Goldfish To Tropical Fish

[CPB]

HI everyone
my first post and a bit to ask various pionts of view would be great

right i have had some goldfish for a while only a little set up with two in it

they have grown somewhat and as so have brought a second hand larger tank

the tanks came with lots and lots of stuff and was set up for tropical fish and now you can see were im going
i dont no a thing about tropical fish but like every one you have to start somewere ,so here i am

main things i would like to no

1 can i put my gold fish in a warm tank with tropical fish ?
2 will the goldfish fight with the tropical fish or vs verse
3 what would be the easyest starter fish (the only ones i no are the neons which i like
4 if you could reccomend a few diffrent sorts in one tank that get along and easy to maintain which ones ?

the tank is a Juwel Trigon 190 (corner unit and came with a large filter called a fluval 204 which goes outside the tank
will i still need the undergravel one like in the goldfish tank or will that do the job on its own ?

well i best stop there before i get to confused
hope you can help and will look out for your advise cheers

 

[vinylman]

First off, welcome and well done for coming here instead of your LFS - a lot of them give awful advice. They exist to make money from you, no one here will. Although it's true that some tropical fish can tolerate slightly cooler water and some coldwater fish can tolerate slightly warmer water, keeping both in the same tank isn't really fair, as you can't give both of them the absolute best conditions possible - you want your fish to thrive rather than just survive.
That's a very good sized tank you've got there. Use the external filter on it's own, you won't need the undergravel filter. The subject of starter fish is a bit of a minefield really. If you mean fish to start the tank, that's not really fair on the fish, as they'll initially be exposed to high levels of ammonia which can permanently damage their gills, or even kill them outright. Right now, I think your best bet is to look around this site and read the pinned threads on cycling. Use your time to google 'community tropical fish', as it's YOUR choice of fish that counts. Just make a list of the fish you like, then find out what water conditions they prefer. Find out what YOUR local water is like, then choose your fish to suit the water - you don't really want to be constantly adding things to your tankwater. Dechlorinator at every water change is all you need. Your head must be spinning at the moment, so just take a few days to read the pinned threads on the site. Believe me, once you've decided what you want to keep, it's easy to do things right and avoid problems down the line. A little patience at the start is all you need. Ask anything you like, there's always someone here to answer your questions.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

HI everyone
my first post and a bit to ask various pionts of view would be great

right i have had some goldfish for a while only a little set up with two in it

they have grown somewhat and as so have brought a second hand larger tank

the tanks came with lots and lots of stuff and was set up for tropical fish and now you can see were im going
i dont no a thing about tropical fish but like every one you have to start somewere ,so here i am

main things i would like to no

1 can i put my gold fish in a warm tank with tropical fish ?
2 will the goldfish fight with the tropical fish or vs verse
3 what would be the easyest starter fish (the only ones i no are the neons which i like
4 if you could reccomend a few diffrent sorts in one tank that get along and easy to maintain which ones ?

the tank is a Juwel Trigon 190 (corner unit and came with a large filter called a fluval 204 which goes outside the tank
will i still need the undergravel one like in the goldfish tank or will that do the job on its own ?

well i best stop there before i get to confused
hope you can help and will look out for your advise cheers

Hi, and welcome! I would first like to say, that not all local fish stores will give bad information, like vinylman stated, so please don't give me and some others a bad name.

a Jewel Trigon 190 is equal to 50 us gallons. The tank must be cycled before you can add any fish. There are two different ways to cycle a fish tank, fish-less, and and a fish cycle (follow the link in my sig for some more information.) After the tank is cycled, then you can add fish. So, let me answer those questions:

1. Goldfish really do best in a more cold water climate, although this is a really touchy subject, I say Goldfish should not be kept with tropicals. Gold fish do better in temperatures of 65-70 where as tropicals do better in 75-80(ish), depending on the fish. What type of goldfish to do you have? And, what is the tank size they are in?

2. Different tropical fish will have different temperaments, some may nip at the fish, and others may not. I haven't really seen any aggressive goldfish first hand, but I have been told they can get nippy (not sure if thats true though.)

3. I always recommend Corydora, Platy, Gourami, and a hardy tetra such as Black skirts, to my customers. Depending on the way you cycle, you can add your full stock right away, or you may have to add fish slowly (1-2 fish per week.) Normally I go by the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule, but it can be stretched a little with community fish, so depending on what you choose, you can fit up to 30 or 40 fish into the tank. Keep up with tank maintenance, you should be fine.

4. I would start with:

3 dwarf gourami (1 male 2 female)
10 black skirt tetras
6 Corydora aeneus
1 Angelfish


Again, depending on how you cycle, you may be able to add them all at the same time, or you may be stuck with having to add them slowly.

Hope my information was not repeated in the other post(s), and helped with understanding some stuff.

Good luck,

DL



I would also like to add, that again I disagree with what vinylman said, now days, most fish (except a few sensitive guys) can with stand a very big range of water chemistries. You should be fine with no matter what you choose (especially if you are sticking to the more easy maintenance fish.)

 

[CPB]

thanks to you both thats a good start i am making some notes

the tank has now been on with the pump running but total empty for aprox 40 hours now so i guess a couple more days or to the weekend will be best not put the heater in yet as diddnt seem much reason for that at moment guess thats ok ?
the tank came with a lot of testers and things but not going to add things thats not needed.
so at moment its just tap water running threw the pump . i will have a check at the weekend Does the water only cloud up when the tank is with fish then and food ext gets in ?
having had a good look round the site and others i see this is common and best sorted before to many fish added

the goldfish tank is 18" only small hence the bigger tank but i will not add them now to the new tank then, have a fresh start and give this set up to my little girl (its ok shes not like the one in finding nemo i promise e

it also seems after a few hours search what fish you have is a bit of a mine field i have noted the fish you have said i now no what you mean by starter fish to help cycle the tank ..i did mean fish that would be fine to start with and just be happy swimming about ,as have read some like to jump out the tank or nip at the other ones i think id be just as stressed as the fish if that happend
3 dwarf gourami (1 male 2 female)
10 black skirt tetras
6 Corydora aeneus
1 Angelfish

what i read also pleanty of stone plants so they can hide as theres not now going to be a underground filter best stick to artifical plants then ?


note im in england
Does the type of fish available depend on which part of the world you are in or is there a common sort used there seems so many.

any more diffrent idears ?? or am i on track haha i can just see the nice clear water going nasty after a day of adding them


cheers again

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

You do know what a cycle is then? Cycling a tank can't be done by leaving it out without fish for a few days and then dumping them all in...

 

[vinylman]

You can certainly have live plants. The more the merrier. Some say that they can't be used with undergravel filters, but I've never had an u/g. If you want to keep live plants, just make sure you have a decent layer of fertiliser under the gravel. With decent lighting and a good undergravel substrate, you shouldn't have any trouble growing the more hardy plants, I never have. Keep ploughing your way through the pinned threads - they'll tell you everything you need to know.

 

[OohFeeshy]

It's much more important to give the goldfish a proper home than to create a whole new tropical tank.

 

[mark.w.jones]

The goldfish are your priority really at the moment. As mentinoed above they can't be kept with tropicals. You may find a local zoo / public farm / aquarium may take them. If you're lucky, some LFS may also take them off your hands. Or maybe a friend with a pond or large goldfish tank. Also, how about a chinese restaurant...? They love goldfish. Or your local sushi bar.