Some Noob Questions

TechnoFreek

Hey guys. Got a starter goldfish set for the kids.

Need a couple of things clarified if anyone can advise.

How high can I fill the water in the tank?
How does the filter position look - spout relative to top of water.
How powerful should the filter be at spitting water back out. I have it at the lowest setting.

Gordy6040

Hi.
First thing is that tank is way to small for gold fish. You will need to do 50% water change s 3 times a week.
You can fill it almost to the top. The filter position is fine. It can be just under the water line.

Get dechlorinator drops and use them every time you do a water change, otherwise you will kill the beneficial bacteria that live in the filter.

If you need to clean the filter, use aquarium water. And do it gently.

TechnoFreek

Gordy6040 wrote: »

Hi.
First thing is that tank is way to small for gold fish. You will need to do 50% water change s 3 times a week.
You can fill it almost to the top. The filter position is fine. It can be just under the water line.

Get dechlorinator drops and use them every time you do a water change, otherwise you will kill the beneficial bacteria that live in the filter.

If you need to clean the filter, use aquarium water. And do it gently.

thanks for the info. Have the drops for the water.

why are pet shops and companies selling these sort of tanks if they're too small?

kylith

TechnoFreek wrote: »

thanks for the info. Have the drops for the water.

why are pet shops and companies selling these sort of tanks if they're too small?

Unfortunately most people don't realise how big goldfish get, and many pet shop employees don't know a lot about fish. You have them in a tank larger than a bowl and you have filtration in there, so you're already doing a better job than most.

Comet goldfish like yours can get to 12" long and you'll need at least a 400L tank in the end, you can get second hand tanks online for very reasonable prices.

You can fill the tank to about half an inch below the lip. The filter outflow should be at the waterline and you want the output to be strong enough to make ripples on the surface, but not so strong as to push the fish around the tank.

TechnoFreek

Thanks kylith.. Some good info there.

I presumed the fish were fully grown!

I've never kept fish before I am a pet lover. Hate to think they were bring kept in adequate conditions. Tank bought in ignorance really!

Any type of goldfish that are small when fully grown? Akin to the ones I currently have.

Gordy6040

I was in the same boat as you OP 2 years ago so I know where you're coming from. I actually have the same tank as you in b my attic right now.

Gold fish really belong in a pond. I have 2 I'm going to release to a pond near where I work.

As the previous Poster said they get up to over 12" and can live over 20 years. The fancy types don't need as much space .

You cold replace them over time with a minnow type fish, or even put some real plants in there and add a few shrimp. Our get a bigger tank and use that as a hospital tank.

kylith

TechnoFreek wrote: »

Thanks kylith.. Some good info there.

I presumed the fish were fully grown!

I've never kept fish before I am a pet lover. Hate to think they were bring kept in adequate conditions. Tank bought in ignorance really!

Any type of goldfish that are small when fully grown? Akin to the ones I currently have.

You could be forgiven for thinking that; most never get to reach full size because of their inadequate living conditions. Fancy goldfish are a bit smaller, but only by a couple of inches.

If you'd like to return the goldies but keep the tank what you can keep in there depends greatly on how big the tank is. You might be able to keep a small school of White Cloud Mountain Minnows, depending on the tank size. If you'd be interested in going tropical you'd have a few more options, certainly you could keep some shrimp in there.

ZiabR

How long is the tank setup? It look very very new to me and if so, the tank is not cycled. Goldfish are amongst the dirtiest fish you can buy and will quickly pollute the water. The fish will then die, and this can happen quite fast. The first step to keep fish is a cycled tank, without that your fish will continue to die.

You need to keep an eye out for signs the fish are suffering, like clamped fins etc, but if i am honest, it is only a matter of time before you start to lose the fish. I would return the fish to the store as soon as possible. They are not suited to a tank that size.

The tank looks about 20/30 litres big which would be fine for a small number of tetra (tropical) fish. You would just need to purchase a cheap heater.

Sadly, pet shops are either ignorant or just dont care about the animals they sell.

CruelCoin

TechnoFreek wrote: »

Hey guys. Got a starter goldfish set for the kids.

Need a couple of things clarified if anyone can advise.

How high can I fill the water in the tank?
How does the filter position look - spout relative to top of water.
How powerful should the filter be at spitting water back out. I have it at the lowest setting.

Water can go almost to the top.

Once the outlet is rippling the surface of the water, then it's fine.

You should be aiming for the filter to be filtering the entire tank around 4-5 times per hour. So, if you have a 50lt tank and a 250lt/ph filter then thats fine, etc. Adjust your output untill it is 5 times your tank volume per hour.

Silverfish

To give you an idea, here's a common goldfish with the average 6 litre 'goldfish bowl'



And here's a fancy goldfish (with my hand, for some scale)



Unfortunately with goldfish, they do most of their growing when they are young, so a big tank is crucial from the very start.
Goldfish are unique in that its not possible to upgrade their tank as they grow - they need the larger tank in order to grow in the first place, due to a growth hormone they secrete. When the concentration levels get too high, as it will in a tank that's too small it inhibits their growth.
This causes stunting, deformation, and early death.

With common goldfish the lifespan should be in the region of 20 years.

A fancy goldfish should be in the region of 10 years.

Jen Pigs Fly

I work in a pet shop ... Specifically the fish house.

I have fought tooth and nail to get rid of bowls, but the 'higher ups' have vetoed me, they earn too much income through selling 'starter kits' aka a 6l bowl with two goldfish ...

I die a slow death and try my best to encourage people to get bigger tanks, but a lot of people are just like "they're only goldfish" so it's not just the pet shops fault, while people are ignorantly seeing goldfish as a lesser being and think a year is a good age and won't listen to advice then bowls will always be sold ...

Last week I sold a 200l to a guy who had a single goldfish ... I was never so happy I'm my life that someone did some research, came in to talk to me and did the best he could for the goldfish ... Said goldfish is heading to a pond soon and he'll then convert the 200l to a tropical community.

So don't go tarring all pet shop workers with the same brush ... I'm stuck where I am and while I've tried and tried and tried to make changes ... Non animals people who run the places Just don't care, never mind most of the customers. I always sell goldfish water conditioner and organic waste reducer to people who buy bowls, at least I strongly suggest it, while also stating their goldfishs potential size and age range.

I run a 400 litre marine reef and a 200l tropical planted amazon tank. Not all pet shop workers are clueless about fish.

Ankhyu

xxxJennyxxx wrote: »

I work in a pet shop ... Specifically the fish house.

I have fought tooth and nail to get rid of bowls, but the 'higher ups' have vetoed me, they earn too much income through selling 'starter kits' aka a 6l bowl with two goldfish ...

I die a slow death and try my best to encourage people to get bigger tanks, but a lot of people are just like "they're only goldfish" so it's not just the pet shops fault, while people are ignorantly seeing goldfish as a lesser being and think a year is a good age and won't listen to advice then bowls will always be sold ...

Last week I sold a 200l to a guy who had a single goldfish ... I was never so happy I'm my life that someone did some research, came in to talk to me and did the best he could for the goldfish ... Said goldfish is heading to a pond soon and he'll then convert the 200l to a tropical community.

So don't go tarring all pet shop workers with the same brush ... I'm stuck where I am and while I've tried and tried and tried to make changes ... Non animals people who run the places Just don't care, never mind most of the customers. I always sell goldfish water conditioner and organic waste reducer to people who buy bowls, at least I strongly suggest it, while also stating their goldfishs potential size and age range.

I run a 400 litre marine reef and a 200l tropical planted amazon tank. Not all pet shop workers are clueless about fish.

Big +1. When I used to work in a pet shop I used to try and push people to get tanks rather than bowls, but goldfish are seen as "disposable" pets that are easily replaced when they die, and people just don't care.
Same story with the bowls too, there was no way that the powers that be would stop stocking them.