New Fancy Gold Fish Tank

[Mstewart61]

Greetings All! I have just started a tank with fancy gold fish. I have 135 gallon tank, with orandas and 2 lionheads. They are very pretty. I have an undergravel filter and a canister filter. I have good lighting and I'm looking forward to my little ones getting big. I have had aquariums in the past, but never a gold fish tank. Any tips? :P

[Khoobg]

Welcome to the forum.

For all aquarium fish to prosper, you need to make sure that the water quality is of excellent condition. Your aquarium water should be free of ammonia and nitrite and low value of nitrate.

Ammonia and nitrite can be maintained at zero level if your under gravel filter is able to cope with the fish waste. Nitrate on the other hand can be removed with regular water change (weekly at 20%).

Cheers

[kevkoi]

Geez... no offence but frankly, in a goldfish tank, undergravels filters are more trouble than they're worth. U see, the problem with goldfishes is that they poo a whole lot and all that poo gets choked up in the undergravel and eventually turns anerobic.

Personally I go bare bottom tanks for goldfish, but u may not like that look. So a very thin layer of large river gravel would be good. Note use LARGE sized gravel 'cos goldfishes can be silly sometimes and choke themselves on gravel that fits in their mouth!

I recommend clip on the side filters or wet/dry filters for a goldfish tank. Depending on where u're from there are many makes of such filters....

When 'recommended' filtration for goldfishes is concerned.... go 3 times the recommended for the tank size would be ideal. (They're the dirtiest messiest fish!). So if the filter is rated for a 30gal.... get 2 of them at least. Basically, the more filtration, the better....

When feeding in concern, the concensus among most fancy goldfish keepers is to ALWAYS SOAK DRY FOOD. Somehow because of their 'fancy breeding', they've become prone to swimbladder problems and soaking their food and feeding green peas (husked), seems to alleviate the problem....

Geez.... I'll be checking this site out more often thanks to Khoobg.

cheers.
kev.

[loke]

Hi there,

I am new here. I don't have an aquarium for my gold fish but I keep them in a clay pot measuring 3ft in diameter and 1ft high. I am using a submerge power head which pump water to an up down filter (using a planter box) segmented it into 5 chambers. 1st chamber is brushes, 2nd chamber is broken flower pot with green filter mat, 3rd chamber is coral chips with white filter mat, 4th chamber is coral chips, 5th chamber is bio balls then water flow back to the pot.
The gold fish (10 of them) has grown well (about 5 inches measured from head to tail), water is crystal clear but yam tree placed in the middle of the pot doesn't grow well. Purpose of the yam tree is to absorb the nitrate (I read some where it helps but not sure).

Regards,
Loke

[kevkoi]

Nice set up for goldfishes..... Outdoor is ideal for goldfish.... except, watch out for birds. Having good vegetation cover over the small pond would be good.... or worst come to worse, a plastic mesh over it. I have a resident kingfisher who comes to visit my pond every evening... taken a few smaller goldfishes, but now that I've 6inch plus ranchus, I think it rather goes for the small platties and guppies in the lily pond.

Still wondering why your yam plant won't grow well? Maybe not enough food for it? I have the opposite problem.... can't stop the yam plant from growing to 3m plus!! Maybe that's because my waterway where I keep the goldfish and yam plants is connected to my koi pond.....

[loke]

I am also wondering why the yam tree is not growing.
Could it be that there is no more mineral for the yam tree?
Oh by the way, my pot is not out door. It is in the car porch. Could it be there is not enough sunlight for the plant?

Regards,
Loke

[kevkoi]

AHA!! There's your problem.... the yam tree needs full sunlight to flourish. Give it shade and it will wilt and sulk. If you have shade, I suggest you use the 'money plant' instead. That works well, even indoors.

..... there's the problem.

[loke]

Thanks kevkoi,

I have money plant and bamboo plant there as well. I guess the yam tree has to go. What other plants can take over its place?

Regards,
Loke

[kevkoi]

There are a number of good plants u can use for absorbing nitrate.... but most of them that I use prefer full sunlight. U could use the 'Pandan' plant with roots submerged in water, u could use the Amazon Sword plant, u could use 'Money plant', the 'Pengaga plant', papyrus plant...... almost all plants suited to the 'watergarden'.

[Khoobg]

Trickle Tower is still the best for nitrate removal