Oxy-shells And Air-stones?

[vic fish]

Hi

I have a 60L tank with 2 small goldfish. They are healthy but I want to make sure the oxygen levels are high enough.

I'm not using the venturi attachment with my filter because it produces too large a current in the water. My filter is positioned near the top of the water so that the expelled water is causing movement on the surface. Does this help increase oxygen levels? The filter instructions say to position it lower in the tank but I just wanted to make sure.

Also, can I assume that oxy-shells don't have any real effect? I have seen air stones - do you recommend me using one?

Do air stones need to fit onto a filter where the water is expelled, or can they simply sit in the water?

Thanks.

 

[waterdrop]

Hi vic and welcome to the forum,

You are correct. It is surface movement that is important in maintaining maximum gas exchange with the air. While the bubbles from airstones can help with this surface movement and can also help with overall water column circulation, it is really quite sufficient to use surface movement via a filter output as you are doing.

Your problem however, is going to be much more serious in that unfortunately 60L is not enough room for a goldfish, let alone two. They need a pond or really huge tanks. I am not an expert in this but hopefully some really experienced members will come along and discuss it with you.

Good luck and hopefully I'll get a look at your thread tomorrow,
~~waterdrop~~

 

[vic fish]

Great, thanks so much Waterdrop.

 

[Corleone]

The least I've seen suggested for goldfish is 10 gallons each, or 20 for the first plus 10 for each subsequent, and 20 per fish is probably a better idea when they get bigger, since they can get very big. There's people on this forum who have suggested as much as 55 gallons each! They won't stop growing to fit a tank, though they may develop deformities if they become stunted.

Goldfish live a lot longer than many tropical fish - with proper care you can expect them to outlive a dog or housecat, 30 years isn't unheard of and there are examples of goldfish breaking 40.

Either way, they need a strong filter, since they do get quite big and are very messy fish by nature.