Easy upgrades?

[nabster]

I've got a single 1.5" feeder goldfish in a 10G BiUbe (attached), with some artificial plants. He? is on a diet of Fluval bug bites and generic (tetra?) flakes.

I'm aware that the tank is too small for him and my ultimate goal is to move him to my outdoor pond, but that is under maintenance and so for now, this is his home.

Other than going to a bigger tank, are there any other recommended upgrades and in what order should I consider those? For example,
- diet (e.g., gel food, other live food)?
- live plants?
- another fish for company?

thanks!

 

[Seisage]

The biggest "upgrade" for a goldfish in general is to do frequent, large water changes and staying on top of managing waste. Goldfish are messy, and produce a lot of ammonia.

In this specific scenario, I'd recommend live, fast-growing plants. Their benefits will be twofold. One: they will help a lot with absorbing ammonia waste products. Two: they will provide more cover in the tank and help the fish feel more secure. I would recommend a stem plant such as egeria, water wisteria, bacopa, etc. These plants get nutrients directly from the water column, making them very good at removing ammonia. You can plant them in the substrate, but you don't need to.

Don't add another fish though, as another fish just means more ammonia. Goldfish don't really need "company" in the same way a tetra does. Goldfish are gregarious, but not schooling.

 

[Colin_T]

Goldfish need lots of plant matter in their diet. Live plants can help, and a small floating plant called Duckweed is a good plant for them to eat. They also like a bit of frozen (but defrosted) food like brineshrimp, daphnia, bloodworms, prawn, etc. You can buy these from most pet shops.

Do big (75%) weekly water changes and gravel cleaning the substrate, as mentioned by Seisage.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the aquarium.

What sort of filter is on the tank?

Put a picture on the back of the tank.

 

[Essjay]

What sort of filter is on the tank?

All Biorbs, whatever the shape, use undergravel filters. Those 'rocks' on the bottom of the tank are the bio medium.
There is also a small cartridge under the rocks which contains a small piece of foam and a carbon-zeolite mix, but the foam is not really big enough to add any significant biofiltration - and they say to change it frequently as the carbon and zeolite get full.

 

[nabster]

Goldfish need lots of plant matter in their diet. Live plants can help, and a small floating plant called Duckweed is a good plant for them to eat. They also like a bit of frozen (but defrosted) food like brineshrimp, daphnia, bloodworms, prawn, etc. You can buy these from most pet shops.

Do big (75%) weekly water changes and gravel cleaning the substrate, as mentioned by Seisage.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the aquarium.

What sort of filter is on the tank?

Put a picture on the back of the tank.

Duckweed and frozen food, noted!

Also thanks for the tip re: water changes. I was doing 30% water changes/week. Will bump that up.

Here are pics to try and show what Essjay said above about the tank filtration.

 

[nabster]

The biggest "upgrade" for a goldfish in general is to do frequent, large water changes and staying on top of managing waste. Goldfish are messy, and produce a lot of ammonia.

In this specific scenario, I'd recommend live, fast-growing plants. Their benefits will be twofold. One: they will help a lot with absorbing ammonia waste products. Two: they will provide more cover in the tank and help the fish feel more secure. I would recommend a stem plant such as egeria, water wisteria, bacopa, etc. These plants get nutrients directly from the water column, making them very good at removing ammonia. You can plant them in the substrate, but you don't need to.

Don't add another fish though, as another fish just means more ammonia. Goldfish don't really need "company" in the same way a tetra does. Goldfish are gregarious, but not schooling.

thanks and noted on all. Really happy to hear it isn't horrible for him to be alone.