Newbie Question

[ruem3690]

hey, for a while now I've been thinking about getting goldfish, I've never had any before so have no experience, but have been doing my research. I was wondering what fish and how many would be suitable in a 18x10x10 tank? thanks.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hi there and welcome to the forum .


I'm afraid that your tank is too small for goldfish if you are to keep them in it in the long run, your tank;

Dimensions 46 x 25 x 25cm/18" x 10" x 10
Surface area 0.12 sqm/1.29 sq ft/ inches sq in
Volume 30 l./7 gal. (7.93 US gal.)
Probable volume 27 l./6 gal. (7 US gal.)



It would be adequate for a couple of very small young goldfish if they were only 1inch long, but you would not be able to keep them in the tank for long before you needed to upgrade the tank to something much larger.

Goldfish actually grow a lot larger than what many people realise (they were bred primarily as pond fish for centuries, so people bred them to grow large so they could be seen easily in ponds etc), and there are many varieties of goldfish which vary a great deal in the size they can grow to and the care they need.

The smallest growing type of goldfish i know of is the bubble eye goldfish, which usually only grow to 5inches on average, while some of the larger growing varieties of goldfish would include ones like Common and Comet goldfish which can easily grow to over 15-20inches+ long given the space.

Info and pics on different varieties of goldfish;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=96537



For a small variety of fancy goldfish like the Bubble Eye, a 25gallon long tank would be good as a permanent tank for 3-4 of them. For larger growing varieties of fancy goldfish like Oranda's and Black moores (which can grow up to 10inches long), usually at least 20gallons for the first fancy goldfish and 10gallons for every one after that is advised. For the really large slim-type/non-fancy growing goldfish like Comet and Common goldfish, i wouldn't personally advise anything less than a 5x2x2 tank for a trio of them etc.


Goldfish are great fish, very friendly and intelligent fish full of personality, but although they may be cheap to buy, they can be expensive to keep if you are to look after them properly. They also produce a great deal of waste, so heavy/strong filtration in the tank and regular large once weekly water changes are needed if the tank is to be kept clean and the fish healthy etc.
They will also live a long time- most fancy varieties of goldfish will live between 15-25years long on average, while non-fancy varieties of goldfish can often live to over 30 years old if cared for properly. Most goldfish reach sexual maturity at 4-5years old, however fortunately successful breeding in an aquarium is unlikely to happen due to various reasons.



Regardless of whether you choose to go for goldfish or not, the basics of how water quality work (i.e. nitrogen cycle) are the same in any aquarium. When you start up a new tank you will start a process called Cycling (also known as New Tank Syndrome) as the tank established the nesarsary nitrifying bacteria which help keep stable and good water quality, you need to read up on how cycling works as understanding how your water quality works and how to maintain good water quality is crucial to helping keep healthy and happy fish .
Here is a good place to start for reading up on how cycling/water quality works in your tank;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10099

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If you decide not to opt for goldfish because your tank will not be suitable for goldfish in the long term as the goldfish grow and outgrow the tank, there are plenty of other small fish (mostly tropical) and other critters which are suitable for a tank of your size as a permanent home to live in if you are interested .

 

[ruem3690]

Wow, thanks for all of that info. I was thinking about getting tropical fish in the first place, but I've heard that it's a not a good option if you're a beginner. Is this true?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Wow, thanks for all of that info. I was thinking about getting tropical fish in the first place, but I've heard that it's a not a good option if you're a beginner. Is this true?

It really depends on what sort of tropical fish you go for, some are hardier than others. Essentially all fish, tropical or not, need the same sort of basic care to a certain extent- a suitably sized aquarium which is not overstocked/overcrowded and has a good fish stocking, and which is cleaned regularly and properly and has good/clean water suitable for the fish, and a varied and appropriate diet for the fish to be fed etc .

Your 7gal tank is quite a decent size for a small tank, based on its measurements you could have fish like guppys or endlers, betta's/siamese fighting fish, oto's, dwarf puffers etc- obviously you couldn't keep all of these fish together, but they grow small enough to live happily in a tank of your size if you stock the tank carefully etc.
There are also numerous other non-fish aquatic animals you could opt for, like many types of shrimp like cherry and amano shrimp, snails like giant apple and ramshorn snails, and even African Dwarf Frogs etc .

I would definately advise you fishless cycling the tank since you have no fish in the tank yet, info on how to do a fishless cycle;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861


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