Crowded Tank

[PaulC]

What is the max number of large ornamental goldfish that should be in a 55 gal tank. When I started they were very small. 1 year later, they are big as balloons. I have 12 assorted goldfish, 1 12" koi & 1 pleco to patrol the bottom. The bio load on this tank is getting up there. I'd hate to get rid of any of them because my kids have named all of them and enjoy watching them. Any suggestions? Thanks

[Aqhajumper]

Hi Paul..
sounds like a problem we have all ran into.. the ususal rule for goldfish is 10 or 20 gallons PER goldfish.. I had started out with just one goldie tank and now i have 5.. it is really easy to get attached to them :) I would say the safe # of goldies that would be truly comfortable in the 55 gal would be 4 or 5 depending on size..I am envious of the large tank! As you probably know.. goldies are some of the more dirty fish so I am sure your bio load is high.. I have 2 filters on the 30 gal that I have and it seems to work well.. that is the general concensus in the GF community as the best filter method as far as water flow and the like .. goldies can be kept in a more densly packed tank with the more oxygen you have also.. a bubble wand at the back of the tank is great for this :D I hope this has been of some help.. please write back and tell us of your progress!

<small>[ March 02, 2002, 08:16 AM: Message edited by: Aqhajumper ]</small>

[PaulC]

Thanks for the reply Aqhajumper. You are right, they are dirty little fish. I think I will add the bubble wand, sounds like a good idea. I 'll just keep doing water changes for now. Hopefully I won't lose any because of my sub par set-up. Thanks again for the reply.

[Hot Chic]

Hi! I experienced the same problem as well! My goldfish look like they belong in a small lake! As suggested above - I left my cheap filter on which was one of those cartridge ones (I use it as a biological filter - I let it get very dirty), and invested in a more expensive fileter - 50$ that was built for a much larger tank than my 30 gallon one. I removed some of the rocks so I didn't have to vacuum as much. I was changing the water practically weekly - but after the addition of the new filter - it is now every 6 months! I only do a partial water change weekly which is only 1/3 the tank. The type of filter is the kind with the sponge and carbon bag. You only have to change the carbon about once per month and the filter lid will pop up when the sponge is dirty. Then you just rinse the sponge out in the sink and re-use it. Talk about cutting back on the work load! The money is worth it.

<small>[ March 06, 2002, 01:43 AM: Message edited by: Hot Chic ]</small>

[Hot Chic]

Oh, I also wanted to add that the actual cleaning of the filter is a piece of cake! I'm afraid that I cannot think of the brand of it - but - it was bought at a nice pet store.

[Hot Chic]

The name of the filter is the Aquaclear Powerfilter. I've got two of them - one on a ten gallon and one on a 30 gallon. They are wonderful for amateurs like moi!

[josh]

are they comet goldfish, if so, they grow huge! mine is small, but any day he could blow up like a balloon! are they fancy gold fish, 'cause they make huge space and filteration demmands. are they feeder goldfish, if so, never, NEVER, buy feeder goldfish, which might have diseases. my advice is, don't get too many goldfish. :p