Goldfish in too small tank, what to do?

[ravenfern]

I am posting this under its own thread so more people will hopefully see it and give me some suggestions.
I have two goldfish, the short tailed orange kind. I got them from my sister who didnt want them any more. She had them in a 2.5 gallon tank for a year or so, i now have them in my 20 gallon. Now around here if you buy a goldfish they have only just started asking you how long you have had your tank set up and telling you to feed them more than flake, goldfish are it seems a very expendable pet. Now i do not believe this so i want to do what i can for them to make them happy and healthy.
Here is the problem. As a few people have told me the 20 gallon is too small for them, but i have no access to a pond and i really have no room for a 125 gallon tank so what do i do?
Do i give them to the aquarium shop where they can put them in a pondish tank outside where they will have more room or well, what?
I dont want them to suffer so what can i do?

[angelcakes]

I am posting this under its own thread so more people will hopefully see it and give me some suggestions.
I have two goldfish, the short tailed orange kind. I got them from my sister who didnt want them any more. She had them in a 2.5 gallon tank for a year or so, i now have them in my 20 gallon. Now around here if you buy a goldfish they have only just started asking you how long you have had your tank set up and telling you to feed them more than flake, goldfish are it seems a very expendable pet. Now i do not believe this so i want to do what i can for them to make them happy and healthy.
Here is the problem. As a few people have told me the 20 gallon is too small for them, but i have no access to a pond and i really have no room for a 125 gallon tank so what do i do?
Do i give them to the aquarium shop where they can put them in a pondish tank outside where they will have more room or well, what?
I dont want them to suffer so what can i do?
20g is to small,and a goldfishes diet is huge they eat all varietys of food,now your problem,over here its illegal to a point but do you have a lake by you that hasnt got predertry(sp?)fish? this is only a suggestion and might not be helpful but its an idea

[Wild Turkey]

I am posting this under its own thread so more people will hopefully see it and give me some suggestions.
I have two goldfish, the short tailed orange kind. I got them from my sister who didnt want them any more. She had them in a 2.5 gallon tank for a year or so, i now have them in my 20 gallon. Now around here if you buy a goldfish they have only just started asking you how long you have had your tank set up and telling you to feed them more than flake, goldfish are it seems a very expendable pet. Now i do not believe this so i want to do what i can for them to make them happy and healthy.
Here is the problem. As a few people have told me the 20 gallon is too small for them, but i have no access to a pond and i really have no room for a 125 gallon tank so what do i do?
Do i give them to the aquarium shop where they can put them in a pondish tank outside where they will have more room or well, what?
I dont want them to suffer so what can i do?

Sounds like you answered your own question. If ur lfs has a pond, donate them. Also you can go back and visit them whoohoo.

[Sasquatch]

First of all, good move trying to give them the best home possible. It's nice to see fish keepers that genuinely care about their fish. :19:

As for tank size, you don't need to go as big as 120gals ... not for only two goldfish. For just the two you could probably get away with something in the 40 - 50 gallon range, much more manageable. If you decide on the smaller end of the scale, try to find one that is more squarish, not the long varieties.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Halelorf]

a 40gallon breeder tank (very wide) or a 55 gallon would be very good for you. 2 goldfish don't need a super large tank but they do need a good volume of water. Remember those fish have the potential to get over a foot long. Good luck!

[Fishguy2727]

It sounds like they are the long-bodied type in which case I think the original idea of 120+ is more accurate. If they are round-bodied it is different.

If the LFS has a nice setup they would put them in and you think it is the best option you/they have, I would say that is the best option.

[gm72]

over here its illegal to a point but do you have a lake by you that hasnt got predertry(sp?)fish? this is only a suggestion and might not be helpful but its an idea

No, no, no. I am going to react a little harshly to this because we need to kill these kinds of suggestions outright. Angel, not directed completely at you because we have had these kinds of ideas before and we have discussed these issues before. Your suggestion is trying to help, I understand that. If you take personal offense to this post then I apologize in advance. This is simply triggering a reminder. We can not even make suggestions such as this as it is completely inappropriate and irresponsible.

In no way shape or form is it appropriate to release any fish or plant into the wild. An ecosystem is a carefully balanced circle of life. The introduction of non-indigenous life is a potential disaster for the system.

I don't want to hear comments like "but it's only 2 fish," because the number doesn't matter. A single fish, depending on the specific ecosystem, can radically change the function of the cycle.

Let's take an analogy--I add a large og to my house but the amount of food stays the same. What do you suppose is going to happen? Not particularly positive results for the dogs. Now all of the animals have less food, they start fighting over it, leading to stress. Health declines because of decreased nutrition and stress. Get the idea?

This is sort of like littering--"Oh, I'll just dump this fish in that lake over there." Now someone else does the same. And over and over again. Destruction.

So, no. You may not dump the fish into a foreign ecosystem. Period.

[Lady Hobbs]

Your idea of giving them to the fish store is really the only good answer. Perhaps they will give you a store credit to get something else.

[gm72]

Agreed. Store or to someone who has adequate facilities for them.

[Wild Turkey]

gm is absolutely right, in fact i think theres a snakehead post active right now even. I know goldfish seem harmless, but you never know how they will do in said eco-system, for all you know there could be something in the lake that is essential to it and the other fish, and the goldfish could make it their new favorite food and completely destroy the lake. You shouldnt flush fish for the same reason, it is possible, however unlikely that even a "dead" fish is still alive and will make it to a body of water via your sewer system/pipe system.

[gm72]

The problem with flushing fish is that, if the fish is still alive, it will die a horrible death in the chemical baths at the treatment plant.

[Wild Turkey]

The problem with flushing fish is that, if the fish is still alive, it will die a horrible death in the chemical baths at the treatment plant.

Good point, probably even worse if you have a septic tank....Also, in maryland water treatment is a very large problem, as the biggest issue is water not being treated enough that flows into the Bay. We have lots of problems, due to the large amount of animal waste and plant fertilizers that farmers are washing into the bay, via irrigation so our treatment is below par to say the least. And im sure that diseases of dead fish can also be passed onto fish in our beatufiul bay with a little bad luck...getting less beautiful every day. It kills off the seaweed, and thus the crabs, and then everything that eats the crabs, including rockfish.

This is kind of unrelated, but ive always used very, very cold water to euthanize...ive heard of people using boiling water and was wondering if anyone has any clue about the humanity of such a method? More or less than the cold, anyone?

[gm72]

I am just guessing, but I would think that the cold water would slow down their system relatively painlessly whereas boiling water would...well, boil them. I guess the analogy of which I am thinking is--what would be worse for us? Jumping into a freezing cold lake or into a vat of boiling water?

[Wild Turkey]

I am just guessing, but I would think that the cold water would slow down their system relatively painlessly whereas boiling water would...well, boil them. I guess the analogy of which I am thinking is--what would be worse for us? Jumping into a freezing cold lake or into a vat of boiling water?

Thats exactly what i was thinking, just wanted to make sure there wasnt something i was missing that was contributing to me giving my fish a more painful than needed-death.

[ravenfern]

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies.
Like i said i want to do whats best for the fish. I would never just release a fish or anything else into the wild, apart from anything else i would be worrying about them and how they were doing. Also where i live in England we dont have any large bodies of water close by, we have rivers but they are so dirty i would be surprised if they had anything living in them apart from the odd shopping trolley.
I think i am going to take them to the LFS as that seems the best answer.
I might take the crayfish too and go for a tropical tank.

[goleafs]

A 20 gallon's not too bad for 2 goldfish just do a lot of water changes. It's supposed to be something like 20 gallons per goldfish though. I made a stupid mistake of accepting someones "cycling goldfish" and put them in my 15 gallon that I had just setup (I was 8) and they have been fine ever since. That being said they were going to be flushed and I still don't really think it's 100% right keeping them in a 15 gallon.

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, don't release... they made a huge "natural" pond to help restore the frogs and other natural wild life... and somebody dumped some feeders into it... it's now a dirty mass of goldfish and no frogs to be seen or heard.

[Mvjnz]

I've heard that boiling should only be done to very small fish, because then death will be instant. Freezing should not be done becaue it's painful and horrible. Most people I've talked to consider beheading or a good knock on the head the most humane way for bigger fish.

[Fishguy2727]

Unless the fish is ill and without hope, it should not be killed. Google 'fish euthanasia with clove oil' for directions on properly putting down a fish.

[pes142]

If you want to see what a couple of goldfish will do to an ecosystem, just look at the carp epidemic in the U.S. google jumping carp into boat, and you will see what happens when people release fish into an ecosystem.

[donvichu]

Why is it that people talking about euthanising(hope i spelt it right) a fish..it is totally off topic....see its just easy give it off to a lfs for free but please make sure they will take care of them..probably a good lfs its just that simple...or if you could afford an 30 G tank then that would house both your fishes...its your choice

[donvichu]

A 20 gallon's not too bad for 2 goldfish just do a lot of water changes. It's supposed to be something like 20 gallons per goldfish though. I made a stupid mistake of accepting someones "cycling goldfish" and put them in my 15 gallon that I had just setup (I was 8) and they have been fine ever since. That being said they were going to be flushed and I still don't really think it's 100% right keeping them in a 15 gallon.

I totally agree with you..depending on the size of your fish if they do fit in your tank then keep them till you find them a new home or you could provide them a new home...please uinderstand that 30 G that I suggested is for a grown gold fish as they need 20G for the first fish and 10G thereafter

[relsoft]

Yeah and we in the Philippines suffered because of that.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/10714