Telescope Goldfish

[atmmachine816]

My aunt is setting up a new tank and is thinking of adding telescope goldfish. It is a 29 gallon and she has a bio-wheel 200 filter on it currently. Her questions are:
How many could I have (do they do best in groups or can I put other coldwater fish with them like white clouds)
what type of live plants can I put in with them
Should I get another filter
Anything else I should know

Thanks for any answers you can give her, I'm searching the forum for what I can find but always open to your opinion.

Thanks

Austin

p.s. She's not asking this because she doesn't have a computer

 

[puddle_inc]

they can get fairly large, so i'd only get like 4-5. others may have more experience with this specific type then me. i think any plants, maby except java moss, anything like that that they can get caught in. they may be aggressive to white clouds. since the clouds are smaller. but if the clouds have enough hiding spots if anything chases them, and you don't have javamoss or anything to get caught in, 4-5 or around that should be good.

 

[atmmachine816]

Thanks

4-5 that isn't too much? Do you think she should get another filter or would the bio-wheel 200 with 200gph be enough?

 

[black angel]

2 if they are to stay in there for a while.

 

[atmmachine816]

Yes she would like it to be their permanent home.

So two would be good? Are they very hard to keep, from what we'v both read they don't seem that hard but not for beginners either?

 

[puddle_inc]

goldfish do have alot of waste. it may be smart to get a cheap filter just for extra cleaning.

yeah, the 4-5 thing was for when there not full grown...

i would think you could have 3 of them in a 29g. but i could be wrong.

 

[black angel]

If its the first time keeping goldies then i would advise two.
They might look lost in the beginning but they grow up to around 6 inches realistically in a tank.
Because they are sight impaired, you have to be careful about sharp ornaments, so be careful what goes in the tank.

Filtration needs to be good as well with emphasis on the media. The more media the better for bacteria colonisation as goldies do excrete lots of waste.
The filter should turn over the water a lot but not so fast it ends up a washing machine. The filter you ahve does 20 gallons? You would need another 10 on top of that

Telescope eyes are a hardy breed, but with any goldie its all down to genetics and how hardy they really are.

 

[atmmachine816]

Thanks.

Yes i'v told her how to put lots of media in so that it fills the whole area. Yes she has 200gph so when we go out today I'll tell her she should get another 100gph filter. Yup I'v read that about the eyes and she did too, she bought some books to decide what she wants for her tank and this is what caught her eye. Few more questions if you have the time

She was wondering if she could put any plants in the tank?

also whould room temperature be ok along with a heater in there so it doesn"t go below what temperature?

She said she would like cories since we saw some at an lfs with goldfish but as far as I was aware they aren't coldwater fish, though there are hundred of kinds is there one that are coldwater? The ones we saw were huge at 4" and looked similar to the bronze cory but larger


thanks I really appreciate this and she thanks all of you for helping her out.

 

[black angel]

She would need to heat the water to around 22c if she wants cory and some plants. Goldies eat most soft plants but she can try java fern.
Make sure the cory are a lot bigger than the goldies mouths as they can be hoovered up by accident.

 

[atmmachine816]

Thanks very much

 

[atmmachine816]

She still wants to get them but wants to provide a good envioronment for them. My aunt was wondering if she can use a UGF with her penguin bio-wheel 200 which is 200gph in her 29 gallon tank for extra filtration since she wants to keep goldfish. She thinks it will be cheaper since she already has an air pump. I'm trying to convince her not to buy one and just buy maybe a whisper 100gph filter since it's only 10$. What can I tell her to change her mind because she thinks they are fine because she went to the library to research. She's going to call back soon so a quick response would be nice.

Thanks so much for all your help

 

[black angel]

books on goldfish vary enormously on information and most are innacurate.

for a 30 gallon tank you need around 300 gph in filtration and the more media you can get the better, which is why externals work well with goldies. UG doesnt work for them as the bacteria wont be enough to convert ammonia etc. the fish like to root around in the gravel as well so the plates will become exposed. filtration rate as well is very poor so water changes would need to be done every day just to keep the ammonia levels down, not worth it imo.

even though theres only going to be two small fish, these little guys kick out heaps of ammonia and waste so need the powerful filtration.
its a lot of investment to begin with worth it in the end

 

[atmmachine816]

Thanks when I told her this she's not sure if she's going to get them now since her hood can't fit another filter. She's going to look when we go the some lfs's next week on prices of internal filters if she's still going to get one. thanks for your time.

 

[black angel]

no problem, let us know if she gets anything

 

[atmmachine816]

Sure, were going out next week on presidents day to look at fish and she might pick something up, not sure. Tank is almost cycled. If we can find a cheaper internal filter she might get the goldies if not she might just get some mollies, she's not an expert per say on fish, just finished convincing her to do weekly water changes LOL, she's never been told that before.