Tropical Fish Forums

[Bloodfin87]

We have an empty 29 gallon aquarium that my mom wants to turn into a goldfish tank, and she has a few questions.

1.) How many goldfish can she safely keep in a 29 gal. tank? The ones we plan on getting are orandas, black moors, and *possibly* ryukin.

2.)How much/what type of substrate/rocks should we use?

3.) What type of plants are safe with them? Potted or unpotted?

4.) What are the best water conditioners and how long should I let it sit before it is safe for the goldfish?

Thanks!
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"I know human being and fish can CO2-exist peacefully." -- George W. Bush

Bettas rule

[degbowl]

I'll answer as much as I can.

1) 3 fish. One per 10 gal.

2) I use regular gravel. Whatever you think will look nice. Nothing too big they like to put gravel in mouth and spit it out. I would go with 30 lbs.

3) Goldfish love to eat plants. I find sword plants to be good. I would recommend potted plants. They love to dig the plants out of the gravel.

4)Either Seachem Prime or Stress coat.

Hope I helped?

[Bloodfin87]

Thanks!
_________________
"I know human being and fish can CO2-exist peacefully." -- George W. Bush

Bettas rule

[degbowl]

Where are you from in the gulf coast? My family has homes in Ft. Walton Beach Fl and towns nearby.

[Oscer]

I agree with Degbowl, except for number 1 and 4.

1) Three Gold fish is pushing it The general rule is 80-100L to start of with and an extra 30-40L for every fish you add. Now you only have +-100L so at most two fish.

4) In my experience there is no need to add those products, just read this http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php but if you feel you realy need to spend money then by all means do.
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Years of fish keeping = Good advice

[Devs]

If you have proper filtration,then you can get away with having three Goldies for a while.I have three in a 30 gal long that I got when they were 12 weeks old. Today,they are a year and a half-the biggest goes around 9 inches,the other two around 6 or 7.Now looking into the tank with the size that they are,I want to say two goldfish for a 29 gal.They're Oranda's and fill a lot of the tank now.
As for gravel,I've learned that less is way better.I use very minimal amounts.It saves on amount of muck hiding in your gravel beds after the tank's been up a while.
I have found that Goldfish pretty much eat all types of plants,but the ones that have been around the longest are Anubia's/Java Lace,and any plant with thick leathery leaves.They can all be grown with regular aquarium lights.My fish occasionally bother them,but leave them alone for the most part. Because I use minimal gravel,I've had the best luck buying glass votive cups and sticking the plants in there with a layer of gravel/small river stones to hold them in.

[Oscer]

I agree with Devs, using less gravel is better, about 3cm if not less.

One of my friends had a 1m triangular tank, in which he kept koi (not advisable). For gravel he used black chipped stone (the type used for road construction), it worked better than gravel, but it was difficult to siphon of waste.

Personally I think the best bottom-covering for goldfish is a thin layer of sand, it compacts, so waste collects on the top, but once again it's not at all maintenance free.
_________________
Years of fish keeping = Good advice