New to forum,had fish for years...

[Regz8000]

hi im new to the forum and have a 30 litre tropical,60 litre tropical,400litre cichlid, a 2 metre wall tropical aquarium and a biorb 30 litre cold water set up.Hoping to get a marine set up soon but have kept fish for 13 years now.Have had many tanks and still love fish. so HI!

 

[Alkane]

Hey welcome to the Forums

 

[redsea]

Hi there, welcome to the forums! If you have any questions, let us know, we love to help!

 

[Regz8000]

Well people say that you need a large tank with cold water goldfish but I have a 30 biorb with 4 fish in.a globe eye orange ,a globe eye black(only one eye ) a silver pond fish ( forgot it's name) and a goldfish Wichita sucsessfully I have kept all fish for 2 years now but why do you recommend a large tank.they do perfectly well in a 30 litre ???

 

[Lovin Fish]

Hi back at 'cha! Post pics of your tanks! They sound great!!

 

[Regz8000]

Will do

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Well people say that you need a large tank with cold water goldfish but I have a 30 biorb with 4 fish in.a globe eye orange ,a globe eye black(only one eye ) a silver pond fish ( forgot it's name) and a goldfish Wichita sucsessfully I have kept all fish for 2 years now but why do you recommend a large tank.they do perfectly well in a 30 litre ???

Welcome.
I'll bite lol.
What happens to fish in small tanks, with water changes not done as frequently as they should be, is stunting. Stunting is where the fish slows or even stops growing altogether. What happens to these fish is shortened bodies, elongated fins, larger eyes (and possibly organs), curved spines (in extreme cases) and lowered immune systems. This leaves the fish stressed and open to disease.
The small space itself does not stunt the fish, poor water conditions do. You *can* keep goldfish in a small tank as babies but, if cared for correctly, they will soon outgrow the tank. Goldfish do most of their growing in the first three years of life. A common or comet goldfish should be approaching 12 inches by this time. A fancy should be 6-12 inches at three years.
If your goldfish are still small enough to fit into a 30L tank after 2 years they are most definitely stunted. You can still provide them with a proper home. It is not too late. They will never reach their full potential but, once in better conditions, will continue to grow and flourish.

 

[Lovin Fish]

The small space itself does not stunt the fish, poor water conditions do. You *can* keep goldfish in a small tank as babies but, if cared for correctly, they will soon outgrow the tank. QUOTE]

Interesting! Is this true for other large species as well such as Bala Sharks? I thought the small tank alone stunted them. WOW! Years ago likely around 1981 my Mom had a Bala Shark under 4" long in a 20 gallon. It lived to be 7 years old and died because a house sitter fed it fizzing amonia tablets thinking it was food. I just thought it was so small because it was kept in such a tiny tank. (we had just talked about this fish last week because she was trying to talk me into getting a single bala shark for my 30 gallon tank )

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Yep. What can happen is the fish is growing normally and, as the fish grows, it's waste output increases dirtying the water more between water changes. The frequency and amount of water changes is the same (because it worked before) but there is more waste. More waste = more nitrates and TDS resulting in the stunting of the fish. I am a strong believer in having fish in an adequate home, based on their expected adult size, from the beginning to avoid an issue like this altogether. Of course upgrading as a fish grows works also but you have to be careful to say on top of your water conditions and increase tank size as needed.

 

[Ziggy953]

Welcome to AA!

 

[Lovin Fish]

Yep. What can happen is the fish is growing normally and, as the fish grows, it's waste output increases dirtying the water more between water changes. The frequency and amount of water changes is the same (because it worked before) but there is more waste. More waste = more nitrates and TDS resulting in the stunting of the fish. I am a strong believer in having fish in an adequate home, based on their expected adult size, from the beginning to avoid an issue like this altogether. Of course upgrading as a fish grows works also but you have to be careful to say on top of your water conditions and increase tank size as needed.

Ahhh, makes sense. I also believe fish need to be kept in an adequate home to keep them in tip top shape and give them space to grow. I feel that they should be given respect to the point they are given a tank larger enough to provide edaquate swimming room too. How awful it must be to be a large fish crammed in a small "container".
Thank you for explaining what really causes stunting. I will have to pass this info on to my mom so maybe she'll leave me alone about adding bala sharks to my tanks. I told her awhile back what size tank they need and she won't listen because "in her experience" with a single specimen, "it worked". I never have agreed with her...poor thing must have been so depressed.

 

[Regz8000]

can you put goldfish in tropical tanks?

 

[Lovin Fish]

can you put goldfish in tropical tanks?

Some people do, but goldfish appreciate cooler temps. They will look better, be happier and more active in water they can "breath in" if you know what I mean. Also, I believe I remember reading somewhere that increased temperature speeds up the goldfishes biorhythm which will shorten their life quite a bit.

 

[Lovin Fish]

Thought I'd add that there are "cool" water fish that can be with goldfish. But, goldfish do produce tons of waste and you would have to be extremely diligent with gravel vacs and water changes to avoid killing the other fish. For the most part, the fish that could potentially co-exist with goldfish will not make it long if the water is not kept perfectly clean. Also, another thing to remember is goldfish grow large and they do it fast! They do and will eat any fish that it can get in it's mouth! They move quickly and "eat" before looking to see what they are taking in their mouths.

 

[Regz8000]

i got rid of my goldfish,gonna focus on my new 12g turtle setup
i put play sand in as the substrate