an average size of around 10-12 inches and are very active fish. for 3 you need around 60 gallons. That 25 l will stunt and kill them .They are technically a pond fish after all.

How big is the big tank?

 

[dant1875]

You can feed them tropical flake. There isn't a great deal of difference really.

But forget keeping tropicals in the big tank. You will need that for your goldfish. They have an average size of around 10-12 inches and are very active fish. for 3 you need around 60 gallons. That 25 l will stunt and kill them .They are technically a pond fish after all.

How big is the big tank?

It's a 90l tank - the goldies are only little - we had orandas in it initially & when they 'moved on' we had the same size goldies - they won't grow to that size surely? . I've bought bloodworm & daphnia (freeze dried) - can they have that as well as flake?

 

[Honeythorn]

That's the size they are supposed to grow to. 10 inches is not remotely uncommon for a fancy goldfish. The biggest so far is a fancy goldfish who is 17 inches long. The owner had to support him with two hands for the picture .

But keeping them in that tank will stunt them very badly and cause premature death before they have a chance to get to that size. Why anyone would want to do that is beyond me ( I'm not saying you do, but that is what will happen ) They can live for over 30 years when kept properly in large tanks and ponds. I take it you weren't told any of this?


They need good filtration as well. They produce a lot of waste and therefor a lot of ammonia. An external filter with a lot of media capacity is what is needed for 3 goldfish. You really need a tank around 5 feet long for them. You could keep them in the 90 litre for the time being but they would need the larger tank eventually.

Bloodworm and Daphnia are also fine foods for them. Don't feed a lot of it though as too much dried foods can cause bloating. Fresh live daphnia and bloodworm is good as a once weekly treat though. Most fish adore them and they are fine for goldfish. You can also give them a treat of a couple of cooked de-shelled peas squashed up. It keeps their systems regular ( a bit like you or me eating bran flakes or prunes )

 

[dant1875]

That's the size they are supposed to grow to. 10 inches is not remotely uncommon for a fancy goldfish. The biggest so far is a fancy goldfish who is 17 inches long. The owner had to support him with two hands for the picture .

But keeping them in that tank will stunt them very badly and cause premature death before they have a chance to get to that size. Why anyone would want to do that is beyond me ( I'm not saying you do, but that is what will happen ) They can live for over 30 years when kept properly in large tanks and ponds. I take it you weren't told any of this?

Nope - I rescued them from the evil clutches of P@H , but to be honest they never told me anything remotely decent about anything to do with them


They need good filtration as well. They produce a lot of waste and therefor a lot of ammonia. An external filter with a lot of media capacity is what is needed for 3 goldfish. You really need a tank around 5 feet long for them. You could keep them in the 90 litre for the time being but they would need the larger tank eventually.

Ouch I might see if a friend of mine will take them off my hands then - I haven't got anywhere near enough room for a tank that size!

Bloodworm and Daphnia are also fine foods for them. Don't feed a lot of it though as too much dried foods can cause bloating. Fresh live daphnia and bloodworm is good as a once weekly treat though. Most fish adore them and they are fine for goldfish. You can also give them a treat of a couple of cooked de-shelled peas squashed up. It keeps their systems regular ( a bit like you or me eating bran flakes or prunes )

Yayy - fishy prunes it is then

 

[Honeythorn]

If you can re-home them with a friend who has space then GREAT. 25 litres is around 5 gallons. If you add a heater as soon as the goldfish are gone, and do a large water change, you can comfortably house a Male betta in there if you still want to use the tank. Other options include 6 male endlers and shrimp, or some small nano fish like Brigitte rasboros or Ember tetras. You could even go for a single dwarf puffer.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The only foods i would not recommend feeding goldfish (nor other fish) is tubifex, as this has been known to come from areas contaminated with raw sewage, and live tubifex worms can pass on certain parasites to fish.