Goldfish versus tropical

[desley]

Hi all,

I have had tropical fish (platties, guppies) for about 18 months. First 6 months I was learning ... then a year was OK with them but now I have injured myself and can no longer do as much maintence. Trying to get a python cleaner to no avail yet but will keep trying.

I would like to ask others out there that may have changed from tropical to goldfish.

Are they less prone to disease, can stand slightly less maintence (say 25% water change every 3 weeks or so) ..

My tank is 80L (22 gallons) and was thinking about 2 - 3 fantails.

Any advice from experienced fishkeepers would be appeciated.

Thanks
desley

 

[The-Wolf]

I'm sorry but a 22 gallon tank can only hold one goldfish;

20 gallons for the first fish and 10 for each additional fish.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I personally have found goldfish to be hardier than most tropicals and more forgiving when something goes wrong, i.e. less frequent water changes, and no heater to worry about giving out and having all your fish die. However, they do need more room for one of them than you do a lot of tropical fish, so if you're interested in a very 'full' looking tank it's not as much fun, but I find they have more personality than a lot of tropicals... but that's just my two bits of metal...

 

[desley]

thanks I appreciate the feedback.

It is interesting that the first feedback says one cause when I went to the petstore today and told him my size tank he says you could easily put in a dozen !!!

I know from reading that I cannot do that but would 4 pose too much risk in 22 gallons ?? I would only buy small fantails.

I agree on the 2nd message they do have more personality and the way my tank is going it is NOT ON THE FULL LOOKING size anyway

Now do I wait to see how my platties go ... cause what do I do if I want to change over to goldfish.

I have about 6 fish left ... any ideas.

 

[debiasir]

I would only buy small fantails

they will grow

i have had mine 4 weeks and they have grown a fair bit allready

 

[The-Wolf]

It is interesting that the first feedback says one cause when I went to the petstore today and told him my size tank he says you could easily put in a dozen !!!

I just have to respond to that.

this lfs suggests putting in a dozen goldfish,
so thats (for arguments sake) $1 a fish= $12

a few weeks later, you have lost around 75%
you return to the store and re-stock
say 9 more fish thats another $9, whilst there you spot something else
and so on and so on, ad infernitum

result the lfs gains lots of your cash
you gain lots of heartache and are very light in the pocket.
many fish have died unnessicarily.

 

[squeeker]

While I would agree that goldfish can be hardier than tropicals, you must remember that a goldfish is substantially more messy than tropicals. Goldish have thick, bulbous bodies, and they have their own special needs because of this. They are prone to swim bladder disorder, which can become aggrivated if notrAte levels get too high, and because they do emit so much waste, the nitrAtes have a tendency of climbing rather quickly.

That said, frequent water changes are a must when keeping goldfish, in order to decrease the nitrAte levels. I have 3 goldfish tanks, and I do a 40% change once a week on each tank.

And, yes, as everyone has said, goldfish need lots of space. Cute little inch-and-a-half goldfish from the pet store grow into 10 inchfish, plus tail... Think of a grapefruit with fins! They can double to quadruple their size in a year, depending on the type. Their bodies aren't sleek and streamlined like tropicals of the same length, so they require that much more oxygen in the water, and so therefore more space each. I go by the 10 gallons per goldfish rule, although all of my tanks are understocked. For example, I have 5 goldies in my 77 gallon, and they are doing great.

Goldfish are my favourite fish of all time, they have SO much personality! If you do decide to go with goldfish, good luck!

Edited to add: Don't mix goldfish with your remaining tropicals. Goldfish are cold water fish, and will not appreciate the temperatures that your platties require. The warmer the water is, the less oxygen is dissolved in it... and goldfish need a lot! They like temps around 68-72 ish.

 

[desley]

thanks all for your feedback.

I think the lfs wants to make money definitely.

If I change to goldfish I will limit it to 2 in my 22 gallon tank. I have a good filter and high powered pump for aeration as our climate is warm here so the water can be up to 30 degrees without a heater most of summer.

I am not doing anything until I see how the rest of my fish go. I don't have many left (didn't have that many to start with) ...

But

if they all do eventually die off is there any special requirements I need to do to the tank before adding new goldfish. Obviously do a large water change and take out the heater but anything else ? thanks

 

[squeeker]

Nope, not really... everything should be fine, and that way your filter will still be cycled

Edited because of odd smiley

 

[desley]

thanks again.

I get SO confused though.

I went to 2 lfs today.

One said wait until all my fish either die or ask around for anyone who wants them before changing over to goldfish and she said 2 - 4 (which is better than the other one yesterday that said 12) ... but maintance wise they are messy but can tolerate much more so can get away with less cleaning if you have problems. She said that they withstand much wider water temps and are less prone to diseases than tropical fish.

The other one said that they get just as many diseases as tropical fish. Are just as hard to keep alive and that 6 would be OK. Put in with my tropical fish I have now but won't get any benefit changing to goldfish. They are just as hard to keep.

Now I'm really confused.

I just love my fish tank, realise I cannot spend as much time as others maintaining it and want something that I won't put into misery if I can't get PH, nitrates etc all perfect.

I am not buying anything until I work out the best fish for me .. as hard as it is walking in seeing all the cute goldfish and tropicals there are.

 

[black angel]

i would just want to add that in my experience gf are a lot harder to keep alive as the maintenance is greater because people over stock the tank so making it more likely to have poor water. if you put two gf in the tank then the maintenance to begin with will be weekly. when they start to grow then the maintenance will become twice a week and before you know it they will be needing daily attention because they are very messy fish. gf need around 15 gallons when young and then around 30 or more when fully grown.
if you want coldwater then you could get two fancy tailed gf such as oranda and they could quite happily live in that size tank but again the maintenance will be more than tropicals.
fancy gf suffer more with swimbladder troubles.
do you have any test kits? if you find out the ph of your water then that should really tell you if it is worthwhile keeping gf or not. goldies like a high ph but can adapt to lower ranges.
you should also get nitrite, nitrate and ammonia tests too if you havent got them.

so in short you could have 2 small gf in the tank but you will need to upgrade in less than a year to stop them getting stunted and dying from disease, so basically they will probably be more work than tropicals.

you can get white cloud mountain minnows which grow to just over an inch long instead and in a tank your size you could get a dozen and are less work for the filter and will only need weekly water changes. if you keep the water at around 24c then you could get 3 cories for the bottom.

just my opinion though. good luck with what you go for

 

[desley]

Thanks Black Angel. I have now decided against goldfish just for this reason. I don't want to stunt their growth and I know I will not get a bigger tank because I got this tank for my birthday year before last and the matching cabinet last year so it is set where it is.

My platties and the few guppies are all doing well at the present time so I will just leave them alone. Maybe they can breed themselves up.

But if I lose them all eventually and change what about Barbs .. like tiger barbs. I been reading up on the most hardy fish and they seem pretty good and I like them.

I love livebearers for my son to see little fry but possibly barbs are hardier in our climate.

I suppose this question might be better asked in the tropical forum now as it is not really goldfish related

 

[corbypete]

i was thinking of some goldies recently while i wait to buy my tropical equipement and the fish themselves... however they are sooo dirty, i used to keep some a few years back, i was constantly cleaning out blocked filters, gravel , and 100% water changes because it just got too messy... i had about 20 gallon tank, but had 3 fish in it, which i now know was overstocking, after one dies i had 2 left who lived ok for a bit until i really lost interest. when the last one died i had had so much stress keeping them it put me off fish for ages, however keeping a nice clean tropical tank appeals to me so much more, i couldn't bare to put big dirty goldfish in there unless they were for my fishes dinner!