Goldfish Tank?

[Psylk87]

SO is really fond of Fancy Goldfish. I dont have any experience with them so I was hoping to get some pointers and nice stocking opinions for a 55g Fancy Goldfish tank. Most likely it will be live planted.

Any recommendations on species (thinking a few different ones to add interest) and numbers would be greatly appreaciated as well as possible tank mates I know there arent many.

 

[jlk]

Hi! A 55g is nice sized tank. You can manage three to four fancies with a good water change schedule and decent filtration. Have you started looking at any of the different varieties yet? If you are unsure where to start, go to the Goldfish Connection's website and check out both their showroom and their gallery. There's pics of every variety of fancy imaginable.

In respect to planted, it is possible with goldfish but it may take a bit of experimentation to figure out what plants the goldies will allow you to keep (it will be up to them!). If you start with juvenile fancies, you can hopefully train them to eat veggies daily rather than your plants. Older and adult fancies can be a bit more difficult to dissuade from visiting your free salad bar. Please ask any questions!

 

[Sharpchick]

In a fully cycled and properly filtered tank - meaning your filter(s) need to turn the water over at least 550 times per hour - you ought to be able to comfortably house 4 fancy goldfish.

Try to stay with the same mix of fish. Ryukins swim faster and see better than some of the more delicate breeds like celestials and bubble eyes. Orandas and lionheads develop wens on their heads that may cause some vision problems if not trimmed. (And unless you're a pro, like a vet, don't try wen trimming on your own.) Celestials and bubble eyes also need a tank with no sharp edges to damage their eyes.

A lot of people pair ryukins and moors. Personally, I think moors are a bit slower than ryukins, and may miss out on some food unless you train the fish to eat at separate ends of the tank. If you have one particular fish that's slower to get food than others, you can always use a plastic colander to feed that fish to make sure it's getting proper nutrition.

Live plants with goldfish can be done, although they are notorious about uprooting and eating plants. Anubias are some of the best plants for goldfish because the leaves are tough and they can't seem to get a bite out of them. You can tie anubias off to rocks or driftwood to anchor them.

Java fern is another plant they don't seem to eat, although mine love to move them around. I have a java fern mat anchored on one corner with a decent sized rock, and that seems to frustrate my 2 ryukins to no end. I know they'd love to grab one end of it and drag it all over the tank. At each water change, I check it to make sure the corner of the mat is still under the rock.

I pot rooted plants in small unglazed terra cotta pots with a layer of gravel on top. That has cut way down on uprooted crypts. I've also potted some stems of giant hygro because I know they would be able to rip it out of the gravel substrate with no problems, and even if they didn't eat it, they'd nibble. So far, that's been successful.

I keep floating stems of anacharis and pennywort in the tank. They do graze on them, so I have replacements handy from two more freshwater tanks. I think the floaters distract them from some of the other plants.

Good luck with your new tank!