RussellC
Aquarium Advice Freak
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?
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?