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Hallo!

I know the rule about goldfish and how they should have big tanks. However, I have a well-established 10gall tank with currently three male guppies in it. I am about to move the guppies over into my 20gallon guppy birthing tank so I will only have one guppy tank and an empty 10 gallon. Now, I wanted to get a goldfish, like a really tiny one. What is the smallest you can get? Obviously it will grow rather large and maybe outgrow the 10 gallon but for the next few years, could I have a small goldfish in a 10 gallon?

Really, you can't keep ANY goldfish in a 10 gallon.

Unfortunately, it just wont work. check out the "What am I really" post in this forum for goldfish, and you can physically see what happens when you keep a goldfish in a small tank not suited for them... just dont do it, if you can get a 20 gallon for a goldfish at the MINIMUM!! Thanks!

72 gallon bowfront:Tanganyikan Lake set up
75 gallon: A. Baenschi trio,Cyanotilapia Afra Cobwe(4), copadichromis trewavase, protomelas sp. tangerine tiger(breeding pair)

Just don't try to keep a Goldfish in a 10 gal. tank. I wouldn't work & the fish will die. Please don't try it.


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i know it is tempting to go newb sytle with a goldfish in a small tank, but yes u can. given, u have a pond or large tank for it later. keeping it in a 10 is ok for a few weeks or a month, but like u know, a pond, or large tank is needed.

So if I move the guppies into the 10 gallon and put the goldfish in the 20 gallon? I think it may even be 30 gallon. I'm not sure. Would that work? I have a bio-sponge filter in the 20/30 gallon. And an internal Fluval 2 Plus in the 10 gallon. What is the best one for a goldfish? I know they produce a lot of waste. I do weekly water changes and gravel vacs on both tanks of about 10%.

Honestly, I wouldn't even try to keep a goldfish in a 20 or 30 gallon tank. A common, comet, or shubunkin goldfish will get huge and require a pond, and even the more compact goldfish (like lionheads, orandas, etc.) won't get as long, but will still have a large body mass and produce an incredible amount of waste, even when they're still small.

I made the mistake of trying to keep a single goldfish in a 29 gallon tank once, and I ended up needing the same amount of filtration meant for a tank four times that size, plus more water changes than a "healthy" setup requires.

If you really want goldfish, you're going to need a much bigger tank...I'd say 55 at the very least for one goldfish, but honestly get the largest tank you can afford.

Have you considered a betta for the 10 gallon tank? They come in very impressive varieties that are generally as "showy" as the fancy goldfish out there. Also, with a betta, you could do a nice planted setup and maybe some ghost or amano shrimp, which probably wouldn't work with a goldfish since they tend to eat anything that would fit in their mouth.

Last edited by Satinandtat at 11-Sep-2005 12:19

Last edited by Satinandtat at 13-Sep-2005 13:55

Goldfih have the same bodymass and put out at least as much waste as an oscar. Think about that. They really don't belong in anything under 55 gallons. Yes, you could probably have one in your 20 for about a month, but why would you do that? Unless you actually have the tank set up and running, it is very doubtful that it would be ready in time. If you leave the goldie in the small tank it will stunt, and eventually die a long painful death. That's not what you want to do.

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They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

Goldfish actually only get about 16" long maximum. I'm sick of hearing people say they get to tremendous proportions, and I've heard from at least one person on here they get five feet long, which they don't plain and simple.

Janna has it right... They usually grow to about the same lengths and proportions as an oscar.

If you buy a small feeder (0.75-1" long), it can be kept in a 10 gallon tank for about a year. Don't overfeed and keep the tank very clean with regular waterchanges and maybe throwing in a few bunches of anacharis to absorb nitrates. Once the fish reaches about 3.5" long, it must be moved into a larger tank or pond.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I'm just going to wait until I can get a 55gallon. I thought I heard a 10gallon would be appropriate for the first few years of the fish's life but I'm patient. I have several bettas already but in five gallons and no filters. Juts thought I might ask, but I may just keep with having two separate tanks for my male and female guppies.