Goldfish in 5 gallon??

[sylvia]

Those goldfish are usualy baby common goldfish and those are the biggest. Some get to be 12" and live for over 20 years BTW.

It isn't complicated. All you need to do is put de-chlorinated water in the new tank, get some gravel or filter media from a running tank and put that in too and then add the first fish right away.

I don't have pictures but good fish are:

killifish (research them though as there are many types and some are more suitable than others)
guppies, platies, mosquito fish, endler's livebearers (stick to males only and keep only up to 3 maximum)
honey gouramies (keep only one male) or a single dwarf gourami
pygmy cories (group of 2-4), otos (2-3)
spotted rasboras and other tiny rasboras (3-6)

I'm assuming you want a species tank rather than a community (so only one kind of fish).

If you want a tiny community and can get hold of some rarer species, I'd suggest the following:

3 spotted rasbora, 2 (male) mosquito fish, 1 honey gourami/2 pygmy cories (EITHER the gourami OR the cories)

It would be slightly over-stocked but regular maintainance should mean it remains manageable and a few plants with a sand substrate would make it look quite nice too.

 

[Zenn]

It depends on the type of goldfish you are getting really, i kept coldwater fish for oh 6 years, and i kept 5 golden rudd (my fav) and two alantic goldfish...

Now some goldfish tend to actually grow to the size of their enviroment and have no problem just swimming around in circles, because as far as the mental path of a goldfish goes, the memory span of 5 second, literally! and the only thing it responsed to is food...

There are however other goldfish out there that do need ALOT of space because they do grow VERY big, which i think may be the case in which most people here will tell you, because you got some many different types of goldfish, all due to being apart of the carp family

Just choose what goldfish you want to get and research is the best advice anyone can give you t this time, we can help a little more if we know what type of goldfish it was... And if it is from Pet's At Home or anywhere like that, they dont bother asking the staff, half the time they dont know what they are on about, thats why i dont ask them for advice anymore

 

[sylvia]

Goldfish are all the same species. Any size difference is due to selective breeding being concentrated more on appearances rather than size and is only slight. Even bubble-eyes and black moors get too big for a 5 gallon though you could probably keep a single one in a 10 gallon. Goldfish, even though many people over-look it, also happen to be social fish that need the companionship of their own kind to thrive. This is unfortunately difficult to provide for such a large-growing fish. The memory things is also a myth. A goldfish' long term memory is actualy very good - if you've kept goldfish you'll know that they come to the front of the tank when you approach or follow your finger round the front of the glass. Why do you think that is? It's cause they remember that when you approach food's on it's way and they remember the flakes sinking look like your finger against the glass. You can train your goldfish to feed down one end of the tank and they'll remember and will ignore food on the other end for a while. Plus they'll learn to go to a particular color if they associate it with food. Fish may not look very intelligent but they are often under-estimated. Regardless though, you shouldn't keep a fish cramped up just because it will 'survive'. As for 'growing to the size of their wnvironment' - that's another myth. The goldfish WILL outgrow the tank. If not, it will be stunted and that's unpleasant - leading to a slow, painful death.

 

[OoHeatheroO]

Now some goldfish tend to actually grow to the size of their enviroment and have no problem just swimming around in circles, because as far as the mental path of a goldfish goes, the memory span of 5 second, literally! and the only thing it responsed to is food...

This is the type of BS that hurts newbies when they are keeping fish. Goldfish need 20 gallons for the first then 10 gallons for each additional. They do NOT grow to their surroundings, it only stunts them and is not healthy for them. They will get sick and die. Look at the pinned post in this section by The_Wolf.



DO YOUR RESEARCH, there are plenty of other people who are truly knowledgeable about fish on this forum. When in doubt ask a moderator.

 

[Opcn]

A goldfish has a much longer memory than that, also you can't use your muscles well swimming in circles. Don't trust the people at the LFS

 

[Raechal]

I heard the myth of the goldfish only has a 5 second memory span bu my black moor remembers me! Whenever I come to the tank he comes right up to the glass and to the top of the water and waits for me to drop in some pellets or a pea.

 

[Zenn]

Instinct and Memory are two very different things, it like riding a bike, once you have learnt it, it doesnt leave you, you dont need a great memory span to remember that, second of all, fish approaching the front of the tank, typical to the carp family, goldfish house tamed will approach the tank as most fish do for feeding, despite how i feel i got my swordtails trained the fact remains that they are just too greeding to take note of my hand in the water... Oh just a side little fact, many fisherman who partiipate in the sport of fishing actually 99.9% of them keep goldfish, because they actions mimic that of a carp, and so by montioring these actions can devise a strategy in which to use when catching carp, and has worked for the passed 300 years if not more, the more a carp eats the bigger it can get

Second, myth, also known as legend, i know many of them, Koi are the ones that can properly be trained, to call when called, to reconise their owners, for they are the smartest of all fish, the larger the fish the larger the brain... I have a not-so-nice story that would involve a goldfishes memory span, but i dont think any of you would like to hear it, because it is very cruel

Goldfish do get big, i do not pass to that, but i didnt not say you got different speices of goldfish, i said you get different type, coomon goldfish, alantic goldfish, pop-eye gold fish (Celestal starers) Dark moor goldfish, gaint goldfish, koi goldfish, oh the list does go on, need we go there

Gaint goldfish are ones kept in pond, anything smaller and that would be torture to them as shutting a human in a box no bigger than 1 square meter cube...

Alantic goldfish tend to grow big no mtter the size tank you keep them in, so a 15 gallon is suggested to suit the size of them

Black moors and Celestal starer, well they grow at a very slow rate, however in a 5 galloon two would not fit and keeping one is as someone said above, a little cruel and lonely

Now the best fish though to stick into a 5 gallon as a pair, are known as the carnival goldfish, reason this being, is because this type of goldfish is mainly won in carnivals and fairs, they are the small goldfish suitable to a 5 gallon tank, we had two veiltail goldfish that was won from a local fair, they live twice the age of a normal goldfish and they only lived in a 5 gallon tank...

I do hope this knowledge will come in handy, please gather all the advice ALL member shave provided and sum up your own view on the matter, because there are different fact floating here and there on this forum

Oh and just on a side note, it is experience thats makes one knowledgable, but as i said there are many different view on fish keeping, no one is the same, and neither are fish

 

[Dorkhedeos]

i thought it was 14 second memory you cant regular goldfish in that tank, but you can put a special type called peperridge farm goldfish in there. they will be fine for about half year after the bag is open

 

[pica_nuttalli]

i thought it was 14 second memory you cant regular goldfish in that tank, but you can put a special type called peperridge farm goldfish in there. they will be fine for about half year after the bag is open

this is true! however, they're something of a specialty fish, requiring a 100% salt tank -- meaning no water at all! otherwise they develope acute finrot and waste away at a rapid pace...

 

[littlefishie]

i thought it was 14 second memory you cant regular goldfish in that tank, but you can put a special type called peperridge farm goldfish in there. they will be fine for about half year after the bag is open

this is true! however, they're something of a specialty fish, requiring a 100% salt tank -- meaning no water at all! otherwise they develope acute finrot and waste away at a rapid pace...

Now I'm hungry and want my Pepperidge Farm Goldfish..
*Goes off to find them.*

 

[BettaMomma]

LOL
you guys are tards.

Okay, so I've decided I wanna scratch the whole goldfish in the 5 gallon tank idea.

What if.....
I were to get a few girly bettas and put them into the 5 gallon right AWAY as opposed to putting them into something else first, then transferring them over. Anyone see probs with this?

Oh, and my problem with the whole cycling thing is that I don't have any other tanks here that have been cycled. I have to rely on someone else to give me the gravel and I'm not sure at this point I'm trusting enough to get some from somewhere else and dump it in after my last go round with doing that.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

i wouldn't try a female betta colony in a hex simply because breaking up the line of sight would rather hurt the 360 appeal of a hex tank. also, hexs have a significantly smaller footprint than their rectangular counterpart, so territories would be cramped. 3 betta girls would be cramming it in, and 2 betta girls would just be setting up a boxing match.

small hex tanks just aren't well suited for aggressive fish.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

If you like bettas, just get a betta.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

or even better, 2 betta, with a divider, 2.5 gallons is plenty for a betta

 

[pica_nuttalli]

i wasn't aware they made dividers for hex tanks. do they or would it be DIY?

that could be the solution for some betta girlies...