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We just got an Oranda and a Black Moor for our first tank (10 gal) along with an apple snail and a green snail. The Oranda is a little older and larger than the black moor, but it looks like the black moor is picking on the oranda and nipping his fins. It also looks like the black moor is getting territorial about a spot in the tank behind a rock. Is this normal behavior? I didn't think either would be aggressive or territorial. Is everything okay or do I have the makings for a problem on my hands?

Thanks,
bh

Welcome to fish profiles!!

First off I have some bad news about your goldies - they grow much too large to be kept in a 10 gallon tank. They are known to grow large and produce way too much waste for the 10 gallon to handle.

About the fin nipping my goldies look like they nip each others fins occasionaly but it seems like they are only playing - They take turns chasing each other and when they tire of the game they rest right next to each other.

I'm sure someone with more experience will be along and be able to help you out more than I can but I hope that helps just a little.
Good luck with your tank,
Stella

I agree with Stella your tank is why to small for the goldfish, the rule is 10gal per fish, as they are big waste producers, is their anyway you can take them back.

I started out with goldies in a ten gallon way back when, Don't feel too bad, everyone does it, we just don't know better. The truth about goldies is that they are VERY BIG, the body of a full grown fancy goldfish is about the size of a grapefruit, and then they've got those long flowy fins that add inches to their size, the commons get about 2 feet long with proper care. They are related to the common carp, after all They are also poop machines, excreting a tonne more waste than the average fishy, especially ammonia, which get's really tricky because it is clear and you can't tell when this poison is building up in your water without a test kit. Fish that are kept in too small of tanks get stunted, and malformed, their insides keep growing but their bodies don't. I saw this really sad looking fish at the LFS the other day, it was a common, and it's back was all humped and misshapen because it was stunted, and it's eyes were bulging like crazy. That being said, fancy goldies are also wonderful pets if you can care for them properly! I kep them myself, and I absolutely love them. They have personality, are beautiful, and can live over 20 years if cared for properly! You can't beat that in a fish

here are some more great sites with good info:

KoKo's Goldfish world

Goldfish Paradise Society

and last but not least, a picture of bruce the oranda, a BIG fishy!

Well said guppylove1985.

thanks kitty! I just realized that I kinda missed the point of their thread though, LOL!

With goldfish, in my experience, it is best to keep similar kinds together to avoid aggression, and make sure everybody gets food and so on. An example of this would be keeping a black moor, which are visually impaired and not strong swimmers generally with a comet, who can see perfectly well, and swim like crazy. The black moor won't get enough to eat and the comet will "bully" the moor.

But an oranda and a black moor usually do quite well together, so maybe you just have one very opinionated fish! With goldfish especially you will notice that they have such personality, and they're all going to interact a little differently with each other.

I'm assuming that you're going to get a bigger tank for them soon, so maybe having more room to swim and explore (and HIDE if neccesary LOL) will help to calm down your moor.

Not trying to be argumentative, but I keep a moor and a common together, they have spawned the past two years. In fact my common, is very affectionate to wards the female moor. I have on numerous occasions seen him gently nudge her up to the top of the tank for food.

Is there any chance you have a male and a female in there? Is it possible that what you are witnessing is the start of the spawning chase, which can get quite brutal?

i'm not really surprised TeeBee, that your goldfish get along as well as they do. I was speaking in very general terms, since goldies all have such unique and individual personalities