Goldfish And Tropical Fish In Same Tank

[MarMan]

I have 2 Black Moor Goldfish (6″) that have lived 2 years now in the same tank with a common Pleco (8″), an African Butterfly Fish (3″) and three Bala Sharks (3″). No problems whatsoever. I do change water 25% each week and fast them on Sunday. Diet of mealworms, squash, peas and flake food at a temp of 75°F. Why does every blog say they cannot coexist in same tank?

After a LOT of research I found the my Goldies live well between 65-75° and the Bala Sharks 72-79° and Thor (my pleco) 74-79° and the African Butterfly 75-86°. Every fish is okay at 75° and the small fluctuations for winter and summer are gradual (I live in Texas, no real winter and everyone has centralized air). lol

What other requirements am I missing if the PH is a consistant 7, the gravel is consistantly cleaned, they eat very well, I keep a 20 gallon sick tank with a few cory cats at the same temp and water quality and I have great airation and filtration system? Please help me with this!

 

[Smcoyle87]

Looks like you pretty much have things covered. Only thing I can think of is filtration, I guess just double check that it's enough because the goldies are have a big bioload. I know you keep up with water changes too, just thought I would chime in.

 

[mastro80]

How large is your tank? If the tank is big enough it can probably support anything.

 

[MarMan]

How large is your tank? If the tank is big enough it can probably support anything.

DIY 100 gallon glass tank. I am also trying to try my hand at plants so the Pleco won't have to work so hard to keep the algae down.

 

[Coursair]

DIY 100 gallon glass tank. I am also trying to try my hand at plants so the Pleco won't have to work so hard to keep the algae down.

Only use lights 6 hours a day and see if that helps your Algae. Plants are awesome, but Goldfish and Plecos eat most. Try Anubias tied to rocks or driftwood. Anacharis is a good snack for your GF and any they don't eat might grow.
Java Ferns may work also.

Your Pleco should have a big piece of wood as part of his diet anyway.

A few ideas for not mixing fish

A. The higher the temp the less oxygen

B. goldfish tend to live longer in cooler water, slow metabolism, more years. Higher temps, faster metabolism. You at at the upper end.

C. A customer had a Pleco "freak out" and zoom around the tank after lights out. It's spines injured his 8 year old Fancy Goldfish. He swore no Plecos in his GF tanks ever again.

D. While Goldfish will eagerly consume anything. A diet of Greens, Veggies and NON floating soaked Goldfish Flakes or Sinking Pellets is usually best. Swim Bladder issues are linked to eating Floating flakes. Too much protein and meat aren't great either AFAIK.

I love that you have a big tank. That's fabulous. Keep up your water changes. And enjoy.
I posted my thoughts above just because.

Sounds like you take good care of them. Plecos only eat certain kinds of Algae. Controlling light and Nitrates help most AFAIK.

 

[Angel_fish]

For algae i would say air stones is good start and salt... Since you have a 100 gallon the whole jar of table salt should be good... Why salt- algae hates it, it will wither at the smallest measure. And its the best ingredient for a variety of fish diseases including fish fungus, which gold fish get all the time.

Btw- its no where near the amount of salt used in a salt water tank... Yes i know you have a fresh water.

 

[jlk]

For algae i would say air stones is good start and salt... Since u have a 100 gallon the whole jar of table salt should be good... Why salt- algae hates it, it will wither at the smallest measure. And its the best ingredient for a variety of fish diseases including fish fungus, which gold fish get all the time.

Btw- its no where near the amount of salt used in a salt water tank... Yes i know u have a fresh water.

Randomly dumping salt into a fw tank is not the answer to anything. Longterm use of salt other than for medicinal purposes with goldfish results in a host of issues including (but not limited to) permanent nephric damage, metabolic issues and endocrine damage. Goldfish do NOT get fungus all the time- the only fish that get true fungus either live in very poor water conditions making them suseptible to fungus or they already have bacterial infections leaving the fish vulnerable to secondary fungal infections.

Please spend some time reading these links for more information on salt and its use in fw tanks:

Salt | The Skeptical Aquarist

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/is-aquarium-salt-needed-227851.html

 

[Angel_fish]

Randomly dumping salt into a fw tank is not the answer to anything. Longterm use of salt other than for medicinal purposes with goldfish results in a host of issues including (but not limited to) permanent nephric damage, metabolic issues and endocrine damage. Goldfish do NOT get fungus all the time- the only fish that get true fungus either live in very poor water conditions making them suseptible to fungus or they already have bacterial infections leaving the fish vulnerable to secondary fungal infections.

Please spend some time reading these links for more information on salt and its use in fw tanks:

Salt | The Skeptical Aquarist

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/is-aquarium-salt-needed-227851.html

Really? Cause ive used salt in all my tanks for there abouts 5 years.. Never had an algae problem or the rest of it... The goldfish tank included. And its not random at all. 1/4 cup to gallon times 100 gallons equals 1 quart.

 

[jlk]

Really? Cause ive used salt in all my tanks for there abouts 5 years.. Never had an algae problem or the rest of it... The goldfish tank included. And its not random at all. 1/4 cup to gallon times 100 gallons equals 1 quart.

"Dumping a jar of table salt" into a fw tank with plants and scaleless fish is not recommended. Please feel free to post a new thread if you would like to open a discussion in respect to salt use.

 

[sobersteve323]

For what it's worth I've kept goldfish for 30 years and most were 15-20 years old without using salt. Never had a fungal infection.

 

[meegosh]

Let's get this back on topic. The OP is not asking about salt.. Or algae, as far as I can tell.

 

[Coursair]

Let's get this back on topic. The OP is not asking about salt.. Or algae, as far as I can tell.

The OP did ask about fighting Algae.

" I am also trying to try my hand at plants so the Pleco won't have to work so hard to keep the algae down."

 

[Zimmanski]

I have 2 Black Moor Goldfish (6″) that have lived 2 years now in the same tank with a common Pleco (8″), an African Butterfly Fish (3″) and three Bala Sharks (3″). No problems whatsoever. I do change water 25% each week and fast them on Sunday. Diet of mealworms, squash, peas and flake food at a temp of 75°F. Why does every blog say they cannot coexist in same tank?

After a LOT of research I found the my Goldies live well between 65-75° and the Bala Sharks 72-79° and Thor (my pleco) 74-79° and the African Butterfly 75-86°. Every fish is okay at 75° and the small fluctuations for winter and summer are gradual (I live in Texas, no real winter and everyone has centralized air). lol

What other requirements am I missing if the PH is a consistant 7, the gravel is consistantly cleaned, they eat very well, I keep a 20 gallon sick tank with a few cory cats at the same temp and water quality and I have great airation and filtration system? Please help me with this!

The reason everyone says they shouldn't be together is the temp range, but it won't kill them fast it shortens their lifespan. I remember somewhere saying the ideal temp for Goldie's is 68, I would think that at this temp with everything else correct you could expect 15 years out of your fish, but when at the top of the temp range it will be less. I'm not saying you "HAVE TO REMOVE YOUR GOLDFISH OR DEATH DEATH DEATH!" Just saying that is the answer I found when I did some research and from what I gathered from posts on AA

 

[meegosh]

The OP did ask about fighting Algae.

" I am also trying to try my hand at plants so the Pleco won't have to work so hard to keep the algae down."

I apologize, I missed that part. What type of algae are you dealing with? How are your nitrates? There's more efficient and safer ways to deal with algae than dosing salt in the levels mentioned.

 

[MarMan]

I apologize, I missed that part. What type of algae are you dealing with? How are your nitrates? There's more efficient and safer ways to deal with algae than dosing salt in the levels mentioned.

Ammonia is 0 but Nitrates were always 10.0 even after a water change. I planted with about 6 plants and now no visible algae but the nitrates are only down to 5.0. Tank looks great but I think the plant food is the reason I still have nitrates.

 

[meegosh]

Have you tested your tap for nitrates? In my old apartment I had 10ppm of nitrates right from the tap. That could be the same in your case, and your plants are just using up 5ppm.