New Fish Tank- Too Many Fish?

[pandamonium86]

Hi all,

I recently came out of hospital and my dad bought me some fish to cheer me up and keep me company as i miss having pets and ive really wanted to keep fish for ages. I have kept fish before, but only ever one goldfish at a time in one of those small children's starter tanks.

At the advise of the acquatics guy at the garden centre my dad bought me 4 fish (1 black moor goldfish, 1 fantail 2 inch goldfish and 2 small fantails) and a 20l tank.

My fish seem happy and healthy after 5 days in the tank, but ive been reading up online and the more i read the more worried i am that there may be too many fish in my tank.

based on what i have read i think i need to change the set up,

would be better to get another 20l tank and split the fish or get a 40l tank?

Is there any problem to keep these 2 types of fish together in a 40l or is it best to split them?

and how quickly do i need to upgrade my tank, as I really dont want to lose any of my fish- i have already become attached to each one of them.

could any more experienced fish keepers please let me know your thoughts?

thank you so much,

 

[ctsv510]

All those fish ultimately grow too large for a 20l tank. If you plan on keeping these fish you need a much larger tank, and a 40l won't do. I will defer to goldfish experts here, but I think you need at least a 220l to house all of them, maybe even 300l+. You also need a powerful filter becaus they are messy fish.

If you don't want a large tank, you would be better off trading those fish back in for smaller tropical fish and getting a heater and filter.

 

[orandas]

+1


yikes thats one itsy bitsy tank for its occupiers monster growth

i'm no proffessional expert but i know you need at least 10 gallon tank per goldfish ( x4? = litres), even then thats for small ones - body inches.

A large 200-300L, long & shallow tank wud be perfect.

They may seem happy, but you'll stunt their growth. Google growth hormone.

Compatibility is not a problem there. Moors and fantails are a happy mix - whatever u do don't throw in a common goldfish into the mix - not that u have space in a 20l ; - )

 

[pandamonium86]

@ctsv510

thank you so much for your speedy reply. wow 220l seems huge. do all goldfish generally grow so big to require such a big tank or are there variations, because i hate to sound stupid but i thought that certain types of gold fish (e.g. black moore) were smaller even when fully grown? im quite worried now about how big they may get.

@orandas- thank you for your reply. one of my fish is a fantail goldfish (not sure if that is common or not?) i will clearly have to invest in a much bigger tank. what is their timescale for growth? like how long will it take for them to be full grown?

 

[orandas]

only when and if u get a bigger tank.....then its up to mother nature and ure water maintenance

i hope the 20l isn't a biorb/round tank.....they're the worse for stunting growth

 

[Fishy friend2]

They should be big enough in about a month... Goldfish grow fast about half an inch to an inch each month so you will need a bigger 55 gallon tank. Stocking for a fancy goldfish should be 20 gallons for the first fish and 10 gallons for the next fish so in a 55 gallon you would need to double filter it and at the most you could have 4 or 5 fancy goldfish, if you can't get a bigger tank soon you might have to rehome the fish to the shop and then get a male Betta fish, those fish can live happily in a 5 gallon tank with 2 or 3 male endlers but cycle your tank first!!!!!
And have yo cycled the 5 gallon yet.... If not then you need to be doing 25% to 50% water changes every day

Also read up on this it is the bigginers resource center. make sure to read up on cycling.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

 

[Fishy friend2]

Also, since you said that you just came out of the hospital it might just be easier to bring to goldfish back and get a male Betta and a heater because a male Betta will be better of in a 5 gallon tank than a goldfish

 

[pandamonium86]

yes i have cycled the tank and all the levels are good at the moment based on a test kit i bought and used today.

and no its not a biorb- its a long flat tank with filter and plant weed. i also put in some stress zyme and general tonic today to keep them healthy and happy hopefully. i already had tap safe in the water since i set the tank up.


i couldnt even think about giving the fish up- they are all characters and i love them.i have purchased a much bigger tank with a cabinet today so i will begin setting that up so that they can move across 2 by 2 in a week or two.

thank you all for your advice- much obliged. hopefully i can set up the new tank and they can grow to their hearts content and be very happy fish