Is this substrate suitable for goldfish?

[MrYossu]

Hello,

I have a 24" cube tank, which until recently housed some Malawi cichlids, which have now moved to bigger premises. I am thinking of putting some goldfish in the tank, and wondered if the substrate I have is suitable.

As cichlids like hard water, and we live in a very soft water area (NWEngland), I used crushed coral in the tank, and added Epsom salt and bicarbonate of soda to the water for the cichlids. As I understand it, goldfish also like hard water, so I'm wondering if the crushed coral would be good for them, or if I should take it out and use normal gravel instead. Also, would the Epsom salts and bicarbonate be a good idea or not?

Anyone any comments? Thanks in advance.

[MrYossu]

Forgot to add, I was told I could put four goldfish in this size tank. Does that sound right?

Thanks

[Joonkun]

no it doesnt sound right. it depends on the species of goldfish, some goldfish can get to well over 1 foot in length.

[Brhino]

is this a 60 gallon tank, 24"x24"x24"? 4 fancy goldfish would work in there, provided you provide excellent filtration and keep up with water changes. I would not recommend any common goldfish, as Joonkun says they get large and they're active swimmers as well.

Regarding the substrate, how big is it? You want either substrate that is too big to swallow (large gravel) or small enough that if they do swallow it it'll pass through them (like sand). Other than that, goldfish can thrive in a wide variety of water parameters so I don't think you need to be making a special effort to be providing them with hard water like you did for your cichlids.

[Joonkun]

i wouldnt put 4 goldish in that tank no matter what, maybe 3, they are just too high of a bioload for my liking. sure over filtration is key here, but even then they are just too dirty for my liking. additionally goldfish love to pick at the substrate, haveing large pebble substrate imo is best as they will suck and spit out the rocks, most likely looking for algae to eat. it does depend on the gold fish though, some species are smaller but as isaid some are quite big, it would help to know what kind of fish you are looking at in particular.

[MrYossu]

Hi,

Thanks for all the replies. The tank has a large external filter, and I have plumbing that allows frequent water changes with ease, so those aren't problems.

I am bothered about the substrate though. It's crushed coral, so the pieces are anything from a couple of millimetres upwards. I didn't known goldfish were prone to choking on small stones, and it sounds like this might be an issue.

As for type of fish, I was looking at the plain common goldfish, which I prefer to the fancy ones. Not sure it's such a good idea from what you've said.

Thanks again. I need to think this one through some more.

[Alasse]

The goldies with be fine on crushed coral.

Comets are not great in any sized tank, they belong in ponds due to the sizes they reach.

4 fancy goldies would be no problem in a 60gal tank, i have 2 in a 30 something gallon.