I have a butt-ugly comet

[Cactuspixie]

He really is. And I didn't particularly want him, but anyway, he's mine now. I took him straight out of his 2ft tank and put him in a 3ft tank (150l) and bought a little white comet to keep him company. (Did I mention I hadn't actually wanted a goldfish tank??!!). My juvenile gibbies were in a 6ft tank and started disagreeing on who was the boss, so the albino gibbicep went in with the goldfish. Soooooo......

The blasted comet is still growing, so now I've had to get a 260l tank for them. It's a 2nd hand custom build with 10mm glass, so I'm waiting on a strong stand being custom made for it.

He is strong as an ox, happy, and a real character! He has these ugly tumor type masses on him that makes me want to keep the lighting subdued (I'm sure the albino gibbi appreciates that )

 

[Wiggles24]

I think he's just adorable

 

[Cactuspixie]

I think he's just adorable

*your* eyesight is worse than mine! Lol (when I asked at the pet store what kind of lizard was in the tank I was looking at, his answer was 'the cement kind'. Roflmao)

 

[Wiggles24]

Any thought in the growths?

 

[Cactuspixie]

Any thought in the growths?

No idea. They don't change size or anything. He's about 3 years old.

 

[Desi]

I think he's just adorable

I agree, he's cute c:

 

[Cactuspixie]

Well he must be photogenic if you both think he's cute. Just about everyone who has laid eyes on him asked why I haven't euthanized him! :-(

Just because of how he looks! Some people just think aquariums are for decoration.

 

[jlk]

Goldfish are prone to various different growths/tumors. As long as he is otherwise healthy, happy and active, I would not be concerned.

 

[Convict2161]

This thread has me rolling and laughing out loud right now. lol!!!

He is a little on the ummm.... Halloween side if I may...

 

[Cactuspixie]

I now know what those masses are!

They are from old ammonia burns. :-(
The people I got him from had him in a 2ft tank for the two years they had him. He was on his own, because they said every other goldfish they put in with him died, so they gave up. What a tough start to life.

He drives me nuts CONSTANTLY wanting to be fed. I drive him nuts by dropping blood worms in front of the powerhead so he has to chase them around the tank. Lol. Piggy loves the mini algae wafers lol

 

[Fresh N Salt guy]

Lol. Good job saving the fish. Goldfish don't have stomaches so they don't have the ability to store food for later. 3-4 small feedings instead of 1 large feeding a day is necessary with goldfish and will considerably drop nitrates and waste in your tank

 

[Fresh N Salt guy]

Btw healthy fish always act hungry. Doesn't mean they need to be fed

 

[Cactuspixie]

Btw healthy fish always act hungry. Doesn't mean they need to be fed

Yeah, I just can't help it- my cat has trained me to feed on command! Lol
Now the dog I'm better with- she knows to not even bother with puppy dog eyes much less begging.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Goldfish don't have stomaches so they don't have the ability to store food for later. 3-4 small feedings instead of 1 large feeding a day is necessary with goldfish and will considerably drop nitrates and waste in your tank

Which makes me cave in to the look that says "quick, feed me! I'm staaaaaarving!" Lol.
It's quite a deep tank and the other comet is a bit dopey, so I only feed tiny amounts at a time otherwise they don't catch it before it hits the tank floor. I siphon uneaten food and poop every other day. It's rare for there to be uneaten food but sometimes it gets blown to where they can't access it. After trying a bare bottomed tank, I would never go back to gravel with goldfish!

 

[Fresh N Salt guy]

You sound like you got this down. I bare bottom all my quarantine tanks for easy cleaning. Another option is a sand substrate with gravel on top or just sand. I don't have to vacuum any of my tanks. Uneaten fish food and fish poop become plant food in a healthy ecosystem. The initial investment of sand, plants and correct lighting sucks, but maintenance time gets cut to a weekly or bi weekly water change at most. The tank in my profile pic is completely self sustaining with minimal maintenance. It works for me, not necessarily for everyone. Just telling you an option that's out there

 

[Cactuspixie]

You sound like you got this down. I bare bottom all my quarantine tanks for easy cleaning. Another option is a sand substrate with gravel on top or just sand. I don't have to vacuum any of my tanks. Uneaten fish food and fish poop become plant food in a healthy ecosystem. The initial investment of sand, plants and correct lighting sucks, but maintenance time gets cut to a weekly or bi weekly water change at most. The tank in my profile pic is completely self sustaining with minimal maintenance. It works for me, not necessarily for everyone. Just telling you an option that's out there

Sorry I can't see the pic- it's too tiny (using the iPhone app) are you able to post a photo?

How long did it take to create a healthy ecosystem?

I don't think I could do that with my current stock as they have a very heavy bioload. It's certainly something I'd be interested in though.

The 6ft tank that I'm preparing to set up will have sand, but I switched to plants that grow on surfaces rather than in substrate. I am planning to get half a dozen crypts and plant them in terracotta pots so that I can clean under and around them. Lol. I have a lot of bottom dwelling fish, so I imagine once they are on sand they will continually stir the detritus up that hasn't been removed.
I have gravel in all my tropical tanks atm, and I vacuum and do pwc twice a week- around 20% then 3 days later 30% followed by 20% 4 days later.....

My dreams are of self sustaining aquariums!

 

[Fresh N Salt guy]

Yeah that's a ton of work. Lol. First thing I did was over filter my tank. I have a 60g breeder tank and a filter pumping over 400 gallons an hour. I have 5 plecos, 2 of which are about a foot, 2 discus, 3 Julie's, 2 laser beam corries, a horseface loach, 4 tetras, 2 guppies, and an African dwarf frog. My bio load is pretty decent. If my nitrates spike ever I can throw a biochem carbon bag into my filter but 95% of the time I don't even use carbon. Basically, I feed 30 min after my lights kick on, guppies and tetras get to the food first, discus are snagging the sinking pellets, Julie's and corries rummage around picking up what hits the bottom and plants roots are doing work on the poop and excess debris from fish food. I run co2 1/2 hour after the lights kick on and kill them am hour before lights out so plants are working full force converting co2 to Oxygen and pulling as much of the crap from the ground as it can. Then lights kick off, plecos roll out and clean my tank all night of any algae my 250w hqi bulbs grew. Plus of coarse some algae pellets for specific nutrition. Then tomorrow it all starts again. This thread could go on forever with what I've learned in 15+ years keeping tanks. That's the nuts and bolts about how I designed my tank. Took me about 3 years to dial in my tank and get it self sustaining, but setting up new tanks for friends they are pretty much self sufficient in the first month after the plants come out of shock and your tank becomes established.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Yeah that's a ton of work. Lol. First thing I did was over filter my tank. I have a 60g breeder tank and a filter pumping over 400 gallons an hour. I have 5 plecos, 2 of which are about a foot, 2 discus, 3 Julie's, 2 laser beam corries, a horseface loach, 4 tetras, 2 guppies, and an African dwarf frog. My bio load is pretty decent. If my nitrates spike ever I can throw a biochem carbon bag into my filter but 95% of the time I don't even use carbon. Basically, I feed 30 min after my lights kick on, guppies and tetras get to the food first, discus are snagging the sinking pellets, Julie's and corries rummage around picking up what hits the bottom and plants roots are doing work on the poop and excess debris from fish food. I run co2 1/2 hour after the lights kick on and kill them am hour before lights out so plants are working full force converting co2 to Oxygen and pulling as much of the crap from the ground as it can. Then lights kick off, plecos roll out and clean my tank all night of any algae my 250w hqi bulbs grew. Plus of coarse some algae pellets for specific nutrition. Then tomorrow it all starts again. This thread could go on forever with what I've learned in 15+ years keeping tanks. That's the nuts and bolts about how I designed my tank. Took me about 3 years to dial in my tank and get it self sustaining, but setting up new tanks for friends they are pretty much self sufficient in the first month after the plants come out of shock and your tank becomes established.

Wow that tank looks great! I was expecting to see a jungle of plants in there! Lol
I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to aquarium maintenance- I can't resist giving my plecos extra veges and stuff. Then I have more poop to clean, PLUS I'm left with algae on the glass. I have to get that impulse under control before I can attempt what you have achieved.
I also need to increase my filtration- currently I only have two canisters running on my 6ft tropical, giving a combined flow rate of about 4000 litres an hour. I used to also run sponge filters in it, but I borrowed them for another tank and never gave them back.
But mostly I need to stop OVER FEEDING!

 

[Fresh N Salt guy]

Ty. That means a lot. I have poured years of hard work into that tank. Doesn't look like much but it's one of the healthiest tanks with the heartiest fish out there.
I have very unique experience in tanks as I have researched a lot in college and at home with my own tanks. Hell my water is under a microscope once a month. Best advice I can give anyone is be patient with your tank, and when you have an issue read as many articles as you can and cross reference from the biggest data base you can. Every tank owner has very good points but not everything they know necessarily refers to your tank specifically. Feel free to direct message me with anything because I don't read all the posts on here and might have some input. And a lot of people think there is only one way to approach tank problems and its not true. You seem to keep a very healthy tank, and you have a system that works for you. Take any advice with a grain of salt and see how you can apply that info to your specific needs. K I'm done preaching . Obviously I have a passion for this stuff

 

[Cactuspixie]

Ty. That means a lot. I have poured years of hard work into that tank. Doesn't look like much but it's one of the healthiest tanks with the heartiest fish out there.

Doesn't look like much??? Says who! I love the way it's styled almost like a reef tank with that huge piece of driftwood in the middle- it looks unique and yet utterly natural.

It's proof that conventional wisdom isn't always right- because you have a combination of fish that many would insist can't be kept together much less in that setup!

Feel free to direct message me with anything because I don't read all the posts on here and might have some input.

Thankyou! You'll be sorry you made that offer! Lol