Substrate Question

[Winterlily]

I've got 4 baby fancies (3 Orandas, 1 Ranchu) that are currently in a small, temporary tank. (They are about 1/2 - 3/4 inch long, not counting the tail - tough to get an exact size - any idea how old they might be?) When my 55 gallon is finally set up, they'll be moving in. I'm still trying to decide on substrate. I had pretty much decided on black sand, but cannot find anything reasonable. I thought my search was over when I got 2 bags of 3M ColorQuartz, but had a horrid experioence with cleaning it (what a NIGHTMARE - it never did clean up properly and stained our hands black as well as the silicone on and waterline on the glass of the little "trial" 5 gallon I was going to put it in!) so it (and that little tank) got tossed. I know for these guys I need something super smooth with no jagged egdes (so stuff like TMS is out).

So! I happened on this stuff, little rocks really - natural not man-made - that I can either get in gravel size (somewhere around 3-4 mm) or I can get the size he calls sand, which is a mini-gravel really, which he said is about 1.2 - 1.6mm. Here's the link to what I'm talking about. My question is, is that smaller size okay for fancies? I know regular gravel size isn't good for them because they can get it stuck in their mouths - but is that very small (really a large-grain "sand") one okay? And is it okay for my little ones as they grow?

Thanks!

 

[afishdude]

I would say 6 months old. No clue about the substrate question though.

 

[jasminekiddell]

Personally i would never use sand for my goldies tank, so i wouldnt advise you to ither.
Some gravel would do well it collects the fish waste and anything that may fall sand will be not good for goldies as their will be filth all over the sand within days, if your worried about jagged stones then get some pebble type ones, or rounded gravel, the gravel you shown a link to is the sort of stuff i use in my aquarium its brillaint and works good for planted tanks, that substrate will be fine for the younger ones too.
At that size its hard to tell on their age really, but i'd say from 4-7months.

 

[Winterlily]

So, you think I'd be better off with the larger of that substrate?? Really? I am concerned about that, as it's regular gravel size (3-4mm or thereabouts) and I've had (in my past goldie-keeping days) that size get stuck in their mouths. If I get the smaller stuff (really like a micro-gravel), which is the same, just smaller, do I need to worry about them swallowing that when they're big enough to do so and getting compacted or something? Or am I just being ridiculously neurotic? Basically, I'm just trying to find out if that smaller stuff is a danger somehow to them. *I* prefer it - it's really nice (I have it in my betta tanks now) and looks lovely - but what I prefer doesn't so much matter. What's safe for the fish is what matters. So it all comes down to this: Do you think it's reasonably "safe" to use that smaller stuff (about 1.2 - 1.6mm) with fancies from teeny tiny up to adult?

(By the way, the general feeling is that these little guys are only about 2 months old. Here's a better picture of just how small they are. This is one of the Orandas with me holding a penny [I'm outside, she's inside!].)

I'm going to post a seperate message with more photos of them in case anyone's interested. They're too cute.

But anyhow, if anyone has thoughts on whether I can use that smaller stuff there safely, I'd love to hear. Thanks!

 

[jasminekiddell]

I dont think its likely they will swallow the gravel, but bigger is better. Big peices are far harder to suck up than smaller peices, ive kept goldfish for 5 years ive had big fish and little fish, non of them have ever sucked up bigger peices of gravel.
Personally i think bigger gravel is better, but its your choice.
I think there a better chance of small gravel being sucked up than not. But many use smaller gravel sizes and its fine. You could try it out? The fish seems young so its mouth isnt as big as bigger fish which gives it less chance of sucking up gravel. Either substrate big or small will do i just think the big will be better. I have a pair of plastic tweezers for fish, incase one sucks up gravel i can get it out easily.
I dont think they would even suck up the smaller gravel just incase they did you can gently get it out with tweezers thats if it gets stuck. If you prefer smaller gravel go for it because whats the chances of it being sucked up?

 

[jennybugs]

You've already been given the answers so I'll just say HOW cute are your little goldies? SO biddy

Sand is known to irritate the goldies gills so best avoided - that's what I've always been told.

FWIW I have the smaller rounded gravel in my tanks and none of my goldies have ever got anything stuck in their mouths. I've had the same gravel since all my babies were 1 inch long (they're all now over 4-5 inches long) without incident

 

[Winterlily]

Thanks guys.

I dunno about the sand thing. At first glance, everything seems to say don't use it - it irritates their gills. On further investigation/reading, it seems that they naturally live in an environment of mud, silt, and sand, and routinely blow it out their gills with absolutely no ill effects or irritation. <shrug> Doesn't much matter; I'll probably go with the very small micro-gravel stuff anyhow - just for ease of cleaning and lack of worry about it getting into impellers and clogging etc.

And thanks, jennybugs, for the nice words about the teensy guys! They really ARE tiny - amazing to me when I think of how big they will get!