Which tank

[Donnak]

Hi

I’m completely new to this hobby. My son has asked for 2 goldfish, which I’m happy for him to have but I want to do it properly.

Could anyone suggest a tank. We went to look yesterday and saw the Ciano Aqua 30 led, which is 25lts. Would this be ok or too small? I don’t want anything to big but obviously it needs to be right.

Also how often will he need to clean it? I read change 30% of the water weekly?

I was going to set up the tank a week before we purchased the fish, do I need to add any chemicals?

Also which food is recommended?

Honestly any advice is welcome.

Many thanks Donna

 

[Guppylover3x]

Hi

I’m completely new to this hobby. My son has asked for 2 goldfish, which I’m happy for him to have but I want to do it properly.

Could anyone suggest a tank. We went to look yesterday and saw the Ciano Aqua 30 led, which is 25lts. Would this be ok or too small? I don’t want anything to big but obviously it needs to be right.

Also how often will he need to clean it? I read change 30% of the water weekly?

I was going to set up the tank a week before we purchased the fish, do I need to add any chemicals?

Also which food is recommended?

Honestly any advice is welcome.

Many thanks Donna

Hi and welcome to the forum

I’m sorry to inform you, but goldfish need at least 20 gallons each. 30 litres would unfortunately be too small. The are known to grow very large.

Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle? Goldfish create a lot of waste so I would recommend 75% weekly changes. Including gravel vacuuming.

If you’re doing a fish in cycle be sure monitor the water for ammonia and nitrites. Both are toxic to fish.

Best of luck!

 

[Robert Geelan]

Hi Donna! So before I recommend anything, I would like to tell you about goldfish. Goldfish can grow up to be a foot and a half long, and 2 of them would be fine for about 3 months until they can't turn around in the tank. Goldfish are actually better of in a pond than a tank. Also, goldfish are fin nippers, so you cant have other fish. Goldfish also poop a lot, so you need to constantly monitor the ammonia level. However, with goldfish, you don't need a heater.

I really really suggest that you get a different fish. here is a list of great starter fish, not ranked by the best so any order this list could be in:

1. Fancy Guppy, however, they have lots of babies, so either get a few males or a few females, if you don't want tons of babies

2. Mollys, same thing as guppies, have lots of babies though so to problem solve get 1 or a couple of the same gender

3. platys are also going to have lots of babies so get 1 or a few of the same gender.

4. swordtails. Swordtails will also have many babies, so do the same as guppies and mollies and platys.

5. cory catfish. they do not have babies in a regular environment and are very hardy fish.

6. plecos. easy to care for, clean the tank, peaceful, bristle nose plecos don't get large.

Now, for these fish listed above, you will need a heater. A great starter tank size is the 20-gallon tank, that way you can have multiple species. or the 10 gallon but you can only have a few fish.

I hope this is helpful to you Donna.



Robert Geelan, Fish Geek Age-10 (relax i know A LOT about fishkeeping for my age)

 

[Essjay]

There is a very good sticky on the care of goldfish, and their needs. Here is the link https://www.fishforums.net/threads/goldfish-for-beginners.417799/ You'll find lots of helpful information in there.

 

[Donnak]

Thank you so much for your advice. I’ve been looking at YouTube videos of cycling the tank, so I’ll probably need to get it a good month before I get the fish. From what I understand I need to get bacteria to grow to turn the ammonia to nitrites then nitrates. So my understanding is I will need to dechlorine the tap water, then slowly add ammonia checking levels and when ammonia and nitrites read as 0 I’m there? Obviously I’ll continue to read up and I understand it takes time.

The only reason we decided on a gold fish was because I’m a little scared of getting a heater and making sure it’s the right temperature etc, but I think you’re right and we would be better going for a tropical fish. So do different fish require different temperatures? I’ll start reading up on the different fish you recommended. Thanks again

 

[Essjay]

There is another sticky on this site which explains how to cycle a tank - that is the term we use for growing the beneficial bacteria https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/


The first few fish that Robert Geelan suggested are all hard water fish, so before deciding on them you need to find out how hard your tap water is. Look on your water company's website; you need a number and the unit rather than some vague words. There are several different hardness units they could use which is why we need to know that. The website might call it general hardness or just hardness.

If you want to stick to a small tank like the one you mentioned, the choice of fish is going to be small. If you can manage a bigger tank you'd have more choice.
Once you have chosen the tank, let us know how big it is - both the volume and the length of the tank - and your tap water hardness. While the tank is cycling, you have plenty time to decide which fish to get once the tank is ready.

 

[Naughts]

A single beta (Siamese fighting fish) should be ok in the tank you mention. They make a good first fish. They need a cycled tank and a temperature between 74 and 78 degrees.

 

[Essjay]

Bettas also need soft water. This is why we need to know the water hardness

 

[Donnak]

This is the tank I’m thinking of getting it’s 54lts, it comes with filter, heater etc and reviews look good. Does it look ok? https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8839084

I’m going to check out the water hardness now and will report back.

Thanks

 

[Donnak]

These are the levels in my area.

 

[seangee]

That tank is fine, but as previously stated not for goldfish.
Purely based on the hardness you are fortunate in that you have a fairly good choice. Guppies or platys as previously suggested or a single Betta. If you do get guppies or platys make sure they are the same gender (preferably males as females don't need males in the tank to produce if they have ever been in the same tank as males.)

A nice group of tetras or rasboras would also be nice and you won't have to worry about excessive fry. Since you have to wait anyway why not take your son to a fish shop and make a shortlist of what he likes. Then you could post the list on here and see what others think.

 

[Essjay]

The number you need is "180 mg/l calcium carbonate" in the first image. mg/l calcium carbonate is the same as ppm, so your hardness is 180 ppm. Some fish profiles use ppm, others use dH, and your 180 ppm converts to 10 ppm. This is neither soft nor hard but somewhere between.

It is just hard enough for guppies. In 54 litres a few male guppies would be OK - but no females because guppies breed like rabbits.

A betta would also be fine, but not with guppies. To be honest, bettas are not community fish and do better if kept alone. With 54 litres, you would probably prefer more than just 1 fish, but a betta would be perfect in one of the smaller tanks you mentioned in your first post.

A lot of the very small tetras need softer water than yours, I'm afraid. However, the fish known as both celestial pearl danio and galaxy rasboras would work well in a 54 litre tank - I would get a shoal of at least 10 of these. http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/celestichthys-margaritatus/ They need a tank with lots of plants - real ones are best but silk plants look quite realistic and would still make the fish feel more secure.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

Everything that needs to be said, has already been said. I wish you best of luck, and I hope your son gets his fish!

 

[FishGuest5123]

Corrections on goldie info from a goldie breeder.

1. Common, comet, and Shubunkin goldfish need at least 100 gallons per fish and make good pond fish. Fancy goldfish, black moor, pearl scale, ranchu, orando, bubble eyes, etc need 20 gallons per fish and are not good pond fish. They should be kept in aquariums.
2. Goldfish are not fin nippers but should be kept with other goldfish only. I have never read or seen a goldie nip another goldies tail. I have goldies with tails over 3” long and they are never harmed.
3. New Life Spectrum and Rapashy Solid Gold Gel Food are the best goldfish food you can buy.
4. You can keep danios with goldfish and also bristlenose plecos. I have lots of different fish but I must say that goldies are the friendliest, funniest, most loyal, and healthiest fish you can have.
5. Larger tanks are much easier to clean than smaller ones.
6. Read on the nitrogen cycle and get the tank cycled first. Good luck!