Goldfish stocking

**Aquawoman** · 01-02-2013, 01:44 AM

I have re-setup my 55 gallon tank since we moved. This time around I decided to do a goldfish tank. I haven't had goldfish in years. Anyway, what would be a good number of fish to keep in the tank without overcrowding them? Fish being the fancy varieties. Right now, I have two ryukins and two common (I think). I have two power filters and an air stone running. No heater. It's been hanging around 70 degrees.

**Zander** · 01-02-2013, 01:52 AM

The rule of thumb I've been told to follow is 1 goldfish for the first 20 gallons, then 1 more per 10 gallons. At 55 gallons that rule would let you have 5. That is full grown size of course.

AQ Advisor actually says that is too many.

http://aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php?A...rchMode=simple

If you did incredibly frequent water changes and assuming you have lots of filtration I think 5 would not be crazy though. It wouldn't be a crowding issue it would be a bio load issue. IE: if you did two 25% changes per week AND had around 3x the recommended filtration it should work. Remember that goldfish should get at least 2x recommended filtration because of how messy they are (as in at least two 50 gallon filters for a 50 gallon tank).

**madagascariensis** · 01-02-2013, 02:43 AM

Personally I would say that 3-4 fancy goldfish would be ideal, with 5 pushing it. Common goldfish or other non fancy goldfish(Wakins, etc) that grow to over a foot do not belong in 55 gallons in any number.

**mizzoutank** · 01-02-2013, 05:04 AM

Originally Posted by madagascariensis

Personally I would say that 3-4 fancy goldfish would be ideal, with 5 pushing it. Common goldfish or other non fancy goldfish(Wakins, etc) that grow to over a foot do not belong in 55 gallons in any number.

That is the truth.

Sorry Zander-but that rule of thumb simply does not work. you can't tell anyone that a common goldfish (that gets over a foot) can fit into a tank that is 20gallons...it maybe could wiggle in there.

you have a point on the water changes and filtration, but that doesn't allow you to keep fish that physically cannot fit into a tank.
Just because I'm running 4x filtration on my 45, doesn't mean I can have 50fish in there.

The above post is correct. I would do 3-4 fancy. ensure that your filtration is at minimum rated at 110gallons, and do at least 50% water changes every week.
these fish produce so much waste, that if you don't have that set up correctly, you'll fight a constant battle of keeping your water parameters in check.

**Zander** · 01-02-2013, 05:47 AM

Originally Posted by mizzoutank

That is the truth.

Sorry Zander-but that rule of thumb simply does not work. you can't tell anyone that a common goldfish (that gets over a foot) can fit into a tank that is 20gallons...it maybe could wiggle in there.

you have a point on the water changes and filtration, but that doesn't allow you to keep fish that physically cannot fit into a tank.
Just because I'm running 4x filtration on my 45, doesn't mean I can have 50fish in there.

The above post is correct. I would do 3-4 fancy. ensure that your filtration is at minimum rated at 110gallons, and do at least 50% water changes every week.
these fish produce so much waste, that if you don't have that set up correctly, you'll fight a constant battle of keeping your water parameters in check.

It specifically says fancy goldfish. I would make different recommendations for common goldfish. With common I would probably tell him to put them in a pond at 8 inches or so.

**Funfin** · 01-03-2013, 10:01 PM

I currently have 4 fancy goldfish in a 50 gallon with a bristlenose pleco. I have to do a 50% water change every 4 days. My filtration is a fluval HOB rated for 50 gallons, fluval canister rated for 70 gallons and a marineland canister rated for 150 gallons.

I find nitrates rise quickly. The general rule of thumb is 20 gallons for the first goldfish and 10 gallons for every additional. So with 4 goldfish you will be borderline stocked. Some forums recommend 20 gallons for every goldfish.

I'm going to move my pooping crewing into a 125 gallon because the water changes are getting to be a drag. So if you stock your tank, remember lots of water changes might be in your future.

**~firefly~** · 01-03-2013, 10:05 PM

Specifically what filtration do you have? What size is your filter rated for?

**Aquawoman** · 01-06-2013, 07:59 PM

I currently have a whisper power filter rated 30-60 gallons, and an aqueon power filter rated for 30 gallons I believe. My other large power filter kicked the bucket, so the aqueon is a stand-in until I can get a bigger one.