Need advice. :)

[mhoward1999]

Hi ya'll,
I have never had goldfish, but I have always wanted a black moor. I have always had tropical fish, so it wasn't an option. Now I have a 55 gal available and want to set it up for a black moor and other compatable goldfish. My 55 gal tank has both an undergravel filter and an Emperor 400 HOBF. I have a heater for this tank. I don't know if I should leave it in or take it out. I don't have any landscaping for this tank yet. I need advice about what kinds of fish to put in as well as what to landscape with. I would like live plants, but always have problems with them coming with snails attached. I hear that goldfish eat snail eggs, so maybe this won't be a problem. Also, can I have/do I need an algae eater in the tank? I am open to any and all advice since I know virtually nothing about goldfish. Referals to other websites that will educate me about these fish would also be appreciated! TIA!

 

[Fresh_Start]

Try Koko's goldfish site, there is a lot of goldfish information there.

http/www.kokosgoldfish.com/

 

[mhoward1999]

I have been looking at that one from another post that you did! Funny! Thanks very much. That's a great site.

 

[ryan]

Live plants don't work well with goldfish because they are so messy and they constantly pick at the plants, it can be done but extra specail attention must be given to the plants.

If you can get a resonable fast current going then you could have a species of Hillstream Loach.

 

[goldene]

via PM: Hello there,
Goodness where do I start as there is so much I could write, but I will start with the basics, setting up a coldwater tank is basicly the same as for tropical so you are already familiar with that and you can keep the heater in as blackmoors are from the fancy goldfish family and they don't like their tank too cold, the only thing is goldfish are a lot messier than tropical, undergravel filters are not really suitable for coldwater fish because of this so you will need a strong filter to cope, fish to keep with black moors are any of the fancys like orandas, fantails, lion heads, etc, I also keep hillstreamloaches in with my fish, but they prefer clean water with a flow to resemble a stream flowing, also weather loaches, but if you have the heater on about 24c I think you may get away with a bristle nose pleco.
So:
1, Set up and cycle the tank with a strong filter of your choice
2, Allow 8 uk/10 us gallons per goldfish for growth
3, Be prepared for heavy maintence to keep the water healthy and clean (I think it is harder than with tropical because they are very messy)

Anything else feel free to ask and good luck


ps. I forgot to mention about the plants, as ryan mentioned goldfish demolish live plants, some people are lucky to get them growing but I gave up years ago and snails don't stand a chance with goldfish so don't worry, you can use gravel or sand depending on which you prefer and bogwood or rocks its all down to personal choice.

 

[mhoward1999]

Okay. I'm thinking I will probably use artificial plants, then. Is there a way you can anchor them so the goldfish can't "root" them up. From what I have read, they like to "root around" in the gravel a lot. Also, one site said that you had to be careful about what size of gravel you use, because goldfish may try to eat it and get it lodged in their throat. Is this true? My current gravel is standard pet store issue. It's about 3/8" diameter, I would guess. Is it going to be safe for them? Okay, I'm off to research the Hillstream loach.

 

[kaz petts]

Hi it is possible for the goldfish to get the gravel stuck in their throat. It happened to my pearlscale pretty recently, I managed to manipulate it out of the back of its throat and now the fish is swimming around quite happily with the others.
Standard LFS gravel should be okay as far as I know as the fish tend to pick the gravel up and then spit it straight back out again. I would advise that you wait for someone elses advise on this matter as well however as I am also new to fish keeping and have had my fair share of fish problems.
I have 2 black moors. Do not put common goldfish in with this type of fish as they are much faster swimmers and the moors will have little chance of getting to the food before it is all eaten by the faster goldfish. Any other fancy goldfish is ok to go in with the moors. I have a couple of weather loaches, which are like small eels that scavange around in the gravel cleaning any uneaten food up, which is a common factor of high ammonia, these seem to be ok with my fancies as they are scavanging fish and very rarely swim to the top for food.
Hillstream loaches are commenly know in most fish stores as cold water plecs, these are algae eaters and do a great job of keeping the tank algae low.
All in all don't get too many fish for the tank size and do not over feed. A small pinch of goldfish flakes should be ok. Fish also like blood worm (you can get this frozen/live or gel form.
Good luck

 

[goldene]

Hi you can get either plastic or silk plants I prefer silk, they are easy to anchor down just bury them into the gravel or sand.
here is a photo of my newish tank, you should be able to see both the sand and the silk plants to give you an idea.

 

[fishbie23]

hi you will find goldfish very messy eaters and you will need to change the water on a regular basis,plastic plants are ok but you should use the largest gravel you can find,also bear in mind that goldfish grow fast and in 18 months outgrew the 20 gall tank here,i have had to move them to the garden pond,also there is a chance that they could breed but they can become very tame ,mine always feed from my hands.good luck fishbie23

 

[goldene]

The type of fish you are looking at getting are the fancy variety "blackmoors etc" they can live for 10 years or more if looked after properley, but are not suitable for ponds and are prone to swimbladder trouble, I think they are lovely and fun to watch they also have individual personalities

 

[mhoward1999]

Hi everybody. Thanks so much for all your help! Keep the nfo coming... I'm a sponge!

I was PM'd to ask about my HOBF. If you're interested, here is a link to a site that sells them. It has info on how it works at the bottom.

http/www.petdiscounters.com/aquarium/fil...mperor_400.html

goldene, Do you only buy your silks at LFS/LPS? I have heard of folks buying them at craft stores, but I don't know how you would know that's safe.

Another question. I read on another page that you can use poly-fill quilt batting in place of filter floss, tht it's the exact same thing. Comments?

Also at kokosgoldfish she said you could feed goldfish virtually any fruit or vegetable. Is this true? If so what kind of regimine would you recommeend. I am thinking that I will use staple food that claims to be a complete diet every other day, and a "treat" such as brine shrimp, lettuce, zuccini or whatever I learn is good for them on the alternate days.

I am searching for a comprehensive site to learn about all the variteies if fancy goldfish so I can start the decision making process of choosing what to get. Oh, another thnk. If I get a loach, do i have to get three. I have read contradiciting thoughts on this at several different sites. If I need three and they grow to 3" that will take up 9 gal. of my tank water, so if this is true, then I shouldn't get more than four goldfish... am I on track?

 

[goldene]

Hi Silk plants in craft shops never give that a thought, I got all mine from LFS, I would need to make sure they were die proof so wouldn't leach into the tank, you can feed fruit/veg to your fish, peas are a good one as they help with their digestion and can clear constipation, hillstream loach do prefer to be in 3s etc. I have 2 spotted and 1 stripped, and they appear to be doing ok although I have noticed the 2 spotted sticking together more and I bought them at different times, here is a photo of one of mine with my redcap oranda and chocolate oranda when in the quarentine tank.

 

[mhoward1999]

Okay, is there a difference between an oranda and a red-cap oranda? I thought that was what I wanted, but then I saw someone call one of those that looks like it's brains are coming out (no offence to anyone who likes those. ) an oranda, and so now I'm confused? I like the ones that are solid white with a red/orange spot on their head and a veil tail. I don't enjoy the bubble eyes or head growth looking ones... can ya'll fill me in on the correct names for these?

 

[goldene]

An oranda has a cap as you can see by the photo, but you can buy white fantails with a red spot on the top of their head that won't grow I had one years ago, there are lionhead fancys that the head growth grows all around the head like a rasberry, but they have no dorsal fin, I know I have just shown you this photo by PM mhoward1999 but the fish is bigger on this one than the previous so you can see the headgrowth better and I think the cap looks quite nice and cute the difference with the red cap is just the colouring.

 

[ryan]

The Fantails with the red area on the head are called Tancho Fantails in the same way that Comets with the same markings are called Tancho Comets.