Acquired An Overcrowded Tank

[rjbrooksjr]

Hi Everyone - After forever of wanting an aquarium, I finally went ahead and acquired one over the weekend via Craigslist. I ended up with a 32 gal tank, and inside the seller already had 5 fancy goldfish, and a large(6-7"?) other guy who chills on the bottom under a decorative log. Not sure what he is, as I haven't even fully seen him yet. Since getting them I've learned apparently this guy is crazy and this tank is way over crowded. This leaves me in an odd spot looking for the best (or most feasible) solution. I'd hate to spend the money on buying a bigger tank days after I get my first, though I doubt I could just find someone who wants 1-2 of these guys. Given I'm in this situation, I'm not the one who decided to put this many in here, and I have 3 days of experience, what do you recommend? Is leaving everything as-is even an option if I keep the tank clean / cycle water / etc?

 

[Mr Melt]

Its hard to say. Pics would be a good start mate =P

But when it comes to goldfish, 30 gallons is fine for most fancier goldfish. Theres plenty of space for a goldfish (so to speak), but as long as your prepared to do frequent water changes (once a week) then the fish should be fine.

As to the big 6-7 inch fish; from the first onset that sounds like a pleco or something similar. If thats true then he will get bigger - so you might wanna remove him defenitely mate.

As said before though this is preliminary advice; we need tank details, dimensions, pictures and also find out how long this guy kept the fish in there for.

PS - did you redo the tank or was it fully set up (including water) on arrival?

 

[rjbrooksjr]

The tank is exactly as he had it - I've done nothing other than replace the water we removed so it could be transported.

I'll post pictures in a bit. Thanks!

 

[cognity7]

Alot of local fish stores might let you return some of the goldfish?

Or you could find someone with a pond that wouldn't mind you donating the goldfish to.

You might want to go to a bigger fish store to find a home for the pleco.. things like petsmart and petco won't have the room for him.

 

[rjbrooksjr]

Pictures below, in blurred form. Apparently fish + my phone camera sucks. There's one not depicted, who is chilling in the hole of the ship and won't come out. I was only able to get the butt of the big guy - is he a pleco as thought? I still haven't seen him leave that log, but I know he does, because he turns around every few hours.

 

[bae1994]

The gold fish are commons and shubunkins (cold water)

The black fish is a Molly (tropical)

And the big unknown is a common plec (tropical) and get to 2ft

 

[rjbrooksjr]

Thanks! So to my original question, is this too much for the tank? Sounds like the Pleco is for sure... The fish not shown is black and similar to the other gold fish, but more round.

 

[bae1994]

Yeah it is really as goldfish get to 1st not commonly that big more 10 inches same with the shubunkins

And there a mix of cold and hot water

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

If I were you. Find somewhere to donate the pleco, goldfish.

The pleco will get too big for the tank and goldfish are coldwater, and the tank is too small. Rule for goldfish is 30 gallons for 1 and 10 more for each one after that. You have 5 so you would need 70 gallon tank for them.

Once you have returned those you will have a fair amount of space to stick the tank how you would like it.

Also keep a very close eye on your water parameters and do weekly water changes of 50%. As goldfish release alot of toxins that we don't test for. (I may be corrected on this)

I hope that helps

Keep us posted on what you do

 

[waterdrop]

We have many years of the serious goldfish hobbyists giving us tips over here in our beginners section and the first thing they advise is as follows: The first common goldfish (two-fan tail, ie normal looking tail) needs 30 US gallons. Then each additional goldfish needs 10 more US gallons. For fancy goldfish (3 fan tail, tri-tail, whatever you want to call it) you can get by with 20 US gallons for the first fish, followed by 10 US gallons for each additional goldfish. Your tank has room to properly keep 2 fancy gold fish or one normal goldfish and no other fish. Goldfish are basically pond fish although there are people who do get enormous tanks and keep a few indoors in a healthy manner. They are vegetarians and uproot nearly all plants or chew them up. As vegetarians they necessarily create a large amount of waste and need high tank maintenance. The societal habits of goldfish bowls, crowded tanks and handing over care to small children all run completely counter to what the goldfish experts say is actually needed.

Adding in the common plec which could easily grow physically larger than the actual tank itself, you have pretty much a worst case situation in the long run, so re-homing is really the name of the game for you. The poor mollie is from a completely different world, being a tropical and wishing for very high mineral content water. The goldfish of course are cold water fish, not the same as tropicals. In the past the most successful resolutions to these sorts of situations are the finding of ponds or shops to take virtually all the fish, with the beginner then coming back for a fresh start. Of course each person is an individual case and it's up to you!

Welcome to TFF!
~~waterdrop~~

 

[rjbrooksjr]

In the past the most successful resolutions to these sorts of situations are the finding of ponds or shops to take virtually all the fish, with the beginner then coming back for a fresh start.

Yeah I think I agree with this one... I'll start making some calls to local fish shops and see what they say. I live in Vegas, so not sure I'm going to find too many ponds =)

 

[rjbrooksjr]

Update: I went to a LFS today, explained everything to the owner, who was incredibly awesome and helpful. He said I can bring all of them in, and they'll take them as well as work out some store credit. He also said to bring in a water sample and he'll test it for me and let me know what to do if anything before bringing new fish home, which they'll also help me pick out.

Thanks for all the above replies and guidance in the right direction.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Wow, sounds like you found an awesome LFS! Yay for you! What great news! Good luck with everything and please do keep us posted.

 

[brian2708]

As a side note, as your are removing your food from the bacteria in the filter by removing the fish, you should consider putting fish in there almost straight away so the bacteria don't die.

If you don't keep the bacteria alive in the filter, you will have to cycle your tank again.