New And Question

[Goldie55]

Hi to all

I have not had any fish since I was a kid so I am a totall novice.

I have just purchased two calico oranda's .They are beautifull and not that big. I bought the two gallon gold fish tank with a filter that they told me would be ok. I noticed the water very cloudy today after setting them up yesterday. I did put water conditioner in.

Anyway I went to another place and the guy there told me that oranda's grow very large and I have to very soon put them in a ten gallon tank at least or they will die.He also told me my tank is under new tank syndrome and I had to put some bacteria in the water to take out the cloudiness so I bought that and have done that.

The guy in the first store told me that they wont grow very big at all.

I need someone to tell me just how big these fish grow before I buy a new tank as I am not sure if the second guy just wants me to buy a tank off of him.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out

 

[Davo86]

Hi to all

I have not had any fish since I was a kid so I am a totall novice.

I have just purchased two calico oranda's .They are beautifull and not that big. I bought the two gallon gold fish tank with a filter that they told me would be ok. I noticed the water very cloudy today after setting them up yesterday. I did put water conditioner in.

Anyway I went to another place and the guy there told me that oranda's grow very large and I have to very soon put them in a ten gallon tank at least or they will die.He also told me my tank is under new tank syndrome and I had to put some bacteria in the water to take out the cloudiness so I bought that and have done that.

The guy in the first store told me that they wont grow very big at all.

I need someone to tell me just how big these fish grow before I buy a new tank as I am not sure if the second guy just wants me to buy a tank off of him.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out

ok, firstly the tank is not cycled, which explains your problem of the cloudy water, AKA new tank syndrome,
as you now have fish you will need to do a fish in cycle, information on this can be found below

cycling

as for the orandas, they can grow to around 8" so you will definitely need to upgrade your tank i'm afraid. for two adult orandas you will need a tank around 100 litre or more.

 

[Goldie55]

Hi to all

I have not had any fish since I was a kid so I am a totall novice.

I have just purchased two calico oranda's .They are beautifull and not that big. I bought the two gallon gold fish tank with a filter that they told me would be ok. I noticed the water very cloudy today after setting them up yesterday. I did put water conditioner in.

Anyway I went to another place and the guy there told me that oranda's grow very large and I have to very soon put them in a ten gallon tank at least or they will die.He also told me my tank is under new tank syndrome and I had to put some bacteria in the water to take out the cloudiness so I bought that and have done that.

The guy in the first store told me that they wont grow very big at all.

I need someone to tell me just how big these fish grow before I buy a new tank as I am not sure if the second guy just wants me to buy a tank off of him.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out

ok, firstly the tank is not cycled, which explains your problem of the cloudy water, AKA new tank syndrome,
as you now have fish you will need to do a fish in cycle, information on this can be found below

cycling

as for the orandas, they can grow to around 8" so you will definitely need to upgrade your tank i'm afraid. for two adult orandas you will need a tank around 100 litre or more.

 

[Goldie55]

Hi to all

I have not had any fish since I was a kid so I am a totall novice.

I have just purchased two calico oranda's .They are beautifull and not that big. I bought the two gallon gold fish tank with a filter that they told me would be ok. I noticed the water very cloudy today after setting them up yesterday. I did put water conditioner in.

Anyway I went to another place and the guy there told me that oranda's grow very large and I have to very soon put them in a ten gallon tank at least or they will die.He also told me my tank is under new tank syndrome and I had to put some bacteria in the water to take out the cloudiness so I bought that and have done that.

The guy in the first store told me that they wont grow very big at all.

I need someone to tell me just how big these fish grow before I buy a new tank as I am not sure if the second guy just wants me to buy a tank off of him.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out

ok, firstly the tank is not cycled, which explains your problem of the cloudy water, AKA new tank syndrome,
as you now have fish you will need to do a fish in cycle, information on this can be found below

cycling

as for the orandas, they can grow to around 8" so you will definitely need to upgrade your tank i'm afraid. for two adult orandas you will need a tank around 100 litre or more.

Thanks for your reply

The cycling looks really complicated. About how many gallons is a 100 litre tank? Also is it true that the fish only grow as big as their tank size will allow for . I have also heard that.

 

[dthoffsett]

Thanks for your reply

The cycling looks really complicated. About how many gallons is a 100 litre tank? Also is it true that the fish only grow as big as their tank size will allow for . I have also heard that.

Cycling sounds more complicated than it is. It basically boils down to lots of water changes (don't forget the dechlorinator) and testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. In the end you are aiming for ammonia and nitrite always reading 0, and nitrate under 50ppm, those readings mean you have enough beneficial bacteria to continually break down the ammonia your fish produce. I'd suggest getting a Liquid master test kit that includes test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and usually PH and GH or KH (both measures of water hardness). Avoid paper test kits as these are notoriously inaccurate, I also suggest avoiding any products the pet store might try to sell you that contains "live beneficial bacteria". These products are just a waste of money with the exception of biro-spira, which is expensive and the bacteria only stays alive if the product has been refrigerated during transport and storage.

Goldfish are very messy fish and so require quite a bit of tank space and excellent filtration. As soon as possible I'd suggest buying a 30 gallon tank (~100 liters) as Dave suggested. The general rule of thumb with fancy goldfish is 20 gallons for the first goldfish, and another 10 gallons for each additional fish.

Hope that helps some, and don't get discouraged, most of us started in the hobby with bad advice from our own local fish shops (lfs). -Dawn

 

[Meds081603]

Yes it is true that many fish will only grow to their tank size. This also means that the fish will die a very early death and suffer until the day it does die. I'd recommend at least a 20gallon tank. A 100 litre tank is about 26 gallons.

 

[dthoffsett]

Yes it is true that many fish will only grow to their tank size. This also means that the fish will die a very early death and suffer until the day it does die. I'd recommend at least a 20gallon tank. A 100 litre tank is about 26 gallons.

Actually fish do not "grow to the size of the tank", they will continue to grow regardless of the tank size. However, without adequate room, and the high ammonia and nitrite that usually happens when a large messy fish is kept in a small tank, they usually die early, therefore never attaining their adult size, which only perpetuates the myth.