I'm New To Fish-Keeping And I Have A Few Questions.

[NewBeginnings]

Hello !

I'm rearing to go with my new aquarium but i don't want to let the excitement get the best of me, especially in making important fish keeping decisions- so I thought I would ask advice from people who know what they are talking about. I have also consulted reputable information websites on the topics ( not able to find books in my area at the moment but still on the lookout) and pet shop/ aquarium shop staff but i have a few more questions and some that seem to have confusing or varying answers.

I call on the knowledge and experience of the forum, people who have kept Orandas or know a significant amount about them. ( I have read many websites )

I have a 120l Jewel Tank and I was hoping to keep Orandas. My Questions are :
1. How any Orandas could/should i keep in this size aquarium ( i have found many confusing and conflicting viewpoints on this topic)
2. How quickly will they grow if they are small (from a pet/aquarium store)
3. what is the best way to vary their diet? (More specific Food pyramid type question)
4. What plants should I have in the aquarium if any? and if any how many?
5. Can you tell what gender they are if they are not adults yet?
6. When is their breeding season in Australia?( because I live in a different place to where most of the information i have)
7. Do they prefer/seem to like to be in community tanks or not and if so what fish are recommended?

Thank you so much for your assistance, support and contribution! <3


PS. My tank is exactly like this : 120l Jewel Tank

 

[phoenixgsd]

welcome, theres no rush, you will have several weeks to choose and research your fish whilst your tank cycles

 

[dbanner]

Hi, firstly as you know they are a coldwater fish so no internal heater would be needed...

1. How many should you have? I would stick with 1. This is because the recommended size is 30 gallons/110 litres per fish.

2. The rate they grow at will depend entirely on the room they have to move, their diet and quality of the water.

3. For their diet I would just say a good quality flake or goldfish pellet and they can also have chopped veg

4. When it comes to plants it's really up to you on how many you add and which you go for. Many plants will be uprooted with bigger fish. Do some research on plants to find the ones you like, look at some online or in your lfs (local fish store) and then read up on their requirements or ask on here. Some plants need more lighting, co2, fertilisers and so on, some just need basic lighting.

5. Telling the sexes out of mating season is very difficult and almost impossible when goldfish are young.
The male though is generally a little smaller than the female and slimmer if viewed from the top.

During mating periods however, the male gets white spots on its head and gill covers. These spots are called breeding tubercles and care should be taken not to confuse them with other diseases like Ich.

6. Not too sure on this....

7. They can be kept in community tanks with other goldfish but like I said, your tank is only big enough for 1 to live comfortably for life (based on minimum tank size requirements)

As with most if not all goldfish, they are very messy. By this what I mean is they produce a lot of waste so a lot of filtration is needed. If you've not yet got a filter I would go with an external (canister filter). You will need 1 recommended for a tank size of around 200 litres and for it to push around 400+ lph (litres per hour). Your looking for around 4 times your tanks water volume but more being better in this instance. The lph and tank size is usually stated on the box of the filter.

Goldfish also need lots of oxygen so you need a filter that breaks the surface of the water. Where the outlet pipe creates a rippling effect on the top of the water. internal filters also do this if you place the filter close to the top of the water but IMO an external would be much better. You would also need to do a 30-40% weekly water change and clean/vacuum the gravel or sand. Which ever you choose. You will need to purchase a syphon for this. Then add water dechloronator (tap safe) when filling the tank back up. I use seachem prime as its the most cost effective

All that said as phoenixgsd said previously there is no rush as 1st you have to cycle your tank. This is so the filter can cope with the fish waste makes everything safe for your fish. Have a read through the cycling thread in the beginners section. It will be a lot clearer for you good luck

 

[NewBeginnings]

Wow, Thank you

That does clear things up !
I dont have any fish yet (cycling my tank at the moment) but that really helps me. I would love to get a bigger tank at some point in my life when i can work up to in and save up for it but at the moment I will try to deal with the limitations of being a beginner with a some what small tank.

thanks again

 

[fluttermoth]

I will disagree with dbanner, I think you should get two. Goldies are very sociable fish and shouldn't really be kept on their own. A 110l tank is just about big enough, although you will have to make sure you keep on top of your water changes; maybe doing two 30-40% changes a week, rather than one.

 

[dbanner]

I will disagree with dbanner, I think you should get two. Goldies are very sociable fish and shouldn't really be kept on their own. A 110l tank is just about big enough, although you will have to make sure you keep on top of your water changes; maybe doing two 30-40% changes a week, rather than one.

Thanks for clearing that point up fluttermoth. Like I said I was only going by the "recommended sized tank" I found online as iv not kept them myself but iv found a lot of people not having tanks quite big enough for goldies. Obviously some species need bigger tanks than others. Il keep what you've said for future reference so I can advise others And yes definitely more water changes if your going to keep 2

 

[fluttermoth]

Most of the guidlelines for goldies I have seen say 50l per fish, with a minimum tank size of 100l, so I think two would be fine, although I have seen the 30 gallon quoted an awful lot too.

It is a tricky thing to advise on, as different goldfish varieties do get to quite different sizes, and even within varieties there is a lot more variation than in your average tropical fish.

Having said that, orandas are one of the larger kinds, so maybe the OP could look at another variety that grows a bit smaller; 'normal' fantails, perhaps?