How to house a goldfish...

[Greg]

I recently rescued a goldfish from a kiddie pool at a stupid party.
He/she/it is now about 2 inches long and may need a bigger home- it lives in a large coleslaw container with daily water changes, yet this doesn't seem adequate. At the end of every day, without fail, the "fish counter" with all my fish begins to reek of ammonia and waste. I change the water and all is well until the next day. But it's getting worse and I need a tank and a proper living situation for the guy/gal/androgynous alien bloodsucking plasma demon.

So... The biggest I have is a defunct 7 gallon Eclipse tank in the basement...
And a budget of less than $100. Okay, less than fifty ideally but that can be overlooked for the sake of my fish's health and for the sake of this discussion...
Also- preferably a tank that can fit on a counter-top with cabinets overhead. Nothing huge either... I know Mr./Mrs. Goldie would thrive in 20 gallons or something like that but that might not be possible, logistically. Hey, anything's better than what I saved him/her from.

How should I house my goldfish? What equipment do I need? Nothing too fancy or complex. Also, ease up on the acronyms, I'm a newbie!

Thanks!

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

I would first start by trying to identify what type of goldfish it is as some stay on the smaller size and others get way big.

Goldfish are pretty dirty fish so over filtration is a must! (Example: filter says its good up to 70 gal and you have a 29 gal tank) goldfish for the most part don't need heated water so as long as ur house isn't a cooler your good there. In my honest opinion I don't think its gonna be good to try and find a tank that can safely house the goldie and sit on ur counter. Depending on the type of the fish I would go minimum at 30gal long if you can find one (hard to find where I'm at) if you insist on keeping the tank on the counter you can go 20 long but I wouldn't recommend doing so as a lot of goldfish will quickly out grow that.

If you can another option is a pond, they have kits at home depot in your price range and it can go up to 200 gallons with a 6ft by 9 ft footprint. Just a thought.

 

[mgamer20o0]

craigslist would be the best bet to find a used full set up tank to put the fish in. think a 30-40 gallon tank would be better since its prob just a common feeder.

 

[Greg]

Yeah- wait, is there a difference between a comet and a common feeder?
I've read that 10 gal per fish works??
I mean, anything is better than what I saved him from... I've heard that people have bred comets in 15 gal, and the world's oldest goldfish, I saw on the news, lives in 10gal at most from what I could tell... I don't think 30 gal long would be realistic.
Any more thoughts or suggestions? 15 or 10 gal would be great if that would keep him relatively happy and healthy.
Thanks.

 

[logansmomma1228]

10 gal would work for a while, but you might have to get a bigger tank eventually. +1 to Craigslist, some great deals on there if you keep your eyes out. I got a 10 gal starter kit from Walmart for 40$ here. Then I found this site and now have MTS lol . Good luck, and I am glad to hear you rescued a fish

 

[jsoong]

A rescued "party" goldfish is likely a feeder, and a common.

If you are lucky, it would be a fantail. Look at the tail, is it like any other fish (single tailed) or doubled? If you have a double tailed (fantail) goldfish, you might be able to manage in a ten, with lots of pwc's. However, even for fantails, a 20 or 30 would be better.

Common or comets gets to be 12-18" long, they need to be in a pond. Even for temporary housing, a 40-60 gal breeder is minimum.

The world record fish did live in a 15 gal. However, it is very unusual for commons to live that long in such a small setup. <The typical scenario would have the owner replacing the fish every few months as the tank crashes ...> That world record fish never got very big (3-4" I think). Chances are, it had a lot of shubunkin blood, and genetically predisposed to being small & long lived. I don't think you can count on having a world record holder when planning for your fish ....

Apart form a used tank on CL, etc. Another option would be to look for someone with a pond to take the fish in. A cheap option would be a rubbermaid bin. I use a 30 gal bin as my QT. You can get even bigger ones - 50-70 gal's - for not much more ... ~$20-30. The problem is finding space for it. You can perhaps make an indoor pond with a plastic bin surrounded by rocks & house plants (in pots). Add a canister filter (you would have to go used with your budget - or go for a DIY waterfall/wet/dry like a real pond) & you are set.

 

[Greg]

Yup! It's a double tail!

Wait- is it a double tail if it has one tail with two pointed lobes?

Also, what are pwc's? (If there's an AA acronym dictionary, could someone direct me to it?)

Thanks.

 

[Crepe]

Partial Water Change- PWC
Double tail means there are literally two fins at the caudal peduncle. You have your classic goldfish tail.
I'll show you pics of my Comet and my Regular goldy. Comets when viewed from the side are more slender while goldfish are taller. Comets also have much longer finnage.
In the feeder goldfish tank you will find a mix of comets and common goldfish.

comet

Common Goldfish
And every once and again you get lucky and find one of these: Pure white goldfish (my personal favorite)

 

[Aquarium1]

Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - FAQ: Acronyms and Abbreviations
btw, Crepe, your goldfish look fantastic, you should set up a thread to show em off lol.

 

[Tildar]

This might be helpful:

Goldfish Types

 

[mommytron]

you can also hover your mouse over most of the acronyms, the ones that are underlined, and it will tell you what it means.

i think it's awesome that you wanted to save the fish, but like many others who've done similar acts, you didn't realize what you were getting yourself into. i think it would be a great idea to fine someone with a pond who will take in the fish. also, the rubbermaid idea is a great idea for a budget. but, IMO, you really need to get a bigger tank than 15 gallons, i would say 30 minimum. goldfish are very messy, they pee a lot, so a bigger tank will mean much less maintenance. if you get a 10 or 15 gallon, not only will the fish probably out grow the tank, but you will find yourself doing PWC's (partial water changes) much more often then if you were to go with a bigger tank.

 

[Aquarium1]

you can also hover your mouse over most of the acronyms, the ones that are underlined, and it will tell you what it means.

i think it's awesome that you wanted to save the fish, but like many others who've done similar acts, you didn't realize what you were getting yourself into. i think it would be a great idea to fine someone with a pond who will take in the fish. also, the rubbermaid idea is a great idea for a budget. but, IMO, you really need to get a bigger tank than 15 gallons, i would say 30 minimum. goldfish are very messy, they pee a lot, so a bigger tank will mean much less maintenance. if you get a 10 or 15 gallon, not only will the fish probably out grow the tank, but you will find yourself doing PWC's (partial water changes) much more often then if you were to go with a bigger tank.

+1, although, who knows how badly it could have been mistreated if someone else might have gotten it, they might have used a... fishbowl
I know my neighbor kept one in a 1g tank and I felt so sorry for it. It didn't even live to be a year old. Definitely try to go with a 30g tank/pond, but we still don't really know what kind it is. Mind sharing a pic?

 

[jsoong]

Wait- is it a double tail if it has one tail with two pointed lobes?

Double tail = 2 tails each with 2 lobes. So there are 4 lobes in a double tail. <Although many fantails have the top fused, so there would be a triangular 3 lobed tail.>

Here are a couple pics of the tails of my fish. The oranda is fairly typical of a fantail. <His tail is actually not fused, but he was holding the top together like a typical fantail.> The other is more a veil tail, showing more of the true double tail.

 

[mommytron]

jsoong, that is a gorgeous picture you have a very pretty fish, I love his tail

edit: you have two very pretty fish

 

[Aquarium1]

jsoong, that is a gorgeous picture you have a very pretty fish, I love his tail

edit: you have two very pretty fish

+1 lol

 

[Greg]

Gorgeous fish!
Thanks for the tips-
Here is a picture of my fish... pretty sure it's just a common goldfish.
Don't mind the cloudiness; it's my camera, not the water!

 

[Aquarium1]

Don't know about anyone else but for some reason I can't see the pic.

Edit: nvm I see it now.

 

[Crepe]

It's a common goldfish, for sure. Although it's a bit slender. It may have some comet genes in it. The two are the same species, just different forms.

 

[Greg]

Would 10 or 15 gallons really be torture? I'd like to give him all the space in the world but I can't.

 

[jsoong]

Commons need room to swim, and they can get big.

10 or 15 is Ok when they are small (like 1-2"), but they do get big quick. I would expect the fish to outgrow the tank within a year.