Goldfish Chasing Oranda Around My Tank

[firefighter1588]

my common goldfish (rooney) is chasing my oranda fantail (gary) around the tank, its not all the time but im wondering if he is just playing or wether he doesnt like the oranda? any help would be great

 

[catxx]

commons have a habit of bullying fancies
i'm not a goldie expert, but i don't think it's recommended to keep fancies and commons together.
i'd seperate them.
how big is the tank?

 

[firefighter1588]

my tank is 160litres. i have a black moor aswell is that a fancy fish? my common goldfish doesnt seem to pay him any attention he just chases the oranda, thanks for the help

 

[catxx]

the moor is a fancy, telescope eyes.
the fancies aren't as a strong a swimmer as the commons owing to their deformities.

commons are best kept in ponds than tanks, they'll grow a lot quicker than the fancies.

how many goldies do you have in your tank.
(it's 42 US gallons, for some reason i can only work in US gallons)

 

[firefighter1588]

i have 1 blacck moor, one common goldfish, one oranda and 2 little loaches.

 

[koimom]

Put the common goldfish in a separate tank or better yet, a pond.
Let the fancies have the tank to themselves.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

As Catxx noted, mixing fancy with slim type goldfish is not advised as fancy goldfish are slow due to their man-made physical features, while common goldfish are much more natural shaped and stream-lined. Hence when fancy goldfish get picked on by slim type goldfish like common or comet goldfish, fancy goldfish do not have the agility or spead to defend themselves like the slim types do.

Fancy goldfish types also find it difficult competing for food with slim type goldfish for the same reasons as well, so wether your slim goldfish bully your fancy ones or not, they are best not kept together. Common goldfish thrive in ponds where the temps are more suited to their liking, however, the weather is too cold now in places like Wales to move them outdoors (the different in indoor and outdoor temps would be too shocking for the fish).

Soo...
My advice to you would be either;
a. Go down to your lfs and buy a dividing barrier for your tank so the slim goldfish are separated from the fancy ones- when the weather warms up next year, move the slim type ones into a pond ASAP so they are in a more suitable habitat with more space (wether you like it or not, your slim type goldfish will outgrow your current tank over time regardless, so they are best moved to a pond).
The pond will need to be of at least 3ft depth and have filtration.

b. Buy a new tank of suitable size for either the victum goldfish or bully one/s and separate them by moving them into a separate tank.

c. Separate the goldfish with a dividing barrier/net in the tank, build a pond of at least 3ft depth, add pond heating and filtration, and move the goldfish into the pond once it is done.

 

[firefighter1588]

thanks for all the advice guys, im new to all this and im suprised that the people at the fish center didnt tell me that fancy and common goldfish cant live in the same tank happily. i bought them at the same time and they didnt say anything anyway i only have the one common so for now i will divide the tank and then move him in to my friends pond, although my friend lives just over an hours drive away so any tips on how to keep rooney (my common goldfish) in good health for the trip? thanks for taking the time to help me out

Brad

 

[three-fingers]

People at pet centres and garden centres dont usually know sh*t. People at a specific aquatics shop usually know their stuff, but often dont tell you because its better for them to make the sale. If an angry customer comes back, they will usually tell you lies or make up excuses like "ive been doing it for years and never had any problems" or the like.
With fancy goldfish and commons its ok sometimes but 90% its not ok.

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

Fantails wobble about. its pretty hard to keep them with anything else other than more fantails. any fish would be curious about a wobbling fish and common goldfish just do the same lol theres nothin anyone could do about it. the common should go in a different tank or like someone said, even better a pond where they belong

 

[PlecMama]

You might find that Rooney will just pick on someone else if you take Gary out, so he's best in his own place. Make a nice pond

Of course he might just be a thug. I did a lot of looking up of "Bully fish" when I had a prob with mine. Sometimes you can just get a mean one. I know both Spot and Smudge will bully everyone else, as a team, if they can get away with it. If Smudge doesn't have anyone else to bully, he will bully Spot. I tried putting just the two of them together and Smudge kept pinning him to the ground. Hooligan fish.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Here are my suggestions for transporting the common goldie:
- In advance, obtain two large fish shipping bags, free of holes and preferably never before used. If they've been used before, be sure to sterilize them. Many pet stores will gladly spot you the two bags, especially if you're buying other supplies while you're there. ::hint::
- For the two days prior to transport, do not feed the fish who is being moved.
- The night before the trip, fill a gallon jug with tap water. Allow to sit overnight so the temperature is appropriate the following day. Depending on your type of dechlorinator, you'll want to dechlorinate that night, or the next morning.
- If desired, add a bit of stress coat or stress guard to the water, to help with any slime coat damage that occurs during capture or when the fish panics.
- Immediately before leaving the house, scoop the fish into a clean container and pour him and the water in the cup with him into one of the two bags. Add clean water from your dechlorinated gallon.
- Make sure there is enough water for comfortable swimming room, but leave plenty of air in the top so the water does not become oxygen depleted too rapidly.
- Place the secured first bag in the second bag and make sure both are leak free before transporting.
- If there are no leaks, place the bagged fish in a small cooler, preferably padded in some way so he is not hitting hard plastic if he smacks against the sides of the cooler during transport. (The cooler will keep the temp in the bag stable regardless of the air/car temp, if you're wondering why I suggest it)
- Do not blast music in the car. The vibrations will stress the fish.
- When you arrive, start floating the fish right away. Acclimate as you would if you were bringing home a new fish from the pet store.

It may seem like overkill, but I've transported fish all over creation and have never lost one - including transporting a sick betta 5 hours home from Watkins Glen, and bringing home 15 bettas from PA about 5 times per year, a 2 hour drive.

 

[jollysue]

I believe pond goldies will often damage the swim bladder of fancies, whether from bullying or playing. They nose them and the fancies get swim bladder damage--or so I've heard.

 

[RandomWiktor]

I wouldn't be surprised! You should see my commons beat the crap out of each other. I had to plant their tank super-densely because if they could get up the momentum, they'd really slam one another when fighting over food. As it is, they have scraped up faces from "playing" too roughly when they mate.

 

[jollysue]

Yes, my common killed off all my lovely fancies one by one before I finally figured out what was going on. They all got swim bladder damage. More shame. Seems I learn everything the hard way.