New and a bit irritated (lol)

[ArkD'Julie]

Hi everyone! I'm fairly new to keeping fish and recently upsized the tank for my betta, neons, & cories.

I was going to sell my smaller tank but thought I'd get a couple goldfish for it. Now, I was thinking from my childhood days of the goldfish that stay only a couple inches long.... I guess the feeder goldfish?

Anyway, got 4 fish at the shop and 2 different people who helped me there said 3 to 5 fish should be ok for a 10 gallon...... except that the goldfish being referred to were the fancy ones. Hmm. My fault for not knowing what I was getting & how big they'd get, but they should have known better than to tell me 4 would be ok for 10 gal.

So now I have my 4 fish and after a bit of reading up on the fancy types of goldfish I'm quite disheartened finding out how big they get and how much more room they will need! I'll do the right thing by either getting a much larger tank (husband will LOVE this... not) or finding other homes.

I keep my tanks very clean and hopefully they will be happy until they start to get too big. How big would be too big for them to be in a 10 gal? Should they be moved right away, or do they have a bit of time still where the 10 gal would be ok?

So disappointed.

Julie

[ArkD'Julie]

I just wanted to add that I'm considering building a little pond in my yard for these guys when they get a bit bigger. Something I need to research. But, actually a fun project for me as I love my yard and spending a lot of time out there. :)

[jessfish]

If they are small they will be ok in the 10 on a temporary basis.

The best thing to do is either take a few back, or get a bigger tank soon.

A good tip though since they are in there & you are still deciding what to do is watch their behaviour & check the water paramaters.

If their behaviour is fine & they get along & the wate paramaters are good than things will be ok for a little while until the bigger tank.

[jessfish]

I just wanted to add that I'm considering building a little pond in my yard for these guys when they get a bit bigger. Something I need to research. But, actually a fun project for me as I love my yard and spending a lot of time out there. :)


What type of fancy are they? fantail, oranda, lionhead...

That will depend on if they can spend a lot of time in a pond (some fancies cant tolerate big changes in water temp & do need a heater)

A pond is a cool idea but if the weather gets cool in your area you will still need a home for them during that time of yr.

Plus a good place to look for cheaper big tanks is online!!

lol
just saw you are in Australia...I think the heat will be more of an issue with a pond lol

[Alasse]

Not all parts of Oz get stinking hot *LOL* Some get snow and darn cold! If the pond is deep enough the goldies should be ok, do realise though there are new pond laws and anything deeper than 30cm must be fenced (pool fencing)

4 in a 10gal is ok providing they are small and arent living in there too long :)

Oh and no goldies stays 2inch in length, they'd have been that long only because they would have been stunted, and that shortens their life span significantly

[ArkD'Julie]

Sorry I forgot to mention what my fish were. I bought 3 of them as fantails, although one I believe is a veiltail. I also have a black moor, as they were all in the same tank and I thought that one of the different colour patterns would be nice. Therefore, one black, one orange/white, and 2 calico (one of these is the veiltail). I haven't taken the time to upload a photo yet, as I've just joined this forum. I've got one photo with all 4 of them together, so I'll get onto uploading that (hopefully it'll work and will be posted shortly).

[ArkD'Julie]

Ok, let's see if I got it right.... here should be a photo of all 4 fish (only one with all of them together). They're all about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=22429&d=1300580387

Hope this works, didn't have much luck at finding how to add a photo.

[jessfish]

Nope photo didnt work, hope you can get one up the fish sound really prety!!

If you have a photobucket account you can upload pictures there & attach them here using that little mountain looking icon (5 from last on the bottom row)
you just copy the link for the pic from photo bucket & paste it into the little box that comes up when u hit the mountain looking icon LOL

or click on th paper clip icon (3 from last on top row) & attach that way.

I think before you get under way with building a pond do lots of research on the types of goldies you've got & find out the temps they can tolerate. I think with goldies the lowest you want to go is between 16C & 18C...but check that I could be wrong. I just now its not like a regular goldie who can live in really really cold water.

Not sure if you've had goldfish before so i'll leave a little tip: easily one of the best tips i got when i 1st got goldfish... you should make sure you fast once a week (don't feed one day) & feed them cooked de-shelled peas at least once a week...this is a great thing for fancy goldies it helps keep their digestive track clear.

[Alasse]

I have had fantails in a pond outside, and believe me it can get to 0C (and below) here. I currently have more outside in aboveground pond that will winter out there.

[jessfish]

I have had fantails in a pond outside, and believe me it can get to 0C (and below) here. I currently have more outside in aboveground pond that will winter out there.

Ya i think the temp thing is up for debate, it probably shortens life span or something (thats what they say if goldies are in water that is 'too warm') LOL

But im guessing you dont leave them outside when its 0C...I've never had fish in a pond so i'm just going with stuff i've read :ssmile:

[Lady Hobbs]

Two things got you off to a bad start here. First.... you not researching fish before you purchased them and second.....the store giving you the wrong advice on the goldfish per tank size. Never count of store employees knowing what they are doing. They are there to sell fish, not teach.

I also am wondering if you ever cycled the tank before adding the fish and if you have purchased a test kit so you can check the water parmeters for ammonia/nitrites/nitrates?

So now we are here with the wrong fish and to home the fish properly you are now talking of building a pond. Now you are over-whelmed with knowing the fish are wrong for the tank and worried about building a pond! I would simply return your fish, if your tank was not cycled to then cycle it, and get yourself some small fish for that small tank. When you can afford a larger tank, to then get yourself some goldfish.

Please read in my signatures the expectancy size of goldfish and also the cycling links if you did not cycle. I think to make an error and then try to work around that error is harder than starting over.

[ArkD'Julie]

For the tank they're in, it's the old filter, and the new tank the other fish are in, is the old gravel and all the plants, decor, etc.