Looks like we have a lot to talk about today, Let's dive in.
Goldfish:
They are the most popular fish in the entire hobby, This however is not a good thing, Goldfish are also the most abused fish in the hobby, People put them in 'fish bowls' No filteration, Heater, no room whatsoever to move and swim like all fish should.
Goldfish come in many shapes, sizes and colours and that is unfortunately all most people see them as, they don't consider exactly how big they can get, The common Goldfish can grow as big as 18 inches or larger, So, don't pull the 'Oh I didn't know' card, Yes you did know you just didn't care, Goldfish need to be kept in large tanks, for a pair (Two of them) 125 gallons will work just fine for two goldfish, For a trio (Three goldfish) You'll need a tank of 150 gallons, 180 gallons or better yet, 220 gallons the latter being the best option (220 gallons) if you do go the 220 gallon route Three goldfish is all you'll be able to fit in it and no more.
Yes Goldfish live for a very long time but only when they are given proper care, tank space, diet, filteration, and having a heater set to 64F in the Summer and Spring, In the Fall and Winter the heater should slowly be turned up by 1F at a time until you reach 74F though I think a Goldfish tank should always be kept at 74F regardless of what time of the year it is.
'Fancy' Goldfish and this hits me personally because I had one and decided to give him to someone with a bigger tank, Because people see the word 'Fancy' They scoop them up without an iota of what they just got themselves into.
'Fancy' goldfish are still goldfish, meaning, they still produce more waste than 1 pleco and a plecos organs are longer than their own bodies, Now triple that, A cheap HOB filter isn't going to cut it, Two powerful canister filters is your only option, The first one should be running your, Mechanical, Chemical and Biological filteration, the second one should be running more Mechanical, Chemical and Biological filteration.
Here is what should be in your canister filters IF you have goldfish and actually care about them.
Bottom tray:
(First tray)
Ammonia pad, Change it when looks brown.
(Second tray)
Phosphate pad, Change every month to reduce algae.
(Third tray)
Activated Carbon, Change weekly.
(Fourth tray)
Biohome Ultimate, Seachem Matrix Bio, Change once every 3-6 months, Three goldfish produce enough 'bioload' for eight goldfish, so change the Matrix Bio every 3 months, If you notice any breakdown change the Biohome Ultimate every 3 months as well.
(Fifth tray, If you are using a 5 stage canister filter)
Thoroughly washed Red Lava rocks the more porous the better.
Notice how I didn't mention 'Sponges' Well there is a very obvious reason for that, Goldfish should not have a sponge in the tank or in the filter, The sponge or sponges would have to be replaced every day, So you'd be spending a lot of money buying sponges INTENDED for your canister filter, Ouch.
Diet:
Goldfish require a special diet.
Premium flakes, Granules, Mysis shrimp, Blanched veggies, small shrimp and scalded peas. (Small live shrimp)
Supplements:
Yes they need supplements just like every other fish.
Seachem Nourish is best mixed into their food.
When to medicate:
Upon purchase, Adding to the hospital tank, introducing to your main tank, and adding a liquid medication after every water change, Seachem Paraguard is the best to use in case a stress related illness shows up.
The Lid:
Despite what you've been told at you LFS, YouTube etc, Goldfish are jumpers, they might even be better at jumping than most horses (Okay maybe not but they still jump) A proper fitting lid is mandatory goldfish will jump out of the tank for many reasons, Poor water quality, Overcrowding, A tank bully, Getting carried away playing etc.
The misunderstanding:
Everyone just automatically assumes that goldfish are 'friendly' That's like assuming a dog you just met isn't going to bite you because it's you, Goldfish can be as aggressive as an African Cichlid, Even picking fights they have no chance of winning, This applies to both males and females, It is not restricted to a single gender, So no, Goldfish are not genetically wired to be friendly, their friendlieness only becomes apparent when they are in a huge tank with more than or an excessive amount of room for them to swim and move around.
Petting:
Just like all fish, you 1000% should not pet your Goldfish, not only is it unhealthy for them it is also painful ripping their slime coats clean off, which will open them up to a number of infections, parasites and diseases, Without a slime coat their immune system literally cannot fight anything off, Death will occur within hours or even a day.
Tank mates:
Goldfish can have tank mates, if you have a big enough tank of course, Cherry barbs are the best tank mate for them they will try and befriend and school-up with the cherry barb, That is likely to happen provided there is enough space for them to decide if they are friends or just 'Eh we share the same tank' buddies.
A good beginner fish:
No they are not a good fish for beginners, Tetra's, Cherry barbs, Minnows etc are better suited for beginners, Goldfish should only be kept by experienced hobbyists.
Cost:
At the LFS the fish might have cost around $10 maybe $20 but the cost of keeping your Goldfish can be about as expensive as keeping a cat or dog, Why? There are some Vets who will deal with Goldfish, And anyone who has a pet myself included knows how much Vet fees can add up to, it can get expensive.
Overall:
Don't keep Goldfish, unless you have the proper filteration, large enough tank, did your homework, and have saved up in case of an emergency surgery etc.
My personal thoughts:
They should require the buyer to have proof that they have a tank big enough to house them, Via video and pictures (New not reused, an expert will know) The word 'No' really needs to be reinforced to discourage the purchase of Goldfish by anyone not willing to put in the effort required to keep them.
Off topic:
I forgot to include in an earlier post, Oodinium treatment, using a small eye-dropper, add less than one drop to an entire tank, this method is something I have not personally tested but I did calculate and measure what should be a safe dose, When I finally get my tanks set up and stocked (I will be buying 1 fish at a time as that is the easiest way for me to treat a fish) I might introduce Seachem Cupramine using the eye-dropper just in case Oodinium is hiding in their system somewhere, That said, the eye-dropper method is slow and quarantine will take longer, 1-2 months but it is safer than risking an over-dose via a capful, Seachem CupriSorb should be kept on hand at all times in case you need to deactivate the Cupramine.
Not done yet.
Let's talk about water changes in large tanks.
Doing a water change once a week is okay if you have a 'nano' tank, but that's not why I have extended this post, Tanks of 100 gallons or more require two water changes every week, So let's say you do your water change on Monday, You'd want to do another one on Wednesday, Adding a beneficial bacteria supplement directly to your filters is something you should be doing after your Wednesday water change to help keep your cycle stable, the last thing you'd want is for your cycle to crash. Big water changes should be avoided if you only have three fish then a 50% water change should be done on Monday and a 60% water change should be done on Wednesday, The 60% should be implemented if you have a pleco and fish.
Cycled media and transferring it.
You cannot transfer cycled media, as soon as it is taken out of the filter the beneficial bacteria has already begun to die off, so what you are really putting into your 'new' tank is:
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Detritis, and more than likely, mites, commonly found in micro dust particles, Larger ones are known as Dust bunnies, Lastly transferring cycled media will eventually cause your tank to crash, kill your fish etc, Don't do it, just let your tanks cycle naturally.
Dumbing it down:
Putting three Goldfish in a nano tank, would be like stuffing a seven foot man into a shoe box and expect him to live in it 'happily' Yeah, no that's unrealistic.
Debunking myths:
Oh..not again -___-
''Small tanks are great for beginners!''
Did you not pay attention? Small aquariums flucuate on a constant bases, Nitrite and Nitrate levels can drop and sky-rocket to dangerous levels daily, So no small aquariums are not great for beginners, they are also expensive, beginners will waste money buying products that claim can stabilize their whole tank, If a cycle is going to crash it is going to crash and you can't do anything to slow it down or even stop it, I tried to stop my 10 gallon tank from crashing once, I lost my Giant betta as a result.
''Fish can live in zip-loc bags!''
No, No they cannot, and they should NOT be shipped in them either, Zip-loc bags are meant for storing, food, lose screws, jewelry, shoe-laces etc, They are NOT meant for fish, Fish food, pet food and the like, Zip-loc bags are plastic bags, easily broken or damaged, They cannot maintain stable oxygen, eventually your fish are going to suffocate.
''Fish can live in bins!''
My brain..it's going to melt, if it hasn't already.
No fish can't live in tupperware bins, See when you introduce aquarium chemicals into those PVC bins they almost immediately begin to leech plastic/PVC toxins, You know that smell most plastic or PVC bins have? That smell is what is being leeched into the water if you decide to add chemicals, filteration, a heater (The bin will melt after the heater has been added) Conclusion: Don't house fish in bins.
''Fish can-''
No! Just no!
Fish can only live in tanks, with filteration, a heater, a light, proper water conditions or an indoor or outdoor pond, There is no in between, DIY should only be done by an expert, I did it after learning that my canister filter makes a shit load of noise, I don't like an excessive amount of noise, It's disruptive so I thought I'd try and fix it, Turns out I ended up with a sore hand and disappointment, So DIY is a no no unless you know what you are doing.
The '1 inch' rule really only applies to nano tanks, for big girl and boy tanks, the rule should be 1-20 gallons per fish, Taking their adult sizes into consideration, Large fish (Not angelfish) Should be measured from their mouths to their tails, An 8 inch fish should be kept in a 190 hallon tank, or larger, Width of the tank should be largely taken into consideration, The bigger the fish the more room he or she needs to swim, turn around etc, Full range of motion is vital to any and all fish.
Okay, that's all I've got for now, I'll see you next time, Remember, if you are stuck or unsure just Pm me and I'll help you to the best of my ability, Byee for now!
Evening Thunderstorms, Hail Possible
