Plants And Coldwater Fish

[hashcookie]

hello all, getting a largr tank from son, at least 5ft x 3x2, and would like to keep coldwater fish, fancy goldfish, koi, if this is is feasible. As much as i want to successfully create and maintain a community of fish, i am as keen on growing the plants. my son tells me that the goldfish and related fish will make this a difficuld equasion to square as the fish have a tendancy to eat and uproot the plants. i am disappointed to learn this as i really admire the well planted and lush aquaria seen in public setups and in magazines. if the two are not really compatable i will set up tank for tropical freshwater fish. hope this has'nt been adressed elsewhere and i missed it . your thoughts please thanks, hashcookie

 

[Truck]

koi and goldfish will get to big for a 5 footer...fancies will be fine however...

some plants will do okay in cold water providing it doesnt drop below 16ish degrees

it also depends on lighting conditions too..i suggest very basic low light (1 watt per gallon ish) for all the basic plant like anubias, cryptsm echinodorus etc, they may not do very well in cold water though, but a lot of sites suggest that 15 degrees is adequate for these species

 

[Forestpisces]

I agree with truck, koi and goldfish can easily reach in excess of 2ft and should not be mixed with fancy breeds anyway, how many litres is your tank?

Goldfish will notoriousely eat most plantlife in aquaria and ponds so i would suggest silk plants if you want a coldwater set-up as they can still look realistic.

 

[hashcookie]

koi and goldfish will get to big for a 5 footer...fancies will be fine however...

some plants will do okay in cold water providing it doesnt drop below 16ish degrees

it also depends on lighting conditions too..i suggest very basic low light (1 watt per gallon ish) for all the basic plant like anubias, cryptsm echinodorus etc, they may not do very well in cold water though, but a lot of sites suggest that 15 degrees is adequate for these species

thank you, furiously doing reserch

I agree with truck, koi and goldfish can easily reach in excess of 2ft and should not be mixed with fancy breeds anyway, how many litres is your tank?

Goldfish will notoriousely eat most plantlife in aquaria and ponds so i would suggest silk plants if you want a coldwater set-up as they can still look realistic.

thank you

 

[nmonks]

Broadly speaking, yes, goldfish and koi will hammer most aquatic plants. Indeed, things like Elodea (Canadian pondweed) are recommended primarily because they're edible, and goldfish are healthier if they eat these plants as a major part of their diet. Goldfish fed exclusively pellets tend to get constipation, particularly the fancy forms. So pellets or flake 2-3 times a week, and the rest plant-based foods including Elodea works best.

This said, some plants are tough enough that goldfish will leave them alone. Large species of Vallisneria and Sagittaria do rather well in unheated tanks, provided they receive good lighting. They do need a reasonably deep substrate though, ideally fortified with pond soil or some other nutritional substrate. Since goldfish are "diggers", the use of a gravel tidy to pack down the bottom two-thirds of the substrate will dramatically improve the situation, helping the plants to root themselves in.

Cheers, Neale