Goldfish & Sand?

[flumpit2]

Hi all,just a quick question.i have 4 goldfish (2 common,1 comet & 1 shubumkin (cant spell it)) plus 4 peppered cory catfish in my tank.at the moment i have gravel in the bottom of my tank but the peppered cories require sand instead as gravel will hurt there barbels & probaly cause a bacterial infection (fin rot) possbly leading to death.so what i want to know is if it is it ok to use sand at the bottom for goldfish?iv tried reading up on it & some people say its ok while others say its not.any help apprechiated!!! x

 

[black angel]

Personally i wouldnt use it as goldies have a habit of swallowing it, but others have had years of using it with no problem so its up to you really.
Just to point out as well that while the goldies are small the cory are fine, but as the golds get bigger the cory are in danger of becoming dinner.

 

[flumpit2]

thanks for the info!out of curiosity,at what size will the goldies think of the cories as dinner & try to eat them?also,my brother in law has a deep large pond with just a few koi in,would all of my goldies be able to survive living in a pond because when they get bigger weve got no room for a larger tank?thanks for your help! x

 

[black angel]

The fish can go in the pond from late spring onward but no later than September/ early october.

A goldies mouth size is deceptive and i reckon a body length of 5 inches could suck up a two inch cory but not be able to swallow it as the spines would stick in the mouth.

 

[flumpit2]

thanks for the info black angel,your a star!!!if im honest i hadnt really thought about the goldfish eating the cories cus at the mo they kind of ignore each other one minute,then there all swimming around together the next minute.it sounds as if it will be best to put the goldies in my brother in laws pond then.if i give them him in may time will that be ok?atleast theyd have room to grow to their full potential.im trying to talk myself into it now as il miss my goldies.i rescued all four from a friend of a friend.he kept them in a dirty little bowl with no air stone or filter,the water was so dirty it looked lke soup!!!there were originally 6 but 2 didnt survive (think theyd been neglected for too long).ill miss my goldies!!!! x

 

[black angel]

May is fine to put them in the pond and just think of all the room they will have to grow and swim in.
They didnt have the best start in life did they but at least now they have a caring owner doing whats best for the fish. Well done you

 

[Austin_09]

I have a quick question about this.. How is it possible to keep cories and goldies together when cories are tropical fish and goldies are cold water fish? Is this fine to do?

 

[black angel]

Some cory can take a lower tropical temperature but usually the water is heated or sits at around 22c. Fancy goldfish dont really like cold water as the common types do and fantails/orandas are really the only hardy fancy that can go in most outdoor ponds.

 

[Austin_09]

ah okay thanks!

 

[flumpit2]

austin 09,my cories are peppered cories (corydoras paleatus),they dont like warm water,theres a couple of cory breeds that like the water temp to be around 24 degrees C.i dont have a heater in my tank,just a good filter & air stone.aparently peppered cories wont survive at such a high temp as most other cories.

black angel,thaks for helping talk me round to the pond idea.i now its for the best & theyl be well looked after,just know it will be hard when the time comes!never mind,il be able to see them when ever i want & probaly in 6 months i wont recognise them cus they would of grown so much!!! x

 

[Shelly_Otterkin]

Sounds like a good reson to get some more little fancys when the time comes to rehome the big ones.

 

[flumpit2]

i might get some more cory catfish instead,atleast then i know they wont out grow the tank & i wont have to get rid of them.i get dead attached to my fish & hate giving them away just because theyv got too big.besides which,my cories keep laying eggs every 2-3 weeks so my tank would soon be full! x

 

[Opcn]

Just as a matter of record, in most cases if a carp eats a cory the carp will die aswell as the cory will extend its spines and lodge in the carps throat.

 

[jackobean]

i believe it would be okay as long as you tke the fish out and out the sand in and then allowing the sand to settle fully, but i think its a lot of uneeded stress to your fish if you ask me i would just take the catfish back to the shop and get somthing more suitable

 

[big mick]

Ive just upgraded my wifes coldwater tank and used sand (I'll post pics soon once it clears up a bit) and the dojo loaches love it. Ive kept most fish on sand without problems, they just spit it back out again.