Goldfish

[Barry P]

After years of experimenting, with plenty of results but lots of hardship, i finally gave in and stocked my tank with your average run of the mill Goldfish, more so for my young 3 year old as he absolutely loves them. Im also becoming more fond of them as time goes on and they are so easy to look after, and have beautiful vibrant colours, probably brighter than anything else ive ever kept. My question is, could i add a shoal fo Neons to the tank.? Would they work together.?

 

[Curiosity101]

Neons certainly wouldn't work. 1. They may be eaten by the goldfish 2. You'd have to put a heater in the tank and this will sinificantly shorten the goldfishes life.

There may be some tank mates you could get to go with the goldfish, but it depends on tank size, filtration, weekly water change routine and what type of goldfish they are.

By 'Average run of the mill', I'm guessing you mean Comet Goldfish?

 

[Barry P]

Yes they are Comet Goldfish, and i have 3 filters running so no problems there. I have no real neccessity to add to the tank but was just curious if tankmates could be added.?

 

[aly_starh]

whats the tank size, and is it just the one gold fish you have.

White cloud Minnows could work, but if you goldfish is big they will get eaten.

 

[Barry P]

whats the tank size, and is it just the one gold fish you have.

White cloud Minnows could work, but if you goldfish is big they will get eaten.

240L Tank with 2 filters running, all artificial.

 

[Curiosity101]

So 240l Tank...

Filters (makes and models)

Number of fish?

Water change routine?

We can't properly help until we have a full set of tank stats.

 

[Barry P]

So 240l Tank...

Filters (makes and models)

Number of fish?

Water change routine?

We can't properly help until we have a full set of tank stats.

sorry, its been months since i was on here, so its a 240L Jewel Tank, with 1 Jewel Filter running (standard model with the tank) and an external Filter running seperately (Tetratec 1200).I have 8 small Comets and 1 sydontis Catfish. Dont change the water that often, just a small top up once a week.

 

[mr130gallon]

you have to do weekly or doubly large biweekly water changes to keep your fish there healthiest, and comet goldfish are usually reccommended for ponds only, because they can grow up to around 2 feet long.

 

[Barry P]

you have to do weekly or doubly large biweekly water changes to keep your fish there healthiest, and comet goldfish are usually reccommended for ponds only, because they can grow up to around 2 feet long.

Yet again the curse of the brainless shop assistant hits me again. I normally do my own investigations on fish but this time i thought i would leave it to the professionals.? How wrong was i. Thanks anyway.

 

[Curiosity101]

Well I certainly would remove the catfish. It's a tropical fish an requires a heater.

Filtration looks perfect.

But as said those water changes need to get sorted pronto. Weekly of around 30% would probably be a good starting point. But normally you judge your water change by testing your tank with a test kit. (API Master Test Kit is a good affordable kit to get. Around £18 on Ebay, lasts for at least a year).

I would also agree that comets aren't suitable in their longterm. Being kept indoors they will be kept quite warm and so will grow pretty quickly. Meaning there isn't that long before you'll definitely have to choose whether to upgrade or re-home.

If it were me (particularly as you have kids that may get attached to the fish), I would really consider switching to fancy goldfish instead.
That tank could fit 5, but no tankmates. It'll look incredibly bare for quite some time, but indoor goldies grow quite quickly if given the right conditions. So it shouldn't stay like that for long. And you could decorate with lots of wood or something?

Just some ideas.

Ps. Don't listen to fish shop assisstants. It's too hit and miss when it comes to advice. Always do your own research before buying anything.

 

[nmonks]

Goldfish work quite well with danios, although I will make the observation that comets are best treated as pond fish rather than aquarium fish. But that aside, and given your tank is 240 litres, which is ample, I'd go with danios, perhaps Devario devario or one of the other subtropical species. All will be well at 20-22 C, which is well within the tolerances of goldfish.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Barry P]

Goldfish work quite well with danios, although I will make the observation that comets are best treated as pond fish rather than aquarium fish. But that aside, and given your tank is 240 litres, which is ample, I'd go with danios, perhaps Devario devario or one of the other subtropical species. All will be well at 20-22 C, which is well within the tolerances of goldfish.

Cheers, Neale

Thanks for that...appreciate it.

 

[GAB99]

you could do th switch to fancies and tell your kids they transformed and get 3 then get a dojo loach/ weather loach for a tankmate!

 

[Barry P]

you could do th switch to fancies and tell your kids they transformed and get 3 then get a dojo loach/ weather loach for a tankmate!

Are Fancies Tropical.?

 

[nmonks]

Strictly speaking, goldfish are subtropical fish. Fancy goldfish especially are best kept between 18 and 22 C, although they do perfectly well kept a bit cooler than that. But they won't tolerate the same low temperatures as standard goldfish, which is why you shouldn't keep fancy goldfish in ponds (at least, not in England). When exposed to temperatures below about 15 C, they are prone to finrot.

Cheers, Neale

Are Fancies Tropical.?