Goldfish - am I doing this right?

[redlum777]

i figured i'd give you knowledgeable folk the run down of my goldfish aquarium - i just want to make sure i'm on the right track and doing right by my little guys. the tank set up is about 2 months old at this point and admittedly, i'm new to fish.

soooo... i've got 2 goldfish in a 20 gallon (black moor and oranda - both on the small side of medium sized, if that makes sense!). the tank was a freebie and i realize that they'll probably need more room at some point - a bridge i'll cross when i come to it. i've got java fern in the tank - i was told it would help keep it clean. not sure if that's the case, but it looks great, the fish leave it alone and the plants themselves appear to be very happy (they're sprouting babies!).

feeding: they get sinking pellets most days (twice a day), a couple times a week i give them dried baby shrimp and once a week they get peas. any thoughts on room for improvement?

maintenance: every other week i vacuum and do a 20 % water change and once a month i change the filter. i've had the water checked several times and it's been great each time - so i assume i'm doing it right, but again - there's always room for improvement - thoughts? i overheard talk in my fish store the other day in regards to using aquarium salt to condition the water and for the health of the fish - does this go for goldfish as well? if so, how much is recommended?

thanks in advance!

 

[mgamer20o0]

one plant really wont do much of anything. i would be doing 50% weekly water changes. as for the filter you shouldnt change the media. just was it out in old tank water. this is where most of the bacteria lives.

salt isnt needed unless treating for a problem.

 

[bobberwobber]

i have had goldfish for years, and although i wouldnt say im an expert, only reason i have lost fish is because ive added one that ended up being sick and killing the tank didnt want the thing anyway, i was persuaded.. anyway... as said, salt, doesnt really help goldfish much in general and really more a tonic, if they get sick. be careful with salt too, if you ever add it in the future for medical reasons. i believe your fish be ok, but dont hold me to it, im no expert on them specifically, but some fish, dont handle salt well. a few sucker type fish dont for instance. so just future reference, check before adding.

if your filter uses filter cartridges, ie, with carbon in them, change them monthly at most, as carbon can have reverse effects if left unchanged for too long. any 'bio media', such as bio wheels or bio pads, shouldn't be changed, again as said already. just rinsed to remove loose stuff. you want the bacteria in those.
gold fish pretty clean fish, they good at house work it seems, always cleaning the floor, so pretty easy to keep their tanks clean. sounds like you doing it right. if you have any decorations in there, move them and vacuum the gravel under them every now and then, as it can build up and cause issues.
mine love the bubbles from the air stone. always playing in them. the monument type thing has an airstone in mine, but it produced large bubbles so i ended up getting an air stone bar from walmart, only couple bucks, and putting it under the gravel in the back of the tank, then a small air pump to power it. i also added a regulator to it so i could turn the air down a bit, else it produce a wall of bubbles, but if you get a small one, should be ok. try one of those, you may find they enjoy it, if you dont have one.. oh make sure you get a small air check valve too so water wont back up into the pump and so forth. again they a couple bucks from walmart.
finally, and this is just from my experience, others may disagree, but i have always refrained from using any chemicals in my gold fish tank. i actually do very little to that tank and my readings are always pretty much spot on. all i do is use stress-coat when adding or changing water, to remove chlorine. compared to the tropical and salt tank also running, gold fish one is lovely in terms of maintanence. they just keep swimming...
you will upgrade the tank, if the fish need it or not. its just the common rule of fish keeping.. theres always a bigger tank calling your name! lol

 

[jsoong]

Seems like you are doing most things right. If the fish appears happy, there is no need to change anything.

Goldfish do handle salt very well, but generally, you only need salt to treat something. I don't think it is a good idea to keep your tank salted just to prevent something. < Some breeders do that so they can be more sloppy in the water management, but all you are going to do is promote salt resistant bugs ... Eg. ich is usually sensitive to salt treatment, but there are some strains appearing in salted goldfish that is resistant to 0.9% salt ...>

Your feeding schedule is just fine. You might want to substitute fresh shrimp rather than freeze dried. <Just chop up a cooked salad shrimp.> Fresh food is generally better. In addition to peas, you can also try other veggies - cucumbers, zucchini, ornages, etc.

You will want a bigger tank as the fish grows, but you can prob manage for a few years in a 20 with good water care. But then, you will always find a fish that you MUST have, or a tank that is too good to pass up ... so you'll be getting a bigger tank sooner rather than later!

You'll porb want to up your pwc as the fish grows. Generally, 50% weekly is good for small setup.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

soooo... i've got 2 goldfish in a 20 gallon (black moor and oranda - both on the small side of medium sized, if that makes sense!)

A decent size IMO. Advice here will likely tell you that it's way too small, but it's way bigger than a lot of people who seem to keep a dozen goldfish in a jam jar..

feeding: they get sinking pellets most days (twice a day), a couple times a week i give them dried baby shrimp and once a week they get peas. any thoughts on room for improvement?

Maybe a bit too much food there, I'd cut it down to once a day.

maintenance: every other week i vacuum and do a 20 % water change

I would do a 20% change every week, and vacuum every 2 weeks.

and once a month i change the filter.

Which part of it? All of it? Not a good idea if it is the entire thing because you're basically putting all the beneficial bacteria in the bin.

i've had the water checked several times and it's been great each time - so i assume i'm doing it right, but again - there's always room for improvement - thoughts?

I recommend that everyone who keeps fish buy a proper test kit. At the very least find out your exact readings, not 'ok', but proper numbers.

i overheard talk in my fish store the other day in regards to using aquarium salt to condition the water and for the health of the fish - does this go for goldfish as well? if so, how much is recommended?

Unless the fish is ill, there's no need for salt.