Hello, I'M A Newbie :)

[Mozely]

Hi, I am new to the forums and thought I'd introduce myself. I've been keeping coldwater fish for about 6 and a half years now. I have learnt a lot through trial and error I am afraid to say, but one of my goldfish, Ra-Ra I have had for over 5 and a half years now

This is me and my fish

 

[aly_starh]

Nice tank!!

Welcome to TFF!!

 

[Mozely]

Thank you. That picture was taken a little while ago but it's the only one that shows the full tank. Heres a few more pics of my fish though. I just took them tonight. They are blurry unfortuately but then fish are not exactly famed for staying still while you take a photo...

Ra-Ra, my old girl.

Trendier (the plain orange one, couldn't get a shot of him on his own)

Winkle

Wee-Willie

Finegan

Rose

Gilbert

Doctor Zoidberg (he's difficult to get a shot of so I put 2 up.)

Marmeduke Bigglesthwaite-Smythe

And a couple of group shots

 

[aly_starh]

Fish look great,
but i have 2 questions?
How many litres is the tank and how many coldwater fish do you have in there. Im afraid to say it is slighly overstocked from what i can see.

 

[Mozely]

There are 9 fish. Erm, litres wise I have to work it out every time, I can never remember. I know the tank is 42" x 18" x 12" but I don't have my little conversion chart thing up here...

The fish also vary in size a lot. Just going to work them all out.

I am in the planning stages of building their new home anyway. They are all pond hardy so this time next year they will be taking up a large portion of my garden rather than a large portion of my kitchen. Part of the reason I joined actually was to ask about pond stuffs and also I am considering trying out the unchartered territory of tropicals... Not in the 4 foot though, I'd like a little 2 foot tank with some glowlight tetras in, not sure what else I'd have in it though, if anything.

 

[Mozely]

OK, my fish now think I'm insane, I just did my best to guestimate their sizes better by getting them to play then slapping a ruler on the side of the tank LOL

These are the best I could guess including tail fins

Doctor Zoidberg 15cm
Ra-Ra 14cm
Winkle 12cm
Trendier 10cm
Finegan 9cm
Wee-Willie 8cm
Rose 6cm
Gilbert 5cm
Marmeduke Bigglesthwaite-Smythe 4cm

I just converted all those into inches and added them together, so total I've roughly 34 inches of fish in there. I don't know if that is too much or not? Never calculated it all up before.

 

[Jenste]

here is a way to calculate your gallons
multiply the length X width X height. Then divide THAT number by 231. Voila!!! thats how many gallons your tank can hold.

A general rule of thumb is 1 gallon per inch of fish.
Hope this helps!

 

[Honeythorn]

Going by the dimensions I'd say the tank is approximately 35-40 gallons. You should only have one fancy in there.

But if they are all normal bodied goldfish and going in a pond pretty soon then once they've gone all you'd need to do is add a heater, do a 50% water change and add some tropicals if you wanted to turn that into a tropical tank. You could do this the same day as moving your goldfish out of the tank as long as you don't add too many tropicals at once. If the tank/filter is mature ( been running with fish for over 6 months ) then it should be fine for adding a few tetras as soon as the goldfish are gone ( must be either the same day or the day after the golds have been removed otherwise your filter bacteria will die off and cause an ammonia spike ) .

Alternatively if you want to keep it as a coolwater tank, then Zebra Danios and White cloud mountain minnows are great shoaling fish suitable for a tank that size, you could easily have 10 of each.

 

[Mozely]

Phew, just did the calculation thing suggested and although close it doesn't appear over stocked.

They are all standard fish, the fancy ones have never apealed to me particularly. I am fond of the classic 'fish shaped' fish. That tank has been running with that exact set up for 4 years at least now. I can't actually remember the last time I lost a fish.

I haven't decided what to do with the 4 foot once my goldies have been rehomed to the garden. I think my priority for now is making sure the pond set up is right and everything first. I would like tips on what size it would need to be, I imagine they will have a growth spurt once they get out there. I also wasn't sure what time of year would be best to pop them out there. I figured maybe spring time? I don't really know anything about ponds, what I'll do for filtration, anything really! All pond related advice will be much apreciated. Even down to whether it is better to get a moulded base or to do the sand and liner thing. I have absolutely no idea!

 

[Oscar Betta]

Nice tank! Your goldfish look great.

 

[divegirl]

Nice tank .....and good that all your fish are destined for a pond

Your current tank would make a lovely tropical set up! Don't be put off by thinking it's to big..... The bigger the better! It's far easier to control water quality in a bigger tank.
You have plenty of time to do lots of reading and decide where to go with it.

Lisa x

ps I like fish shaped fish too....lol

 

[Honeythorn]

I've checked the dimensons of your tank on a calculator now . It's 37 gallons and definitely overstocked even though they're small, even at that size they create a fair bit of waste and if that's a fluval internal filter I think I can see on the side, it will not be able to cope with the waste as they begin to grow bigger . You'll be ok while they're still small for now but the sooner you get the pond done the better because the tank is only good for one adult fancy goldfish.


For a pond, make it as big as you possibly can, and as close to the house as you can ( less distance means you will need less extensions ect for filter wiring )

You need the pond to be at least 4 feet deep, as in winter the fish will retreat to the bottom where the water will actually be warmer than at the surface where ice can form. The deeper it is, the warmer the water will be.

Something around 8 feet long or around ( if circular) , and 4 feet deep should be sufficient for your number of goldfish. This is almost 1600 gallons. You can look online or in stores for a pond filter that is rated for that amount. If it rated for more than 1600 gallons then that's even better.

I'd really go for a sand and liner base, as this means you can shape the pond to the way you like it, and add as many "steps" and terraces in the sides as you like for resting potted water plants on. Just make sure that when you dig the pond out, that you remove even small stones, as these may break through the sand and pierce the liner. A good thick layer of sand is needed so dig the pond a few inches bigger than planned o allow for the sand.

If you like a natural looking pond, then making one end of the pond a shallow area leading into to a gravelled silty bank would mean you can have plenty of marginal plants that like to live at the edge of the water and in the shallows rather than being really submerged like Water lilies. There are plenty of marsh grasses and reed type plants you could buy, and they will attract insects and other wildlife to your pond as well.

A formal style pond or one with a raised wall around it, would mean marginal plants aren't really an option as the sides would be too steep. You could still have Water lillies and also Hornwort , but you will need to keep them in check as if you don't the can take over the pond. The same goes for Hornwort.

 

[aly_starh]

Hi,

its good that your thinking of moving them out to a pond

I would personally say you can keep 2 of them in that tank, but a tropical tank would look wayyyy better!
Think of all the fish you could have!!

 

[Mozely]

Honestly, my plans so far have been:

1)
Build a pond, which I have and idea of how to do but not got a clue when it comes to filtration, what materials I'll use or anything like that. That was the first reason for joining, as I will need advice on how big it will need to be, I'm hoping to have it as deep as possible as my garden is not massive so minimum for 9 fish in length and width, maximum depth... It will be unique probably

2)
A smaller tropical tank in my bedroom with glowlight tetras in. Not bothered really if I even have anything else in there, I figured I could have a nice little shoal of them and with the right gravel, backing and ornaments it could look rather stunning. I spend a lot of time in my bedroom as it is also like an office...

3)
Decide what to do with the 4 foot. Originally I was going to keep gerbils again and have them in that 4 foot tank, however I have a cat (stray one that decided he wanted to live with me, I had very little choice in the matter) now with a taste for small rodent type creatures so that idea went out of the window. So I am juggling between the idea of a fancy goldfish, a small comunity tropical aquarium or just packing it all away and reclaiming my kitchen... Knowing me I will end up with something in there, I am completely obsessed with animals. I also have 3 dogs, the cat and a guinea pig!

So the pond is a must but I don't know what I'm doing with it, the 2 foot for glowlights is a want, but with no urgency and the 4 foot I have no clue, and will probably follow whatever recomendations you guys give me Based on the fact that gold fish produce quite a bit of waste I already have 2 filters in there, a fluval 3 and a fluval 4. They have been running in that tank for since I set it up and did the cycle thing and other than my ph dropping every now and again all other tests are as normal.

The only unusual thing that I can remember happening in the last 2 years (since I moved house with the tank) was one random death, and following that Ra-Ra hid under the filter for a month. There was nothing visibly wrong with her, no other fish seemed any different, she came out to eat, swam just fine, no unusual colouring, then after about a month she just came out and started swimming around again. She has been just fine ever since. I have wondered if she was mourning the one that died? I know that is not typical fish behaviour, but he was a larger male fish and they were always together in the tank. I don't know. I never medicated her, I didn't have the first clue what to even put in there as "no physical symptoms, just hiding a lot" isn't something I'd come across before. Has anyone else seen that happen with goldies?

 

[Honeythorn]

After you move the Goldfish I'd definitely turn that into a tropical tank if I were you. All you'd need to do is have a heater. There are a vast amount of great fish species you could keep in there. It could make a beautiful community tank, and would look stunning if you leave the tank where it is, I love the way it looks and the fact you can view the tank from 3 sides.