Some general info on my Oranda

[xchairity_casex]

So i am relativly new to owning fish last january i found a 20 gallon tank and wasnt sure what to put in it but bought it ne ways. my naighbor who lived in the same apartment building stopped by one day seen the tank and was telling me how she wanted a nice looking fish tank all set up. well still unsure of what i was going to use it for i started cycling it (my bf is a big fish person and ahs 2 125 tanks set up and doing well) i htought maybe i would try getting some shrimp. well 3 weeks later my naighbor told me to stop over and take a look at her beautiful fish i did and i seen 3 goldfish and 2 pictus catfish in a 1 gallon bowl with no gravel. i told her they looked crowded and seh said they came from wal-mart for her kids. not much i could do about it i went home 2 weeks went by and my tank still empty but cycled (used a bacteria addative) came over fish bowl in hand telling me that fish stink and she was going to dump them down the toilet unless i wanted them. she obviously never changed the water. so what could i do i took them it seemed very ironic at the time i just get a set up tank and here i am with 5 new fish i knew nothing about. well the 2 goldfish died leaving one orange and white oranda and one catfish died. well i did my research about them and know that they both will needa a much larger tank and also that the catfish are sociel so i bought another jsut for its sake i do a weekly water change of about 50% and i siphon the gravel about twice per month and my water is very clear and clean. fish are doing well. i was planning on getting an indoor pond building myself i have slowly been getting supplies but 2 weeks ago i aquaierd a 180 gallon tank for 40 dollars second hand. i just need a couple things for it like gravel and a bigger filter which is no problem. but i have a few questions:
can i get another oranda or two for this tank?

my oranda i have had 1 1/2 years he is little over 4 inches with his tail is he a good size or is he undersized for his age? he must have been just one of those 1.98 fish from wal-mart becuase he was only about and inch and a half with his tail.

he is very active and always comes out to swimm around when i walk over to the tank but sometimes late in the day i notice him just sitting on the bottom not moving unless he sees me then he comes right out is this normal?

and lastly about 3 weeks ago he got stuck in my plastic rock cave and got a chunck of scales taken off his side about a nickle sized patch of orange scales that have not yet come back in will they?

ohh almost forgot also in this tank i have small gravel he likes to suck up and spit out i worry he will eat it for the big tank should i use large gravel? and if so what type would u reccommend?

[xchairity_casex]

p.s here is a picture of him this was a day after he got hisself hung up on one of my plants so he wasnt feeling too good. hes been quite the lucky fish though i had theese plastic plants called hairgrass they were plastic like 5 inch long pine needles except not sharp i came home to find he had scewerd himself on them they went thru his mouth out his gills he was stuck down about 3 inches. he did this twice so i took them out both times expecting him to die then he got stuck in my rock cave you can see in the back of the picture he got all cut up i took that out didnt think he would live but he did then he got stuck and all cut up in hte second rock cave also removed thought he would die but didnt. and when i say cut up i mean bleeding all over the place didnt eat for 2 days either time just layed on the bottom sluggish. ne ways here is the pichttp://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj225/xchairity_casex/l_08f6fba3b5a54d9b984be177a75cc875.jpg

[megastealer]

First, I would take those plants and cave out of the tank. Goldfish are very curious animals, so they can't resist getting all tangled up in whatever is in their tank.

It is also important to note that a bacteria additive can speed up getting a bacteria culture going in your filter, but it will still take about a month to get something good established usually. I would keep doing regular water changes for him, and don't overfeed.

I would not recommend another Oranda for the tank. If you are going for a community fish tank, I would not recommend having goldfish in a setup for a 20 gallon.

I am attempting to set up a community 29 gallon with a fantail and it is extremely risky, and I am only trying it because I care too much about my goldfish to trade him into the store, but want a little more action in my fish tank.

If you are in the south and the tank is in view of a window or a warm part of the house, the tank might be getting too warm. When the temperatures get a little bit warmer (around 81) my fantail will also sit on the bottom of the tank until it cools off a bit.

I would expect his scales to come back in time, if he is in good health.

The smaller gravel should be fine. I prefer sand, such as play sand from Home Depot (you have to wash it out well in a bucket first to rinse out the clay), but it is only around $5/50 pounds. The black sand looks better in tanks in my opinion, but it is more expensive.

I would invest in a liquid test kit to tell when you need to do water changes more effectively, and also get a thermometer if you think it might be a bit hot in there.

Hope that helps. :22:

[VoidParadigm]

If I read it right that you got a 180 tank (make sure it is gallons, not litres), another Oranda goldfish is fine. Really, any other fancy goldfish with him would be fine. Just don't go with a Shubunkin or Comet/Common.

In any case, I suggest you buy some real plants, or get rid of them all together. Goldfish will try to eat anything they can fit in their mouths, and aren't really aware of their bulk, so get stuck into small places easily. I once had an eight inch comet goldfish manage to get stuck in a 4''x3'' space.

The bigger the gravel, the higher the chance he'll choke on it, actually. I find sand works best, and some of them like to "dig" in it.

As for stocking, measure the tank first, pop the dimensions into an online gallon calculator. If it's truly a 180 gallon tank, you could do three or four fancy goldfish, and if you live in an area where the winters don't get as cold or you keep your house warm, you can up the pictus to a real school size of 6+. Just don't add a heater to the actual tank! Fancy goldfish, due to their re-arranged organs and odd body shapes need unheated, well aerated water even more than their common goldfish counterparts - otherwise they could develop internal problem resulting from a lack of oxygen. I wouldn't suggest any smaller fish added after that, and at most I'd only recommend six of each of the two species. If you add smaller fish, the goldfish might try to eat them when they're bigger.

The laying on the gravel later in the day isn't entirely abnormally so long as it's not on it's side gasping. Many of my fish "nap" during the afternoon, and iirc one of our member's fish even likes to nap upside down. 'sides, fancy goldfish are poorly built. It takes a lot of energy to haul that bulky, overbred body around in the water. You'd get tired too.

And if it's a true 180, resist the urge to add more when the little goldfish look so small in it, and the tank looks so empty. Give it a year, sometimes a bit more, and you could have baseball to football sized fancies in there.

[xchairity_casex]

thanks for the info i appreciate it.
sand i really wanted sand for the tank but i was worried that the fish would ingest it and clog them up like reptiles (i own a russian tortiose and a grey tree frog) great i would love to use sand. :)

yup the 180 gallon is indeed 180 gallons without gravel i have filled it to make sure there were no leaks and i filled it one gallon at a time took quite a few hours let me tell you but without the gravel its 180.

as far as the caves both have been removed since he got stuck that was an older picture from before i removed them. the plants are still in there but i have thinned them out and taken most of them out so he cant get caught in them.

nope i am sticking with orandas they are now my favorites just becuase of this one guy i never thought i would actually love a fish but i really love this one hes a cutie and very freindly he will come to sit in my hand while i hand feed him meal worms or blood worms.


nope my oranda doesnt gasp for air and i dont plan on making this a community tank all i want is at least one more oranda and the catfish.
i was a little intrested in a bala catfish but i dont know if those need several of the same species or not or how they would get on with orandas ne one know?

[VoidParadigm]

I wouldn't recommend Balas. They need a temperature that's at the higher end of tropical, while the Pictus and Fancy Goldfish do better in sub-tropical and low-end tropical, which is usually a regular room temperature.

If you don't want a big community, and just the two goldfish, I'd actually suggest for you to get 8 more pictus. These are very active catfish and should use all the aquarium space you give them, especially as they mature - plus the higher numbers of their own species will help spread any aggression out amongst themselves.

Some people don't recommend Goldfish with Pictus due to risks of injuries, but really, that's a risk with any species of catfish. Example: Cories can choke them, plecos might try to suck on them, pictus could scrape them, etc. I suggest for you to simply ignore many of the simply hypothesized and second-hand thoughts on the risk, and to just play things by ear. 'sides, with so much water room, it should be fairly easy for them to stay away from easy other, especially while young.

[xchairity_casex]

oh yes i have had several people tell me to "watch out" and to remove the pictus right away before they start shredding my orandas fins becuase hes got very long flowy fins but with the two pictus i have never had any problems no niped or torn fins in an entire year and a half and the pictus will actually come out to the top to feed they make awful scavangers as the oranda does a much better job picking the food off the bottom lol the pictus will bump against the oranda while feeding but have never even attempted to nip. very nice fish. my bf has a 155 gallon tnak thats a community tank and most of his fish are not compatable and have lots of torn fins they all look awful.

[Lady Hobbs]

You filled a 180 gallon tank by carrying one gallon of water at a time?

You'd better be getting yourself a python or aqueon water changer!

[VoidParadigm]

Aye, fair ducks. Just make sure you keep an eye out, especially once the pictus get upped to a proper school. Never know how a new fish might react in a formerly perfect co-habitation.

[xchairity_casex]

yup i keep the tank upstairs too and the sink is downstairs lol. i keep saying people are going to tell me that my legs look fantastic and when they ask my secret i am going to tell them "i have a fish tank" lol

perhapes if i add the catfish one at a time and keep an eye out for any aggression.

[BeavisMom62]

Goodness! Not only carrying so many buckets but up and down stairs! I'm impressed. Are you going to be able to do that every week though? How much and how often do you do water changes? Thats definitely going to be a lot of work! You don't have any sink or tub upstairs? I too would recommend a python or something. I've got five tanks and do 50% water changes every week. Thankfully my husband takes care of the 65 gal tank and my next biggest tank, a 30 gal goldie tank is right on the bar above the kitchen sink, so I can use the sprayer hose that is attached to the sink. Which only leaves me three tanks that I actually have to carry buckets but even still, mine are all on the same floor. I don't envy you the work, but I know I would envy you those legs! thumbs2: