Fish Lovers 2.0

[Lady Ligeia]

Username: Hippolyta
How many tanks do you have: just one
Type of fish that you have: I have a pair of Red Velvet Swordtails and between ten and twenty of their fry of varying ages.
Your fish's names: Bob, the full-grown male; Joan, the full-grown female; and one of their fry, Little Brownie, named because she was the runt and did not turn orange like the others for quite a while longer.
How long have you had fish: Umm... I'm not sure, but it has been quite a while...

[Leafy_Kat]

omioctopuses!!! i love love love fish!
username:snowfeather122
how many fish tanks: i only hav 1 fish tank running that is acctualy quite small in width but tall. my other one is just a fish tank that i bought at a garage sale with my mom! it is pretty big but i do not have any eqquiptment for it or a lid, so it is in my closet right now.
type of fish: i only have fresh water fish (fwf) in my fish tank right now, he is a tiny goldfish, he is soo cuuuttee! he is a bright orange color and his name is tangerine. i study a lot about fish and read about them because i love fish, then i start begging for them from my parents......... WHY AM I ALWAYS REJECTED?1?!........... they say no :[ i really hoping for a chihilid (fw) and a larger species of goldfish...... OOOOO AND I HAVE A SNAIL!!!!! my dream is to have a saltwater aquarium, to have my favoritest fish in the world........ A CLOWNFISH!!!!!! with an anemone (yes i spell i right)
name: tangerine tango tiereno (that was his fuullll name)
how long: maybe 2 yrs, but i have had other fish in the past tho
i have also had thos smalll wter frogs... for about 4 yrs.. umm yea the african drarf froggies??
just so you know i luv fish, annd i want to be a marine bioligist!
fishie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[n e m o]

Alrighty, here's a project (somewhat I guess) for Dakotak... I know you own goldfish and I've seen how much care you give them... It makes me all fuzzy feeling. Sadly, I don't think Merlin will make it past the summer, his time is nearing it's end. He's amazingly nearly seven years old, I think he's one of the oldest living betas ever, and while he looks pretty good as far as health, I don't know if he'll make it to his seventh birthday (Which is on April 20th.) so I've decided to start gathering what I need for my next tank so I have it all ready to go. Dakotak, I know you're good with goldies and I was curious if you could compile a list of the best things to have. Right now the tank's a standard 10G but if absolutely needed, I'm sure I could get a 20G... Anything from plants, to Gravel, to Decor, to food. Also, when I do get my goldies, how many should I get for just a 10G tank? I'm sure I could look up everything, but I want everything to be perfect, and I think it's better to ask someone that I know takes good care of their fishees ^_^

If you only had a 10G you would really only be able to house 1 goldfish and even then I would suggest bigger (because you'll have to upgrade in the future anyway so you might as well buy your supplies for the proper sized tank). I have 2 goldfish in a 46G and I feel like it's a decent amount of space for them to grow into and they're mid-size. You will also need very powerful filtration and an oxygen supply because they produce a lot of waste that pollutes the water.

It also depends on the type of goldfish you want because of how large each gets and different habits that the variations have. You should also be aware that not all variations mix because different handicaps bred into them slow them down and change temperaments and natural behaviors.

There are several ways to go about decorating, you can be extremely minimalistic which makes cleaning up after them much easier or you can start adding decorations. Keep in mind they like to move objects in their tank as well.

They can be such rewarding fish but they need a lot of space and devotion. I'll let Dakotak reply with more information. (:

[Dakotak]

Alrighty, here's a project (somewhat I guess) for Dakotak... I know you own goldfish and I've seen how much care you give them... It makes me all fuzzy feeling. Sadly, I don't think Merlin will make it past the summer, his time is nearing it's end. He's amazingly nearly seven years old, I think he's one of the oldest living betas ever, and while he looks pretty good as far as health, I don't know if he'll make it to his seventh birthday (Which is on April 20th.) so I've decided to start gathering what I need for my next tank so I have it all ready to go. Dakotak, I know you're good with goldies and I was curious if you could compile a list of the best things to have. Right now the tank's a standard 10G but if absolutely needed, I'm sure I could get a 20G... Anything from plants, to Gravel, to Decor, to food. Also, when I do get my goldies, how many should I get for just a 10G tank? I'm sure I could look up everything, but I want everything to be perfect, and I think it's better to ask someone that I know takes good care of their fishees ^_^

Thank you for the compliment about caring for my goldies. <3 Also kudos for asking for answers before getting one.


INCOMING WALL OF TEXT!!

Depends on what kind of goldfish you want to get. Double tails(also called fancy goldfish, rancu's,oranda's,lionhead's ect) need a 20 gallon for one and 10 gallons for everyone you add after that. A 10 gallon is ok for a temporary(like a hospital tank) but like nemo said they will grow and get big. Single tails(comets,commons and shubukins) need 55 gallons for 1 then add 20g for everyone you add after that. In my opinion its best to keep them in a pond. So if you are limited on space go for fancies.

Single tails should not go with fancies. The single tails are faster and you will have competition for food and the fancies will lose. Also bubble eyes, telescopes and celestial eyed goldfish should only be kept with each other. These guys are easily inured near the eyes. Sometimes other goldfish may try to eat their eyes or you can siphon them out accidentally. I have seen cases of both and its no fun to deal with. They need covers over the intakes(that is mainly for the bubble eye since their bubble can get sucked up the intake) with no decor and either sand as substrate or no substrate. The bubble eyes and celestial eyes spend a lot of time near the bottom since their eyes face up and sharp rocks can cause irritation.

Goldfish are poop machines being related to carp. For filtration you should have a filter double the size of the tank (40 gallon filter for a 20 gallon tank) with a GPH(gallon per hour) of 10 times the size of the tank( 20 gallons need 200 GPH).

As for decor nothing sharp and nothing they can swim in and get stuck inside. For goldfish I don't really like decor since they are so clumsy they can hurt themselves really easily but if you must go with decor it needs to be smooth and one solid piece. Many goldfish keepers use big rocks and/or wood to help decorate the tank. For rocks get big and smooth for wood make sure they cant get stuck or poked. I myself just use plants, big river rocks and bubbles for decor.

Plants will more than likely get eaten, plants are really just a trial and error process. Anubis, java fern and amazon sword are the least likely to get eaten. Get a plant you know you can care for and try it. If it gets eaten its ok. Goldfish love their greens and its good for them.

Goldfish need lots of oxygen. Get a nice big bubble wall or a few air stone discs (or both in my case) and that will help a lot. They will even swim through the bubbles, its really cute.

For substrate there are many options. Sand is good but can ruin your impeller if it gets inside of your filter. Gravel lets them forage but they can swallow or choke on it if too big, so get very fine gravel. Bare bottom with a few rocks is best in my opinion. So much easier to clean poop up and any left over food. But any plants you want will have to be kept in vases or free floating.

Diet is also important. There are flakes,sinking pellets,floating pellets, gel food and veggies.

Flakes are not good at all. When fed they float and when they go to eat it they get air inside their stomach and will cause them to float, It is also said to cause swim bladder issues. Also when flakes are added to the water what little nutritional value is said to leach into water.

Floating pellets are a bit better but can still cause issues. While they can have better nutritional value they still float, allowing the fish to gulp air.

Sinking pellets are great. Its best to soak them before feeding them to allow any air to escape so no air gets inside their belies.

Gel food is good as well, though a bit stinky you can make it yourself so you know what is actually going in their tummies. You can also buy gel food that is already made but in power form. Their are recipes online for you to follow too.

Veggies are awesome and a must. Spinach,lettuce,peas,carrots along with other veggies should be either boiled,steamed, or nuked in the microwave with water from the tank until soft enough for them to chew then cooled for a bit(dont add the water back in). The shells should be removed from the peas and also remove the little stem inside and cut up if necessary. You should starve them for a day or two per week then add peas to keep their digestive track clear and healthy. A constipated fish is not fun. Only feed one pea per fish and cut it up if necessary.

Make sure all food is salt free.

Brine shrimp and frozen food is a good treat too!! Also algae wafers make a good treat.
Garlic can be added to gel food, crushed up and added to the tank or soak pellets in garlic powder.

Here are some good brands:
Pro gold. (pellets) Only available here: http://goldfishconnection.com/shop/details.php?productId=2&catId=1 (I feed this and love it)
Omega one (pellets and flakes I think) http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11147289 (I feed this but be careful to make sure it soaks well)
Saki Hikari(pellets) http://www.hikari.info/gold/index.html (also at most petstores)
Repashy Soilent Green (gel food) http://tastyworms.com/repashy-soilent-green-aufwuchs-gel-fish-food.html (I plan on feeding this soon)

Note* Tasty worms .com has other excellent foods for goldfish, like the meat pie and they have floating Hikari pellets.

Here are a list of gel food recipes. http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/forum/index.php?/topic/97760-share-your-gel-food-recipes-for-floaters/

Also I felt I needed to add this, look at their poo!! Thick, short with no bubbles means they are healthy inside. If you see any bubbles you should give them peas for possible constipation and if you see stringy,white poo it means they might have parasites or something is wrong. Also white,zig zag with bubbles is supposed to mean a female reabsorbed eggs. I'm still doing research into that to make sure its true though.

That is it off the top of my head for now.

Like nemo said, they are a lot of work and all of the equipment can be pricy but they are totally worth it. Its very rewarding to get one at only an inch big then watching it grow into a big beautiful fish. They can live up to 20 years so if taken care of correctly and with a good genetic blood line you will have them for while.

Thank you nemo for letting me reply. That was very considerate of you.
If I missed anything feel free to say it guys. ^^
Thanks jelly for pointing out stuff I needed to add.

My fingers hurt. XD

[Dappled Sapphire]

*20g for each additional single tail

The only thing you really missed is food
I feed my goldie (soon to be goldies ) hikari sinking pellets and veggies at the moment blanched cucumber and zucchini but i will try some others once the newies arrive, peas are also good and garlic is supposed to help build up their immunity and apparently they love the smell of it
If you use flake food make sure you hold it under the surface and let it go so it sinks as gasping at the surface may give then swim bladder issues

[Dakotak]

*20g for each additional single tail

The only thing you really missed is food
I feed my goldie (soon to be goldies ) hikari sinking pellets and veggies at the moment blanched cucumber and zucchini but i will try some others once the newies arrive, peas are also good and garlic is supposed to help build up their immunity and apparently they love the smell of it
If you use flake food make sure you hold it under the surface and let it go so it sinks as gasping at the surface may give then swim bladder issues

Thanks for catching that!

There has actually been quite a bit of debate if it should be 10 gallons,15gallons or 20gallons in another forum I visit, so I have been getting it all mixed up. What do you guys think? 10 gallons,15 gallons or 20 gallons?

Ah yes. The noms, how could I forget? Ill add that in now.

[sarcasteil]

Oh goody, we're on goldies x3

So far, I never only once or twice fed my goldfish something other than pellets. I wasn't quite sure what was safe to feed them, I've been meaning to ask about it but I guess you guys beat me to it.

I've seen people feeding their fish oranges and lettuce, is that alright? How should I prepare it?

Peas. Boil it, shell it, feed it to fish and not feed them the next day. Correct?

Garlic? Never heard of that. How is it prepared?

Any other treats? I'm not going for live feed, Mom won't allow me.

Personally I'd go for 20 gallons for additional fish. Though I may be wrong. ^^"

[Dappled Sapphire]

*20g for each additional single tail

The only thing you really missed is food
I feed my goldie (soon to be goldies ) hikari sinking pellets and veggies at the moment blanched cucumber and zucchini but i will try some others once the newies arrive, peas are also good and garlic is supposed to help build up their immunity and apparently they love the smell of it
If you use flake food make sure you hold it under the surface and let it go so it sinks as gasping at the surface may give then swim bladder issues

Thanks for catching that!

There has actually been quite a bit of debate if it should be 10 gallons,15gallons or 20gallons in another forum I visit, so I have been getting it all mixed up. What do you guys think? 10 gallons,15 gallons or 20 gallons?

Ah yes. The noms, how could I forget? Ill add that in now.

If adding a extra fancy is 10g I think adding an extra common should be more gallonage as the fish grows bigger, it just makes sense lol so I say stick to 20g maybe 15 at minimum

[Dakotak]

Oh goody, we're on goldies x3

So far, I never only once or twice fed my goldfish something other than pellets. I wasn't quite sure what was safe to feed them, I've been meaning to ask about it but I guess you guys beat me to it.

I've seen people feeding their fish oranges and lettuce, is that alright? How should I prepare it?

Peas. Boil it, shell it, feed it to fish and not feed them the next day. Correct?

Garlic? Never heard of that. How is it prepared?

Any other treats? I'm not going for live feed, Mom won't allow me.

Personally I'd go for 20 gallons for additional fish. Though I may be wrong. ^^"

Oranges and lettuce is fine. Honestly my fish hate fruit and it just gets wasted and is messy so I stick to veggies. I added info to the above post about preparing veggies. For the garlic you can put it in gel foods I have also heard of people rolling their pellets in ground up garlic, or letting them soak in garlic. Im still looking into it myself.

I agree with the 20G or 15G at min like you said jelly. With goldfish bigger is better. :p

[Bettahorse]

You guys should post in the photo contest, its lacking in fishyness. <3

In other news.. OMG I NEED TO CLEAN ALL OF MY TANKS THEY JUST LOOK AWFUL.

My bf got the flu, then my daughter, then me.. Its been like 3 weeks.. eeerrrrr!

What photo contest? I could try to enter.

And I hope you all get well soon!