Common Goldfish feeding and Nitrate

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

KevinB

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Oct 21, 2014
Messages
121
Location
New York
Been keeping (in ignorance) goldfish for 12 years or more. Yes, the same one. It's always seemed happy and healthy.

What is normal nitrate production per month for one 6" goldfish? I set up a new 40 gallon tank about 4 months back, that just seemed to finish it cycle. I actually just learned all about cycling here with this project. The fish was previously in a 10g and my wife would do 50% WC every month.

5 days ago, we had tests of 7/0/0/25 after 30% WC. Today, got 7/0/0/50. That's 150 ppm/month which seems like a lot and different. Up until 4 months ago, 50% WC in 10 gallon, now doesn't seem 50% monthly would even keep up.

Any ideas?

Also wondering what is proper amount of food. My wife gives it a pinch of flakes and a brine shrimp 1/day. Should it be every other day?

Fish is always doing the food dance when he sees us. So hard to imagine every other day.

kevin
 
Last edited:
Feeding sounds all right - must be doing something right for 12 years :)

It's hard to say unless the tank had really finished cycling. Also could there be a growth spurt from the fish now it is in the larger tank?
 
Well, it's been at least 12 years actually. My wife and I were talking it over and it's probably more like 14.

Anyway, not sure the nitrate readings were accurate as it's so difficult to tell the colors on the chart apart. But in a longer term track, it appears as though it's closer to 40 ppm/month at the most. However, based on the stuff I am reading in here, I am planning to find a new home for it, and get some different fish.
 
Last edited:
I had a comet that got too big for a tank. Think it was 30 or 40gal - can't remember.

Anyway released it into a park pond downstream from some other goldfish. The steam dwindled outside park so at the time I thought contained.

Caught it about 9 months later and it had grown to a massive size. Somewhere towards a foot I think (might get larger with telling )

Good luck with your fish :)
 
Back
Top Bottom