Intro and some questions.

[mikeb210]

Hi. I've been a member of this site for a while, just never really posted much. I joined out of curiosity more than anything. Right now I've got a 125g African Cichlid (Peacock/Haps), a 29g serving as a nursery tank and a 5g planted. I'm getting bored with the cichlids, and I'm starting to look into some other options. I've always wanted to do a proper(i.e. non-bowl) goldfish tank, for some reason. I've also thought about planting the 125 and doing a huge shoal of exodon paradoxus. I think lighting the thing enough for good planting would be a bit out of my price range right now, so I've thought about using the existing 130w lights I have for the 29 to do the planted exodons. What would you all do?

Regards
Mike

 

[Lupin]

to MFK, Mike!

I am certainly happy to see you posting here. I am sure you will mingle with us in no time at all. If you have more questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

For the 125g, do you wish to switch this to a goldfish tank? I will be more than glad to be of assistance to you as much as possible if you wish to set up a goldfish tank. You see I keep goldfish myself and I find them quite fascinating creatures. If you wish to start with goldfish setup, the first thing you should do is look over here to see which strains peak your interest. Currently, I keep watonai, fantail, oranda, ryukin and pearlscale.

Here's one of my orandas, Velvet. Unfortunately the black color is quite unstable and is expected to change in time. Nevertheless, I am extremely lucky to be given an opportunity to raise Velvet as long as she is with me.


As a general guideline for goldfish enthusiasts, fancy goldfish certainly require 15g per fish to pave space for the body size, besides the amount of wastes produced, as most fancy goldfish grow to 8-10 inches max particularly the orandas and ranchus. If you like the pond types such as comets, shubunkins and common goldfish, give allowance by 20g per fish. The pond types are larger and feister than the fancies so they certainly need a lot of space which fortunately your 125g will fit perfectly for a small group of pond types if you wish to try them. Don't overlook the wakins and watonais. These ones are quite pretty to look at and have started making a comeback appearance since they disappeared for a few years from the trade. These ones have the streamlined body appearance similar to comets but are double-tailed specimens (split tails). Watonais are basically the elongated fin version of a wakin.

If you wish to try the slow fancy goldfish such as pearlscales, bubble eyes, celestials and globe eyes, I would advise against mixing them with other fancies such as fantails, ryukins and orandas. The latter group are more pushy and can simply outcompete the slower ones for food. My pearlscales never fared well with my feisty fantail, ryukins and orandas. The same can be applied with the even feistier pond types.

If you opt to go with plants and lighting seems an issue due to financial constraints, you may try the simple and low lighting ones yet effectively will not be eaten by goldfish. Bear in mind, the fancy ones are more unlikely to avoid plants as their main salad bowl compared to the pond types. Is your tank open topped? Goldfish rarely jump so give this an opportunity for you to try floating plants such as Pistia stratiotes and duckweeds. Hornworts will also work as their leaves are quite fine that this could easily deter the fish from eating them due to the prickling effect. The duckweeds may be consumed by the goldfish quickly although if they reproduce rampantly, they won't be an issue. You may wish to try the bulb type ones such as Nymphaea lotus. Java ferns, Java moss, and anubias also work equally well and are best attached to decorations such as driftwoods. If you like rooted plants, try Cryptocoryne sp., Echinodorus sp., vallisnerias, hygrophilas and sagittaria.

Hope this helps!

 

[mikeb210]

I started thinking about the goldfish when I cycled a tank with them a few years ago. Those were just little juveniles, but one caught my eye as he was a little fatter and rounder then the rest. I ended up keeping him for about 6 months before I finally got my fish. I saw a picture on the aquarium design group's website and since that picture I've always wanted to do something similar if I had the money (and allowance from the Mrs.) for another tank. Like I've said, I'm kind of bored with the Malawis, so I'm looking for something new. This is the picture from www.aquariumdesigngroup.com that is my inspiration. These guys do truly amazing work.

 

[IKeepPacu]

i want to type something here, but im pretty sure lupin just told you pretty much anything i could have thought of to write in a post about goldies.

that being said, go with a nice tank of them. their looked over alot by many people on this site, but they are a beautiful fish. from the streamlined fast swimming comets, to slow and fat like a pearlescale, monster-sized like koi (not exactly goldfish, or can fit in a 125g, but still worth a mention) or just outright strange looking like the celestial, bubble, or pom-pom. you could find a type of goldie to match anything you like, and any budget

 

[Lupin]

Yes, Mike, that is indeed a beautiful goldfish tank. I have actually seen that before and was truly impressed by it. It was one of those reasons I decided to return to keeping goldfish after a hiatus.

Have you decided yet which goldfish you really like? You could look over the AC goldfish thread and see how many beautiful goldfish are kept by the AC members. Some of the most beautiful comets were even feeders selected by the owner and raised with the proper diet including Mazuri gel foods (highly recommended by goldfish enthusiasts). So you see how beautiful they have grown and you would not even know they were categorized as feeders previously. See the difference in raising them in an entirely different environment.

Your goldfish doesn't have to be very expensive. Select carefully your choices. Even feeders will grow into beautiful prized specimens if properly accommodated for. A few goldfish sometimes entered in Asian shows, are the ones raised in ponds where green water is encouraged as the green water and UV rays of the sunlight enhance the color of the fish more than the tank would have done.

 

[Wigglesworth]

Wow, looking in that thread from AC I saw some really amazing looking fish, and was particularly intrigued by the baby tosakins that the one person kept. It said he kept them in a 20g pond, and I'm curious Lupin would that just be a big filtered bucket/trough type container?

 

[Lupin]

Wow, looking in that thread from AC I saw some really amazing looking fish, and was particularly intrigued by the baby tosakins that the one person kept. It said he kept them in a 20g pond, and I'm curious Lupin would that just be a big filtered bucket/trough type container?

Flaringshutter is a lady.lol Iris has plenty of experience with goldfish. I have not asked her yet what she made out of her 20g indoor pond, whether liner, concrete, etc.

Unfortunately, with tosakins, tosakins are the most delicate goldfish yet as their tails are prone to curling in rectangular tanks so round bowls are really the best option unless someone can come up with round coffee tables too. I am waiting for my own tosakins which I am willing to spend more than anything. Tosas don't need deep tanks. They are very poor swimmers to begin with due to the tail converging to make an appearance similar to peacocks and won't utilize the depth too much. They're best viewed from the top, not the side. They look a lot like ryukins from the side view which defeats the purpose of having tosas.

Youtube has lots of tosakin videos if anybody is interested in looking at more tosa strains.

P.S. The one in my avatar is a tosakin as well.