Tropical Goldfish?

[Rezatii]

I have a goldfish in a 20G and because of the conditions I keep my room in, the water is always at around 24-26 without a heater, making it technically tropical anyway. So my question would be, would it be okay to put some form of tropical fish in with him? I was thinking of maybe some small type of Cory to rummage in the sand substrate. Would this be okay? Can anyone suggest a certain species that would work in this tank? I would probably end up putting a thermostat heater in the tank to make sure it stays at this temp. even in the winter.

Thanks for any info!

-Rezz

 

[craig855s]

intresting question, i think a heater set to 22 degrees would keep the corys happy and obviously the godfish is used to a higher temp than that so in theory I cant see an issue... The issue i do see is keeping a goldfish in a small tank,i'd rehome it and get yourself a nice group of schoolers and corys, be a much happier tank then

 

[Rezatii]

It is my intention to put the goldfish in our pond one day, and convert the tank to either a tropical community or a betta soroity, when we've finally found a way of keeping the evil herons away from the pond, but that's a whole other issue.

Until that can be done, I'm really just trying to see what else can go in his tank that won't upset him too much.

-Rezz

 

[three-fingers]

You can keep goldfish in tropical tanks very easily if you do it right.

It's no different from keeping a similarly big fish like silver sharks or tinfoil barbs, with the difference being that goldfish are a bit more boisterous and rummage around on the ground a lot more.

You wouldn't keep a silver shark in a 20gal would you?

Put a net over the pond and get the fish in there instead.

In the meantime, there's really not a lot that can go in with the goldfish in that size of tank.

 

[MBOU]

How about trying with Peppered Corys? their preferred temperature range is about 18 - 22 deg C?

However they arent as hardy as the coldwater fish, you would need to be testing you water very regularly and have bang on 0 for both amonia and nitrite and as close as (not above 0.25) for nitrate, very hard to do with a goldfish in the tank.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Rezatii

C aeneus (bronze cory) can be kept with goldfish but they are a schooling fish and you will need to keep several of them at a time. They can tolerate temperatures between 70 - 78 degrees F., but prefer the cooler end of the range. Since goldfish grow rapidly, please take great care not to overstock your tank.

 

[Rezatii]

Three-Fingers; we keep ducks so a net isn't really an option.

MBOU+ Inchworm; okay, I'll look into both of those species and see if I think they'll be okay, my main issue is how big they grow, I don't really want to overstock my tank... (Though if I get Cory's should I add an extra filter, would that help?)

Thanks for the help!!

-Rezz

 

[jonnyf84]

Nobody has actually asked how big your goldfish are so its difficult to know how many fish, if any, can be added to your tank. But in answer to your original question, goldfish are fine at temps of 75F and below, i'v mixed them with a range of tropical fish with not a single problem, they went brilliantly with platies, the goldfish actually seemed a little depressed when i took them out!! I kept goldfish in my pond in New Zealand when on occasion we would have 6 weeks of 30C + weather, the goldfish were as happy as larry as long as i provided oxygen rich water.

 

[Inchworm]

MBOU+ Inchworm; okay, I'll look into both of those species and see if I think they'll be okay, my main issue is how big they grow, I don't really want to overstock my tank... (Though if I get Cory's should I add an extra filter, would that help?)

Hi Rezatii

The C. aeneus would be better at the warmer temperatures than the C. paleatus would, but if your tank was always cool, the C. paleatus would do fine.

Depending on the size of the filter you are currently using, and the amount of surface movement it creates, another filter might or might not help. What it will all come down to is the nitrate level. You might just have to do larger and more frequent water changes to keep it low.

 

[drobbyb]

What kind of goldfish is it? Depending on the type you may well be overstocked already (well judging that based on adult size). IIRC goldies need 30 gallons minimum for 1 fish and an additional 10 gallons for each additional fish. Not to mention that they need stronger filtration because of how much waste they actually produce.