Re-Housing Goldfish

eager tortoise

Hi all,
I am trying to figure out what sized tank I should move my goldfish into, as he has become far too big for the small tank he is currently in (don't know the exact size but it's small ). He has grown to approx 5 inches long and is 11 years old. He is on his own and I don't plan on putting anything else in with him, other than a few plants.
Thanks for your help!

Oranage2

A 11 years to me says he's doing fine -

http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Goldfish.htm

This says they need 20 gallons which is about 75 litres -

eager tortoise

Thanks for that! Yes I had a feeling they needed a good bit of space. I am looking at getting a second-hand tank, maybe 100l to be sure he is ok. Need to figure out where on earth I'm going to put it first! Maybe I should stick with say slightly smaller, like 80l? Or is there very little in the difference space-wise?
To be honest he has always done well in his current home, but I can't watch him any more in that small space. Recently we got him a filter to help the water between changes and he didn't like it at all - would stay as far away from it as possible! Does this mean he won't take well to a larger set-up, which will have to include a filter? Or maybe the tank was too small for a filter.
Some of the aquariums I have seen online (and in this forum!) are beautiful and really inspiring. I think I will make the investment as I believe it is possible for goldfish to live to be 20 plus years old! In that case me and this fella will have a few years together yet
Final question - I read somewhere that by the time goldfish have reached about 10 years they are not going to grow any further. Is this true?
Also - can anyone recommend a good book or site to explain the setting up of a tank??

Sleepy

There's a great sticky at the top of the forum about "cycling" your tank.

A filter really is a necessity for a fish tank, could have been that the one you bought was too powerful for the tank size?

eager tortoise

Yes, that's probably the reason alright, we ended up having to remove it! Probably in a larger tank it wouldn't bother him as much

eager tortoise

Another question guys, really hope you don't mind!

So, I have the new tank and filter and am trying to figure out what else I need to get before I can get the whole thing up and running.I've been reading back over this forum and other sites and as far as I can make out I'll need to buy kits to test PH, Ammonia and Nitrates. Once I get the readings on those that I need I can put the fish in?

I have Nutra-fin 'biological aquarium supplement'. I've been following the instructions on it and using it in the old tank.

Do I need anything else to ensure the tank will be a hospitable environment for my fish? No matter how basic (or obvious) it might be, please tell me! Do not worry about insulting my intelligence as I feel totally at sea on all of this (if you'll pardon the pun )

eager tortoise

Hi all - I have a problem, hopefully someone can advise me!!!

I moved my fish into his new home this morning. I filled the tank about 10 days ago and was a adding the 'good' bacteria to get the cycle going, as per a guy in the pet shop. Yesterday I brought some of the water in to test and was told it was ok to move the fish in.

This morning I put him in. I can't use a net so scooped him out of his old tank in a little bowl with a very little (say a mug-ful) of the old water, which went into the new aquarium. It was a pleasure watching him explore the tank.I observed him for a little while then left him to it, checking on him as the day went on to ensure he was doing ok.

Just minutes ago I was watching him closely when I realised there were several little wormy-type creatures crawling over a rock decoration!! They look, for want of a better description, like fish poo, except one is red and the others are brown and they are moving by themselves, not just with the current from the filter! They are clinging on to the decoration I think. Each one is no more than 1 cm long. Does anyone know what these are and are they harmful?? I can transfer him back to old tank if necessary until I get rid of them as kept the water in it in event of an emergency!

Just to add, I have been watching that tank for the past 10 days and never seen them before. Is it possible they came in the old water? I never saw them in the old tank either but the only reason I can see them now is against this light-coloured stone decoration.

paul71

eager tortoise wrote: »

Hi all - I have a problem, hopefully someone can advise me!!!

I moved my fish into his new home this morning. I filled the tank about 10 days ago and was a adding the 'good' bacteria to get the cycle going, as per a guy in the pet shop. Yesterday I brought some of the water in to test and was told it was ok to move the fish in.

This morning I put him in. I can't use a net so scooped him out of his old tank in a little bowl with a very little (say a mug-ful) of the old water, which went into the new aquarium. It was a pleasure watching him explore the tank.I observed him for a little while then left him to it, checking on him as the day went on to ensure he was doing ok.

Just minutes ago I was watching him closely when I realised there were several little wormy-type creatures crawling over a rock decoration!! They look, for want of a better description, like fish poo, except one is red and the others are brown and they are moving by themselves, not just with the current from the filter! They are clinging on to the decoration I think. Each one is no more than 1 cm long. Does anyone know what these are and are they harmful?? I can transfer him back to old tank if necessary until I get rid of them as kept the water in it in event of an emergency!

Just to add, I have been watching that tank for the past 10 days and never seen them before. Is it possible they came in the old water? I never saw them in the old tank either but the only reason I can see them now is against this light-coloured stone decoration.

From the description you have given I am not sure what you have in your tank, but they are probably young snails before they have developed shells. If so they are not harmful but they can reproduce fast and become unsightly in the tank. I suggest you try scoop them out with your fishnet.

eager tortoise

Thanks Paul! You could be right, I still have not really identified them. I went to the pet shop for advice, they said it could be that the fish has a parasite but I really don't think that's it because he is as fit and healthy looking as ever and they seem not to bother him at all. My googling leads me to think that it's either planaria, which I believe can arise as a result of over-feeding, or else they are bloodworms. I read online that many people feed these to fish and since it is a second hand tank there is a possibility that one or two stowed away in the filter and made it through to me, even though I thought I had cleaned it all quite thoroughly and the seller said he had done the same. I certainly didn't see any creatures at that stage in the proceedings!

My first instinct was to remove the fish because I was creeped out by the worms but the pet shop told me not to move the fish again if he is ok as it will cause him undue stress. Their advice was to stop feeding the tank for a few days and keep hoovering the gravel. Hopefully this will solve the problem no matter what type of worm they are but I'm sure fish won't enjoy his fast. Unless he eats them which he might if they are bloodworms...I believe there are also supplements that can be added to the tank that might kill them but I suppose it's better to go the natural route first and hope they just die off if the food source dries up.