Somewhat Newb needs Goldfish help

[JoshNCourt]

Hi everyone, I just got a 36 gallon bowfront aquarium and my Girlfriend wants definately a Black Moor and at least one other type of fancy goldfish. I told her 2 is about the limit from what I have read. I have some conflicting answers on some other questions I have so Is anyone out there good with Fancy Goldfish?

--The Shiba Inu household--

 

[mudraker]

Those bowfronts are nice looking tanks, cycle it properly and you will get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

Are you absolutely sold on goldfish? Most will outgrow a 36 pretty quickly...
Blackmoors can get up to 10 inches long.

 

[mudraker]

And welcome to AA!

 

[JoshNCourt]

"Yes she is ademate on Goldfish. How quickly will they outgrow the tank? I bought Black tahitian Moon sand for them but am getting mixed reviews on whether to use this or not. I have 40 lbs of it so i dont want to not be able to return it. Also I have a dragon that shoots bubbles but it seems like his spikes are kinday pointy but not super pointy. Also wanted to add a couple Cory cats cuz I like them. Need a few tips on quick cycling the tank too. I got a bottle of top fin bacteria supplement. Is 3 goldfish asking too much????

 

[JoshNCourt]

I am open for upgrading my tank if it will at least be big enough for them for a few years...

 

[mudraker]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycling-for-dummies-103339.html

If you stick with smaller varieties like fantails, you can probably be okay for a year or two. Corries are not a good choice for new tanks or to house with goldfish.

Goldfish are cold water. Corries are tropical, so they have very different temperature requirements. Both forage for food on the bottom of the tank, and corries won't stand much of a chance with goldfish, especially nippy ones.

 

[JoshNCourt]

Well she is really interested in buying small Goldfish so she can personally raise them. How long do you think it would take for a small black moor to outgrow this tank with another Goldfish?

Also how about the black tahitian moon sand. It is the CaribSea Supernaturals stuff,

Is there any other tankmate I might be able to add with 2 Goldfish such as a type of loach? I also read certain snails are good for grooming the sand????

 

[mudraker]

I'm not familiar with that particular type myself, but Goldfish contantly pick at the bottom of the tank looking for food. If it is too fine, sand could be a disaster.

Loaches are warm water fish, not good companions for coldwater fish. They do eat snails though.

MTS - maylasian trumpet snails are excellent for sand, or for most substrates for that matter. They live under it and keep it squeaky clean.

I'd really look at going with tropical fish, such as tetras, rasboras and danios. They are easy to keep, will get along with each other and have similar food, heat and water requirements.

I love goldfish myself, but they aren't compatible with a lot of other fish.

 

[dkpate]

Emerald corys actually thrive in 72* water, but you need the space for them.

 

[Khalix]

I have the same sand in my tropical tank, but I really would avoid using it for my goldies myself. A lot of people seem to use it, though, with no ill effect.. and I just did some reading and it seems pretty divided. One issue is that it'll get stirred up a lot.. but this may be good, in reality, since it's really hard to put anything that stirs up substrate with goldfish. I'd personally worry mine would eat some of it and get impacted.. they are insane and eat everything!

I love my goldies but I always talk people out of it unless they are willing to start big. I didn't initially. I'm actually going to be building an indoor pond in the next year or two to house them.. It takes a lot of maintenance and while most people will religiously do what needs to be done for a while, a lot of people get really burnt out and the fish usually suffer for it. Personally it relaxes me, but I'm a weirdo.

There are a lot of really adorable fish out there that will thrive in 36 gallons and look wonderful, too! Just explore the options and look online, too! There may be fish that she will love that aren't in the bigger pet stores. If she sticks to her guns make sure you get a reallllly good filter and prepare to filter way over what they say gallon-wise. Also be sure to get a gravel vacuum and a bucket, or at least get a python to siphon. It'll be a weekly task for quite some time.

Keep us posted!

 

[Khalix]

PS: My goldfish eat snails like most people use salt.

 

[mudraker]

A+ for advice from Khalix.