Decorating The New Tank :)

[fishing for info]

I have a shubunkin, a comet and a yellow goldfish at the moment . I got them really small and they were doing great in a 14L tank, but they have grown so big now ! time for a big change, i bought a 50L instead, but I only have one ornament and it looks a bit lonely.
so anyway, i was wondering if any goldfish keepers could tell me what kind of ornament they enjoy most, or what plants are best, or perhaps you'd advise just keeping it quite empty. Oh, and also, any advice on particular gravel, sand or stones would be helpful.

Just remembered as well, how long shall i leave the water in before i transfer the fish
Thanks

 

[rebrn]

Well I am not a goldfish owner, but decoration choices are really dependent on personal choice. Some people like the more natural look, some prefer more cartoon type decor, still others like themed decor, the list goes on. The basics, I am sure you already know, is that you want to provide ample hiding places for the fish but keep it balanced with swimming room. I personally like themed tanks, not necessarily natural decor, such as driftwood, but not something that is super colourful and over the top. I prefer to get my colour from the fish. I like to put in ornaments that match the fish's "country of origin" or at least as close as possible. As for substrate, I personally prefer the sand, some will argue with me, but I find it easier to clean as the dirt doesn't fall through the cracks like in gravel. The down side to sand, depending on the colour of sand, is the dirt is easily seen. I have a natural coloured sand so all the fish poop is easily seen. Now personally, this doesn't bother me, and I don't see it as a down side, it is a constant visual reminder that the tank needs cleaning. I mean yeah you do weekly water changes, but with gravel, if you are like me, it is easy to "forget" to gravel vac because you don't see the dirt. For me the sand prevents me from becoming lazy with substrate cleaning, it is harder to ignore the dirt when it is so obvious as it is with the sand. The other downside to sand is that you do have to stir it up every now and then to make sure you don't get gasses trapped in the sand. But again, not a big deal for me, do the water change, pick up dirt, and run a bamboo skewer through the sand once a week. The one thing with sand that does take some getting used to is cleaning it, you don't actually stick the gravel vacc into the sand (if you do you will just suck it all up). You just kind of hover over it moving the vacuum in a circular motion to pick up the dirt. I actually find this easier if you just use the hose part of the vacuum.

Again, not a goldfish owner, but hope that gave you some ideas.

 

[furry catfish]

wow 50 litres is way to small for 2 goldies let alone 1 and a shubkin,get a 20 gallon,put the shubkin in your or a friends or a lfs's pond and put the yellow gold fish in the 20 gal

 

[fishing for info]

actually sorry, they're all comets and they are seriously not too big for the tank haha. Thanks a lot Rbrn, this has been of great help. i can imagine your tank looks incredible!

 

[furry catfish]

actually sorry, they're all comets and they are seriously not too big for the tank haha. Thanks a lot Rbrn, this has been of great help. i can imagine your tank looks incredible!

it's not that they get to big but gold fish produce a HUGE bioload on youre tank,this will kill the fish in time unless you get rid of the gold fish and get some mountain minnows instead

 

[shelaghfishface]

actually sorry, they're all comets and they are seriously not too big for the tank haha . Thanks a lot Rbrn, this has been of great help. i can imagine your tank looks incredible!

they seriously are! if you ask for advice then dont take it, what was the point in asking?

 

[aly_starh]

Yes, they will outgrow the tank soon,

if you want proof, have a read at this;-

here is info on Comets http/animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/goldfish/CometGoldfish.php

50L is not even suitable for 1 comet IDT...



Edited: to add link.