Goldfish With Tropical

[tropicalfish311]

i was wondering if i could put a goldfish in with tropical fish. I know that goldfish need much cooler temps but i see some people on youtube that put goldfish with there tropical fish.

 

[fishguy2727]

Details:
What size tank?
What temp?
What type of tropical fish?
What type of goldfish?

 

[fluttermoth]

All I can say, from my experience, is that most people who post on YouTube are not the kind of fishkeepers I would want to emulate...

Yes, you can keep goldfish at tropical temperatures, but it is never in the fish's best interest. Goldies are cold/temperate species; although they will survive at tropical temps, it is not healthy to force them to do so; it's not within their natural range and will shorten their lifespan and cause them to fall prey to more disease than they should.

 

[fishguy2727]

That is not true. Goldfish are eurythermal, meaning they can handle a very wide temp range. Tropical temps are well within their natural range. They come from Southeast Asia, just like many of our tropical fish. So they can be together in the wild but not in captivity? Doesn't make sense does it. In addition, they are naturalized in almost every other water system that all of our other tropical fish come from. They are bred on the same tropical fish farms as our tropical fish. Not to mention that room temp and tropical temps is usually only different by about 4F.

Obviously you have no experience with this nor are you basing this on any actual facts.

Goldfish being 'coldwater' and incompatible with tropical fish is just another over-regurgitated myth that some people won't let die.

 

[fluttermoth]

Obviously you have no experience with this nor are you basing this on any actual facts.

Hmm, thanks for that...
I guess my nearly 40 years of fishkeeping is toally irrelevant and meaningless then.

I have personally found that goldies fare very badly in tropical tanks, but do feel free to write off and disregard my opinions.

It's not like I and my friend have kept and bred weather loach (ok, we never manged to hatch them, but they have spawned), danios, WCMM, goldies (fantails, normals, comets, shubunkins, lemons), koi, tetras, barbs and rasboras since the 1970s, after all, is it?

...oh wait...

actually we have..

 

[onidrase]

All I can say, from my experience, is that most people who post on YouTube are not the kind of fishkeepers I would want to emulate...

Yes, you can keep goldfish at tropical temperatures, but it is never in the fish's best interest. Goldies are cold/temperate species; although they will survive at tropical temps, it is not healthy to force them to do so; it's not within their natural range and will shorten their lifespan and cause them to fall prey to more disease than they should.

+1
People on youtube also keep oscars in 29 gallon tanks and stingrays with arowanas in 55 gallon tanks, just a few examples. I'd avoid using youtube videos for tank inspiration.

I'd avoid putting a goldfish in a tropical tank, myself. They do prefer a colder water temperature, and like most fish, can survive outside of that temperature, but that doesn't mean they'll like it. Just like you and I can survive in blazing heat or freezing cold, and we still have a temperature that we prefer to stay in.

 

[fishguy2727]

Any facts to support your claim that they are coldwater, or just your failed attempt to keep them in tropical temps (while they thrive in those conditions around the world)?

 

[onidrase]

Any facts to support your claim that they are coldwater, or just your failed attempt to keep them in tropical temps (while they thrive in those conditions around the world)?

Well, those are wild goldfish. Not fancy goldfish or comet goldfish or all those other goldfish that are born and raised in captivity, with many different mutations that came with years and years of selective breeding. Chances are if you threw one of these domestic goldfish into their natural habitat, it would die very quickly.

I'm taking a gander, though not an researched one, that they're a tad more fragile than the goldfish that thrive around the world, due to domestication. All domestic animals are known to have special needs which wild animals don't have. Wild goldfish don't look a single bit like your average domestic goldfish. And that might have an effect on what they can "thrive" in.

Another guess here, based on your previous statements. Asia is big, and I wouldn't doubt for a second that a lot of the tropical fish that come from there that prefer tropical waters live in a different areas than goldfish with their colder water preference. Though some goldfish may have strayed and learned to thrive in different areas than their natural environment (let's face it, this happens all the time in nature)

 

[Mikaila31]

Goldfish like most fish have a wide temperature range, but they do best below tropical temps. They can do fine at 78*, but the main issue is they well be extremely messy. The higher the temp the faster the metabolism. So why you would want a goldfish at tropical temps is the real question IMO... they are messy enough at their optimal temps. Goldfish have a very wide temp range as long as it is gradual. Goldfish that are overwintered in a pond may see temps from 40-mid70's over the course of a year.

 

[friendlyfishy777]

This reminds me of an article I read a few months back called Goldfish with tropicals - right or wrong?, you can read it below:

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=4146

 

[orandas]

i was wondering if i could put a goldfish in with tropical fish. I know that goldfish need much cooler temps but i see some people on youtube that put goldfish with there tropical fish.

somebody restrain me...........

 

[willowstwin]

so, technically, if you managed to source wild goldfish, you would be ok putting them in a trop tank? (dont flame me, just trying to understand)

 

[Far2lively]

Didn't think a discussion about goldfish could become this heated, but fishguy2727 is correct and makes very good points, youtube is not the place to get info on fish I've seen 25±pirahnas in a 20gal tank

 

[fluttermoth]

Any facts to support your claim that they are coldwater, or just your failed attempt to keep them in tropical temps (while they thrive in those conditions around the world)?

Mate, I haven't 'failed' to keep them at tropical temperatures...I've just found that they suffer more stress related diseases and digestive problems, live shorter lives and, if raised from fry in constant tropical temperatures, are thinner and less deep bodied, have poorer colouration and longer, less well balanced finnage than those raised at cooler temps.

Admittedly, I don't have any scientific studies to back this up, it's based only on years of personal experience. You're more than welcome to disagree, but please don't try to tell me I have no experience

 

[fishguy2727]

Those are not just wild goldfish. Wild goldfish come from Southeast Asia, not South Africa, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, etc. All of these countries have naturalized populations (domestic goldfish that were released or escaped). Granted these are not going to be black moors or ranchus, but they are domestic goldfish that have established wild populations.

All this information is easily found on fishbase.org.

From my own experience I can say that the goldfish I kept in tropical temps did extremely well, in fact they bred repeatedly in my 75 that also housed discus and an achara catfish (amazonian catfish). My fancy goldfish, kept at room temp, did not do this until years after these guys did.
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7UqQJS-ZBI


Here is a map I made based on the information available at fishbase.org. The countries in blue are ones that goldfish are native to (like Myanmar and Laos, quite tropical). The ones in red are all the countries that goldfish have established naturalized populations in. As you can see their naturalized range (again, not wild type goldfish, but domestics that were released or escaped) is massive, and includes most of the places all of our other tropical fish come from. Whether or not it is really better for them long term is debatable, but to keep regurgitating the myth that they are coldwater fish is simply inaccurate.