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I got 6 goldfish that are from 1 1/2 - 2 inches in a fully cycled 10 gallon. If I do a 25-50% water change daily will they be O.K. until they are a bit larger?

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

25-50% daily is likely to kill them outright, I presume you meant weekly? Probably 30% will do a week for now, but soon obviously their keeping conditions will be impossible as they grow.

They'll probably be ok for a few weeks ,but if weeks become months then you are at risk of developmentally ruining the fish ata delicate age, if properly fed they will grow quickly and will need moving on to a much bigger aquarium or better yet a pond fairly quickly. Make sure you use plenty of oxygenation, especially if your tank temps are over the 70's f. Thats not a lot of surface area for that many goldfish, so make sure the surface is agitated as much as possible. Their oxygen requirement and ammonia production is at least twice that of your average tropical fish, and it gets worse the warmer you keep them.

Sorry I ment weekly
I have an airstone in there now,should I put in a box filter too?It doesn't work all that great[about 6 years old] but it is the only one I have to spare.
I'm sorta scared to put these beauties in a pond[cause it has frogs,a bass and sunfish] and the fact that we have herons and 'coons.

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

You probably won't be able to grow these to a surviveable size in a 10g. My first suggestion would be to get or borrow a stock tank from someone to grow them out in. In a 10g they'll start stunting within a few weeks while still small enough for your pondfish to eat unless the pond is newly setup with baby fish in it. I'd try to get them to at least 4 and probably 6" before putting them in a pond and for that you need closer to a 55g tank. At just 4" each in a 10g they aren't going to fit very well and you will have to do near daily 25% water changes or half probably won't even make it to that size. Even splitting them up into some plastic storage containers would be better than stuffing them in the 10g. You could get three 15g storage containers(maybe $5-$8 a piece), run a sponge filter on each, and grow the goldfish to a good size before having to move them to the pond. If I didn't have stock tanks sitting around anyway that's what I'd do.

The problem is...I don't really know anyone else who has tanks to spare[or anyone who has tanks to begin with.]
The pond is natural...no one takes care of it.We have friends that are like 15 mins. away...and the herons take foot long Koi!!!!!!!!!
I guess I'll end up giving the goldfish to them when they are bigger...
What is I gave 3 pairs a 10 gallon to themselves??
Would that work??

BTW What is stunting??

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

Stunting is when they stop growing and will never reach their adult size. It puts stress on the internal organs and the fish die prematurely. Sometimes very prematurely. A goldfish raised properly could live 50years. Most goldfish get stunted to the point they live maybe 2-5years. Keeping them in too small of tank while they are growing or allowing nitrates to build even in a large tank will cause stunting. You really can't get away with more than 2 in a 10g and you'll have to move them after a month or 2 or they'll be stunted.

I'm not telling you to get an extra aquarium tank. I said stock tank. These are thick hard rubber tanks(some of the older ones are metal) used to water livestock and usually sized to hold from 50g up to 200g. If you know anyone that has any livestock they may have a tank that's not in use at the moment. My other suggestion was also not a glass tank. I've used plastic storage containers to hold fish temporarily when my tanks were down. Even all the fish from the 90g. You just can't get any over 15g and fill them full or the sides bow out. They are cheap, can run most forms of filtration the same as an aquarium, and you could put 2 fish per 15g for longer than the 10g.

You mean the kind you see at bait shops?

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

Some bait shops will use them. The ones near here have huge square tanks custom made out of metal sheets and wood. I also know some people keep their fishing catch in stock tanks with big aeration units until they are ready to clean and cook or freeze them. If you know enough people and ask around you have a good chance of coming up with one you can use temporarily.

Shadow, I've got a 100 gal stock tank not being used right now. Wish you lived close!

Goldfish definetely do best in large tanks with good filtration, they are just too messy and get too big. Are yours common type goldfish or a fancy ornamental variety. I don't think (though I'm not certain) that the fancy types get as big. They still need a lot of maintenance, even though goldfish are tough. I still have a fish from when I first started fish keeping. He's some type of ornamental (not sure which). He has survived every form of neglect and ignorance that a well-meaning but uninformed little kid can put upon a fish. He's 15 now and still swimming strong but definetly shows problems from being kept in a 10 gal his whole life.

Goldies aren't really suited for bowls and small tanks, despite their reputation as beginner fish. Do what's best for your fish, even if that means giving them away or putting them in the pond. I'm assuming that since you got them in the first place you would really rather keep them. I think the best option would be to get as big and cheap a growing container as you can for the moment. Eventually you may find a good deal on a suitable sized aquarium and can then move some of them into that. My 100 gal stock tank set me back $80 brand new at the feed store but you may be able to find a used one for a better deal. I don't know if you live in an agricultural area but equipment auctions around here often have several stock tanks that sell cheaply. Be creative and look for discards/deals/borrow from friends. We feed our horses out of a trough that was once a big rectangular metal sink at the nearby vet school. It is probably about 100 gal and would hold fish as easily as hay. It was free. Also consider ex-bath tubs. If someone's remodeling they might be pitching their old one. Go dumpster diving!

Don't get too worried. Your fish are fine for the moment. But you need to look into alternative housing as soon as you can.

Is the 15 year old stunted?

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

He's pretty big but probably not as big as he might have been. He has a whole slew of health problems though and needs fairly aggressive tank maintenance. It is sad. I really don't recommend it if you can in any way avoid it. I would never do it again.

poor baby...

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

Goldfish really shouldnt be kept in a 10g tank past the 2-3 inch long mark. 6 3 inch goldfish in a 10g tank would be way overstocked though.
Id move them at 2 inches or so size.
Id do 50% once weekly mminimum water change, maybe 2x35% weekly would be better.
Goldfish are messy fish that grow very large - depending on the actual variety, they range from 8-14 inches in "fancy egg shaped varieties" like black moors, orandas, ryukin, etc. Comets and common goldfish reach from 18-36 inches, and koi up to 5-6 feet.

To stock fancy goldfish appropriately, you need a minimum of 30 gallons for the first fish, and 10 addititional gallons per goldfish. You need to plan for their adult size.
So 6 goldfish will need about 75-80g tank for themselves.
You will also need good quality filtration for this tank - a canister filter providing no less than 100 gallons of filtration. Id recommend a rena xp-4 or eheim 2217 or larger filter.
Goldfish if housed and cared for properly can live up to 30 years, and will grow large and heavy. They are beautiful fish at maturity, but many people cant give them what is necessary for the fish to live out full lives. Most domestically kept goldfish live less than 1 year and die horrible painful deaths.

If you cant provide these requirements for these fish, Id suggest returning them to the pet store for credit or exchange. There are lots of small fish that would be very happy in your size tank. Checkerboard barbs for example are a small, silvery-golden schooling fish of only 1.5 inches at adulthood that would be very happy in a 10 gallon tank.
Good luck.


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