Goldfish

JDigweed

Anywhere that takes Goldfish. A sanctuary or Pet store.
2 reasons....1. The tank is 54l and they will outgrow it.
2. I want to change it from cold to warm water and they will struggle to survive in tropical temperatures.

Sleepy

Any pet store that sells goldfish will take them back from you.

Knine

Sleepy wrote: »

Any pet store that sells goldfish will take them back from you.

And then many will sell them to people with a bowl & those awful starter kits

JDigweed

We were beginners and uneducated to be honest and bought 2 fish and a starter kit from a local pet store. It was only after doing some research I realised the tank was way undersized. I upgraded to a 54litre tank and planted some live plants but the selection of cold waterfish seem to be limited plus I pretty sure 2 goldfish need a bigger tank than 54l

Sleepy

You're right, it's not even big enough for one. The live plants will help but it's not enough. Don't beat yourself up too much over it though, most of us make the same mistakes early on due to the poor ethics of most pet shops.

If you've the tank in a modern home, odds are that it's not really a coldwater tank but more likely to be at Sub Tropical temperatures. I kept a heavily planted 60l sub-tropical tank with Zebra Danios, some White Cloud Mountain Minnows and a bristlenose pleco for years and, honestly, it was one of the most successful tanks I ever had: both schools bred in it.

If you keep an eye on the temperature of your tank for the next few days and find it rarely drops below 18 degrees that might be a more interesting option for you?

JDigweed

The guys in seahorse will take the Goldfish and quauranteen them for me. Really annoyed with the local pet store to be honest when I think back I was never told about cycling the tank etc and ended up losing fish. I'll hang onto the minnows. Any other recommended for 54l tank.
The temp in the tank is around 23° at the moment without the heater on.

Sleepy

What kind of minnows have you? White Clouds? If they're in less than a school of 5, bump them to that or slightly higher (I always prefer odd numbers for schools though that's a personal preference).

Zebra danios will mix nicely with them and be fine at that temperature and Seahorse have some dwarf bristlenose plecos that are fine around that temperature.

EDIT: found an old post of the sub-tropical tank I kept: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=78549864&postcount=238

JDigweed

Sleepy wrote: »

What kind of minnows have you? White Clouds? If they're in less than a school of 5, bump them to that or slightly higher (I always prefer odd numbers for schools though that's a personal preference).

Zebra danios will mix nicely with them and be fine at that temperature and Seahorse have some dwarf bristlenose plecos that are fine around that temperature.


EDIT: found an old post of the sub-tropical tank I kept: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=78549864&postcount=238

Yep they are white cloud, have them in a group of 4 but I can put another one with them.
I'll check out the Danios cheers.
Nice set up.

JDigweed

This is the tank at the moment.

Sleepy

Once you re-home the goldies it should be easier to keep the tank water clearer. In the meantime, a bag of active carbon dropped behind your ornaments would probably be a good idea!

2Mad2BeMad

Just came upon this by accident.

My goldfish died yesterday (well my kids goldfish)
Pet shop gave me a starter kit the tank is a good bit bigger then a bowl though but I still thought it was quite small.
Goldfish only lasted 2 weeks.
Looking to buy another one but the info I'm given is mixed would like the next little one to last alot longer.

What size tank should I be looking to buy for just 1 goldfish with the possibility of adding another 1 in the future?
How much should I feed it? Guy in shop told me once a day and the info on his food said twice a day.
How much is too much food ?
And how do I keep the water cold like what temp is ideal for them to survive in?

I've no idea how mine died but it obviously died from my lack of knowledge on how to look after it.

I'd home a few goldfish if needed.
I have a 1000L heavily filtered tank.
Waiting on my 15/20,000L pond to be built after a house move.

2Mad2BeMad

2Mad2BeMad wrote: »

What size tank should I be looking to buy for just 1 goldfish with the possibility of adding another 1 in the future?

100L for one and 150L for two and that's probably a bit mean.
They grow massive and are very dirty.
My nephew had one from the pet shop in a soup bowl ,I convinced him to let me "mind" him in my pond and now he's 13cm in 2 years!

Sleepy

2Mad2BeMad wrote: »

Just came upon this by accident.

My goldfish died yesterday (well my kids goldfish)
Pet shop gave me a starter kit the tank is a good bit bigger then a bowl though but I still thought it was quite small.
Goldfish only lasted 2 weeks.
Looking to buy another one but the info I'm given is mixed would like the next little one to last alot longer.

What size tank should I be looking to buy for just 1 goldfish with the possibility of adding another 1 in the future?
How much should I feed it? Guy in shop told me once a day and the info on his food said twice a day.
How much is too much food ?
And how do I keep the water cold like what temp is ideal for them to survive in?

I've no idea how mine died but it obviously died from my lack of knowledge on how to look after it.

The "starter kits" aren't suitable for goldfish at all. Have a read of this forum and instead of getting goldfish, pick up some minnows or add a heater and get some guppies / mollys or the like

Berserker

BrownFinger wrote: »

100L for one and 150L for two and that's probably a bit mean.
They grow massive and are very dirty.
My nephew had one from the pet shop in a soup bowl ,I convinced him to let me "mind" him in my pond and now he's 13cm in 2 years!

I agree that they grow fast and they are dirty. With that in mind, I'd recommend 180L for a single goldfish.

JDigweed

They have been rehomed and replaced.
Currently 1 Betta Fish
5 White Cloud Minnows
3 Guppies.

Everything seems to be going well so far touch wood.

lynchie

JDigweed wrote: »

They have been rehomed and replaced.
Currently 1 Betta Fish
5 White Cloud Minnows
3 Guppies.

Everything seems to be going well so far touch wood.

I hope the LFS gave you all the same sex guppies otherwise you could end up with lots of fry. They are like gremlins, just add water and they multiply!!

Berserker

lynchie wrote: »

I hope the LFS gave you all the same sex guppies otherwise you could end up with lots of fry. They are like gremlins, just add water and they multiply!!

If it's the same LFS that sold the OP the goldfish then I wouldn't expect that.

JDigweed

No chance I'll buy fish from the local store again. Used a reputable store, they gave sensible advice regarding tank stock levels and fish compatibility.

I was thinking of getting a bottom feeder to help keep the bottom of the tank clean. Any recommendations??

Sleepy

First recommendation would be to keep an eye on the Betta. They're not called fighter fish for nothing. Odds on it'll kill everything else in your tank.

At a 54l tank tbh, you're pretty much done in terms of stock levels. If you re-home the betta you could probably get a few more guppies or a dwarf pleco (be very sure you're buying a dwarf breed, normal plecos can grow to well over a foot in length which would be way too big for a small tank).

Knine

I keep a single Betta in my community tank although it is a lot larger then the OPs. I never have an issue with them. They tend only to fight with each other. If I could only keep one fish - it would have to be a Betta. They are very smart. Here is my current fish, a female but I have kept males too.

penev10

I've kept a betta with endlers before in a 30 litre tank without any problems. I'm not sure he was even eating many fry as they were reproducing no problem.