Convincing my brother to get into fish.

[NinjaNomad196]

Ok so, my brother was heartbroken when his goldfish died, we had it in a 1 gallon because we didn't know better. Here we are months later, trying to get him more, we don't know the tank size or how many, but I'm going to get him some goldies (his fave). I want to use this to help him get into tropical fish and such. Do you think a fantail or something can go in a 10 by itself? I really hope this works. He likes orandas too! At the same time, my mom hates goldfish, and doesn't want a huge tank. Especially since I'm getting myself a 20 for my platy and getting him friends and a 5.5, we can't get more than a 10.

 

[Maxw47]

You can't keep goldfish in a ten. A rule of thumb is one fancy per 20 gallons, but that is really cutting it.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Agreed. No goldfish belongs in a 10g. They produce too much waste and get far too large.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Try to convince your brother into getting a different type of fish. You can do a lot with a ten gallon. Maybe a small school of tetras and some Pygmy Corys would be nice.

 

[bettaowner]

If you want something like a goldfish for a tank of that size, I would use golden white cloud minnows or ember tetras. Both species have bright colors and are suitable for a small tank.

 

[Pawtrekker]

Goldfish are very misunderstood fish. Unfortunately, unless you have a 20+ tank you can't really keep a goldfish and expect it to live a long and happy life as they should. Honestly, I believe most goldfish belong in ponds, not tanks. (Unless it's a really big tank)

 

[NinjaNomad196]

What about until they get bigger? My friend has a koi pond so yeah.

 

[Maxw47]

It's a bad idea. Don't buy a fish unless you can keep happy for its entire life.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

What about until they get bigger? My friend has a koi pond so yeah.

No. The more water you can supply them with when younger the better off they are in the long run.

 

[NinjaNomad196]

Dangit... maybe the 20 will get him interested into fish, then we can convince our parents to let him get like a 50 gallon for 3 or 4 goldies.