New Tank - Trying Work Out Gallons And Fish It Can Hold

[Immolo]

Heya, I got a new coldwater tank which is 36" x 12" x 16" (LxWxH) and thanks to my poor maths I have no idea how many gallons it can hold and in turn how many fish I can place in it.

So I was wonder if anyway knew and if it's true that each fish should have 15 gallons each?

I also currently have 3 goldfish, two are an inch and the other is 2 inches and I was wondering if it could house a small ghost koi which then could be moved on into a pond later in its life if needed?

Thanks for the help.

 

[MegTheFish]

Your tank holds about 30 gallons, which would be able to hold 2 full grown goldfish, but would hold your 3 temporarly. Do you mean ghost carp? Or ghost koi, which I guess is a color variation of koi? Either one will grow far to large for a 30 gallon, you might be able to keep one in there for a few months, any longer then that and you'll stunt its growth. It would probably be best to just put it straight into a proper sized pond, of atleast 1000 gallons. Good luck with your goldfish, they are great fish to keep! Tons of personality. Have any pics of them?

 

[fish_fetish65]

what kind of goldfish do you have? i love them. they're always so happy and energetic!!! if i'm having a bad day, i really just need to go look at one and it cheers me up considerably.

 

[MegTheFish]

Whoops! As fish_fetish65 said, what kind of goldfish are they (fancy or common?). I just assumed that you had fancy goldfish for some reason. If they are fancies, then the information that I gave you is correct, but if they are common/comet goldfish (usually sold as feeders when small, large ones sold as "pond fish") then unfortunatly a 30 gallon won't be big enough for even one (they get over a foot long! While the fancies normaly grow to 6"-8"). A member on here keeps 2 in a 75 gallon, which is a good size for them. You may be able to get away with one in a 55 gallon, but they are social fish and would prefer a companion goldfish.

 

[RandomWiktor]

I have the goldies in the 75g; they are 2 years old and allready a good 8in long. Honestly, after I move, I will probably just get a pond as I do not forsee the tank being big enough once they hit a foot; they are such active fish! But most people probably aren't as picky as me about how much swimming space their goldies have so long as the water quality is good.
If you have commons and Koi, you have one of two options. You could start looking into decent sized ponds, or you could return the fish for store credit. Ponds, though a lot of work, are a ton of fun, and I think the people on this board could give you lots of great advice on getting started.
For now, you'll want to maintain powerful filtration - over filter as much as you can - and aeration in your current tank, and test daily or every other day to make sure the water stats aren't getting out of whack. You'll have to keep things very clean with that many goldfish, but they should be ok in there for at least a short while as you search for better housing for them. Good luck!