Tropical Fish Forums

[gold fish kid]

my gold fish is 4 years old now and its has got realy good health but there is only one thing that troubles me it keeps goin forward about 6 times aday smashing his head of the tank full forse :?do u have any answears why this cold be happenin please and thank you

[ernie]

Your "head smashing goldfish" could be living in a space which is too small for him. If you are putting him in a round fishbowl it would also cause this. The fishbowl is round and the vision of the fish inside will get weaker and weaker, because he/she is looking at the world with a "magnifing glass" so I think maybe change it into a bigger, square aquarium.

Good luck with the goldfish!
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[Marcos Avila]

Your profile states that you've been keeping this goldfish in a 15 liter tank, is that true? If so, it's absolutely amazing that you were able to keep him alive for so long in such a tiny tank.

While that is in itself admirable, you must realize that a 4 year old goldfish is actually still quite young, since this species's natural lifespan is more than twice that of an average dog's...it's actually comparable to horses.

More importantly, a 15 L tank is completely inappropriate to properly house this species, which naturally reaches 25 cm or more. The well-known effects of keeping it in such cramped quarters are severe stunting (which most people mistakingly interpret as the "fish growing to the size of the tank") and consequently compromised health, behavioral disorders (like the one you're observing) and severely reduced life expectancy - as I said it's amazing that you were able to keep it alive so long, 99% of the goldfish that go into such tiny tanks are dead within a year at most.

But the fact that he is alive doesn't mean he's been well. The solution to the problem is simple: you need to upgrade your aquarium to a size where your brave 4-year-old pet can reach his full potential and live the rest of his long life. An 80 liter tank is generally considered the minimum recommendable size for that.
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Success with a fish/tank is measured in YEARS, not months or weeks...

[Oscer]

Yes, 80-100Ls minimum, but bigger is better. So minimum 80-100Ls and an extra 30-50Ls for every fish you add, and you need good filtration, but you probably know this, Gold Fish Kid.

I think you should try and get him a friend as well, it will keep him busy.
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Years of fish keeping = Good advice

[Blair]

About the tank size problem you have; I have the solution:

http://www.reef-one.com/index.htm
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[Gaza]

ruby2509 Biorbs are small and unapropreate(sp?) for goldfish even so I have one but I'm hopping to upgrade to a 26 gal for my 6 year old goldfish
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Sup?

[Marcos Avila]

ruby, that type of setup is exactly what we try to steer people AWAY from on this board. How can you be recommending something like that as a solution, if you've never raised personally or even seen an adult goldfish (let alone three!) being raised in a bowl like that?

Please give advice on this board limited ONLY to what you have personal experience with...
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Success with a fish/tank is measured in YEARS, not months or weeks...

[Oscer]

I personally like the Biorbs, they are very compact and look go in any area of the home, the only problem with them IMO is, they where never design for the fishes need, never mind gold fishes needs; and the so called "5 stage filtration" ,that realy makes me laugh.
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Years of fish keeping = Good advice

[Blair]

Oops, I forgot to mention that the Gold Fish Kid should maybe get some WCMM for these sizes of tank! Sorry!
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[Oscer]

What do you mean?
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Years of fish keeping = Good advice