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hi i have taken a liking to goldfish recently and wanted one but have been holding off b/c i dont know if i shoud get one, if i get one it would hav to stay small and co-exist w/my like 15 guppies and 9 tetras 2 cory and a candy sucker, i will probally get rid of some guppies b/c my friend has an oscar and they kkeep over breeding,i would probally keep about 5 guppies or so just enough for them to breed.im actually getting sick of guppies b/c i originally got them for my oscar but he doesnt eat thm i still havent figured this out and they just keep brreding and are keeping me way from stated a nice community tank so i always could get rid of them all i just hang on b/c i like the babys but when they grow they r a pain, and hog food from my tetras who r quite skinny, any ideas?i will tell u tonight if im getting rid of anyof them plater tonight after i call my friend

There is no such thing as a small goldfish.
Fancies require a minimum of 55 gallon tank, better is a 75 or 125.
Common goldfish (the ones generally sold as feeder fish) require a pond and will stunt quite quickly if kept in a tank.
It's not an issue of gallons so much as an issue of space. Commons grow to 2 feet plus, fancies grow to the size of softballs. They just do NOT belong in a 20 gallon tank.

^_^
[link=H2g2]http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/upgrade.html" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] 2005 Don't Leave Home Without it[/font]

I fullly agree with the babelfish.

*Fully agree's with Babe too*

I work at my LFS, and it's so hard to tell people sometimes that they shouldn't keep a goldfish in a tank under 50 gallons...they claim, "But it's small, so if I keep it in a small tank it'll stay that way won't it?" Well...that *may* be true, but would you keep a puppy in a closet? Point made.

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

if it was a chuaha i would, and any ways it will be moved to my 50

Mhm....

That and the water parameters are all wrong for the fish sharing a tank (goldies like cold water, and guppies like warmer water). Your best bet if you wish to get goldfish is to get them a tank of their own. I love my goldies and my guppies and the best advise I can give you is to get another tank for the goldies (55 is a good starting place) in there you should be able to have a couple of small goldfish where they will love to swim, grow, and flourish...no matter how small they are to begin with, they will grow and grow and grow...my little 1 inch baby has grown to be over 6 inches and is still growing...Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Lol not quite the same thing ferret. A fish will sorta stay the same size as the tank, But there interanl organs will keep growing leading to disease and shorter life. Considering how fast goldfish can grow the Owners could only end up with the fish for less than a couple months. Most people who buy goldfish are just starting in the hobby and I would recommend to them a betta or something like that that would be able to handle the mistakes crappy tank conditions ect ect of a new hobbyist. IF they buy a gold fish usally it ends up dieing pretty soon which then leaves the new hobbyist to think that fish arent for him.

There is no "chihuahua" of the goldfish world. Even so, next time you want to keep a chihuahua in a closet, feel free to visit your local SPCA/humane society and let them know. There are laws against that, mainly because it is considered cruel. Keeping a chihuahua in a closet will land you a nice fine, and IMO there should be similar consequences for keeping fish in less-than-adequate conditions.

In the end there is nothing I can tell you that's going to keep you from putting a goldfish in a 20 gallon tank, but I HIGHLY recommend either choosing another tropical fish for that tank or getting at least a 50-55 gallon tank for the goldfish on their OWN.

Aside from space issues, goldfish are not tropical fish and have different temperature and diet requirements from the fish you currently have in that tank. Unless you're looking forward to a tank full of dead fish and ammonia sometime in the near future, find something else to go in there. I would suggest picking up 4 more cories, since they will be much happier in a school. On the other hand, your tank is overstocked as it is IMO, and I would really not suggest adding anything to it.

"Lol not quite the same thing ferret. A fish will sorta stay the same size as the tank, But there interanl organs will keep growing leading to disease and shorter life. "

Im pretty sure Ferret was alluding to that. Especially with the Chuhaua(sp?)/closet analogy.

Last edited by katieb at 25-Nov-2004 19:07

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Now what about a viable option?

Balloon molly?
A sailfin might be pushing it...






For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Hmm I wonder if stunting would apply to all fish that are in bowls, because my father has a friend that had a fancy goldfish, I think it was one with bubble eyes, and it got to the size almost of a softball! I have no pictures of proof because the poor fish died, he was about 3-4 years old. But the strange thing is that he was in a bowl his/her whole life!

Last edited by Chino at 02-Dec-2004 17:35

poor little guy. Did you know the average lifespan for a properly cared for goldie is around 15-20 years? 3-4 years isn't much man.