How much trouble did I get myself into?

[RussellC]

A little background: about two years ago, I let my daughter try to toss a ping pong ball into a cup at a fair, and we came home with a comet goldfish.

I've made a few mistakes since... not truly understanding the nitrogen cycle, keeping said comet in a 1.5 gallon for far too long... the list goes on.

My current situation, and the one I'm asking about, because I *think* down the road the tank will be manageable, not ideal, but manageable... but I want to know if I'm right, or if I'm going to have a grossly overstocked tank.

What I've got:

48 gallon bowfront.

220 gph external canister filter, will upgrade to 2x that by either going bigger or adding a second filter down the road.

One stunted (sigh) comet, about 2 inches (not counting tail fin), and about 2 years old -- so expecting future growth, but not the size comets can sometimes get to.

One 1-1.5" Shubunkin

Two 1-1.5" Fantails

No, I wouldn't stock this way again (mixing double and single-tails, and this many goldfish), but... will this be manageable down the road as these little guys mature? I don't have the space for a bigger tank, and I hate to part with any (but will if I must down the road).

So, am I so terribly overstocked that a problem is inevitable, or if I keep a keen eye on water quality (now that I'm more educated about this), and do frequent enough water changes, will I be able to manage?

 

[LyndaB]

Welcome to the forum.

Kudos to you for doing some research.

Generally, it's recommended to have 20 gallons for the first goldfish and an additional 10 gallons for every next goldfish.

 

[siva]

The shubukin and fantails are fine in there long term, but comets do get larger. Not sure if yours will since it's stunted. I think something larger will be needed to accommodate all of them long term.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

The shubukin and the comet will eventually out grow the tank and need rehoming but for now, as long as they play nice with the fancies, they should be fine.

 

[siva]

Woops..she's right...shubukins need a larger tank as well.

 

[Crepe]

Shubukins get as large as comets (I had one reach about 12" before it decided to jump ship into my garden), Fancy goldfish also reach about 6" so be prepared for big fish.

 

[jlk]

The shubukin and the comet will eventually out grow the tank and need rehoming but for now, as long as they play nice with the fancies, they should be fine.

I agree with Mumma. Although the comet may not outgrow the tank due to being stunted, the shubunkin will likely outgrow it (12+inches). You will be ok for a bit with a hefty water change schedule but you may want to consider rehoming the shubunkin to a pond as he approaches the 4-5inch mark. Good luck!

 

[RussellC]

I agree with Mumma. Although the comet may not outgrow the tank due to being stunted, the shubunkin will likely outgrow it (12+inches). You will be ok for a bit with a hefty water change schedule but you may want to consider rehoming the shubunkin to a pond as he approaches the 4-5inch mark. Good luck!

Thanks for all of the feedback. Due to the stunting with the comet, it's the Shubunkin I'm most concerned will outgrow the tank. I suppose I may take a 'wait and see' approach with an eye toward rehoming it if/when it becomes necessary. My problem is I'm already attached to it.

 

[jlk]

Maybe you should start working on a pond.... lol But, seriously, a wait & see approach is fine as long as you stick to a big water change schedule. At some point in the future though, as attached as you may be, you still need to do whats best for him. Expect him to grow somewhere @1/2- 1 inch a month. Good luck!

 

[RussellC]

Maybe you should start working on a pond.... lol But, seriously, a wait & see approach is fine as long as you stick to a big water change schedule. At some point in the future though, as attached as you may be, you still need to do whats best for him. Expect him to grow somewhere @1/2- 1 inch a month. Good luck!

Actually, the idea of a pond as crossed my mind. Our back yard is a little small, and the other half isn't too keen on the idea, but I'm not saying never.

Right now, I do small partial water changes weekly just because (my nitrate readings suggest that I could do them less often, but I feel it's good to get in the habit if nothing else, because as the fish grow it won't always be that way). And for now, my canister filter is able to keep up with ammonia and nitrite without trouble -- but I'll be testing often and bringing added filtration online when I need to.

And I think you're right about the growth rate. It's darn hard to measure an active Shubunkin (hold still little fishie while I get the ruler!), but I think it might have grown from 1 to 1.5 inches in the past four weeks.

There's also a LFS not too far that keeps an indoor pond and stocks koi and shubunkin -- though I haven't asked, I imagine they wouldn't mind taking a well tended to and healthy Shubunkin off my hands if/when it becomes necessary.

But honestly, I really am thinking about a pond.

 

[jlk]

I would try to aim for @50% a week right now. Just because your nitrates may not be increasing greatly each week (they will as everyone grows & ammonia output increases), water changes remove dissolved solids (which we dont test) and restore buffers & other minerals that are necessary for a stable ph & healthy fish. In the future, the water change schedule may be greater. Good luck!