Goldfish Care: Tank Size

This video looks at how big of a tank you need to house your goldfish. This is meant to be used as a general guideline.

- I keep my two (5-7 inch) orandas in a 40 gallon (150 liter) tank.
- The more room you provide your fish, the healthier it will be and the more it will grow.
- Small, overstocked tanks lead to stunting and toxic water which can kill your fish and stop them from growing to their full potential.
- Under no circumstance should a goldfish be kept in a bowl.

Basic stocking guideline = 10 gallons (40 liters) per fish
- This guideline is good for young fish. You will eventually need to upgrade your tank as your fish grow to adult size.

Stocking Fancy goldfish = 20 gallons (80 liters) for the first fish and 10 gallons (40 liters) for each fish after that

Stocking single tail goldfish = 20 gallons (80 liters) per fish

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• goldfish
• tank
• size
• care
• bowl

[venomsabrewulf]

BTW, I do enjoy a good conversation for the benefit of my fishies in case I have missed anything. I look forward to seeing your next videos, and keep up the good work :-)

[tithra33]

@venomsabrewulf absolutely :) I learn something new every day from talking with others. I appreciate your comments. And like you said, its all about attention to detail. I try to keep things as simplified as possible on this channel bc most of my viewer are brand new to fishkeeping and/or on the younger side, so I like to provide info that allows for the biggest margin of error. But really, nothing is cut and dry when it comes to keeping fish, there are lots of variables at play! :)

[venomsabrewulf]

This does not seem to be true either. This seems to have more to do with the quality of the food to begin with rather than their digestive system. Many foods have a lot of fillers and other ingredients that are not easily digestible. These produce more waste in any fish they are fed to, not just in goldfish. There are some fish that are a little dirtier than others simply because they are larger or because of feeding habits... continued ^

[tithra33]

@venomsabrewulf Absolutely what you feed will impact the waste produced and how often you feed, how much you feed at a time etc. The goldfish digestive tract is however setup slightly differently than some other fish and can be more wasteful if a proper feeding schedule is not followed. Their digestive tract is designed for continuous small meals throughout the day as opposed to the 1-2 larger meals people often feed their fish. With a large meal more waste is produced continued^

[tithra33]

@venomsabrewulf than if you feed the same amount broken up into many small meals throughout the day. So yes, I agree it is not as simple as goldfish produce more waste, there are obviously a lot of factors that play into waste production. However, I am personally a big fan of filtration. And having 2 filters not only provides you with extra filtration but gives you a back up filter that will keep your cycle if your other filter fails.

[tithra33]

@venomsabrewulf If you follow the 1 inch per gallon stocking guideline you could keep about 20 neon tetras in a 20 gallon tank. Each might weigh 1-1.5 grams. You could also keep a 5 inch goldfish in a 20 gallon tank. While your 20 tetras might weigh a total of 20-30 grams, your goldfish will weigh between 50-70 grams. So, the single goldfish will produce more waste than your tetra stocked tank, thus requiring a higher level of filtration/larger bacterial colony to deal with the waste produced.

[venomsabrewulf]

I shall be endearing to keep my fishies mass in mind and not just their length. They are only small for the time being until I have completed the move into their new tank, and as they grow I will probably install another filter. At the same time over filtration can lead to something called Nitrate factories if not looked after carefully, but then it goes without saying that no matter what you do paying attention to detail is best for the fishies no matter what you do for them.

[tithra33]

@venomsabrewulf to each their own. I believe good filtration is incredibly important in keeping goldies (obviously along with big regular water changes and pristine parameters). You are correct in that goldfish do not necessarily produce more waste than a fish of equal mass. However, filters are often rated in thinking about tropical stocking guidelines. Goldfish do not only grow lengthwise but grow in width and overall mass, so a fish of equal length as a goldfish will produce less waste.

[venomsabrewulf]

Through my research I have discovered among a few other variables, as well as keeping up water changes the perfect living conditions for my fishies to which I have bought products to see to -

pH levels of 7.5

Ammonia levels of 0ppm

Nitrite levels of 0ppm

Nitrate levels of 40ppm (20ppm and below recommended) or less

GH levels of 300ppm

KH levels of 140ppm (Some test kits measure readings by dH (degree of hardness)

One measure or dH equals 17.8 ppm (parts per million) or mg (milligrams))

[venomsabrewulf]

Cichlids and goldfish are two types of fish that seem to be slightly messier than some others. In addition, goldfish kept in tropical temperatures will have a faster metabolism and produce more waste than they would if kept in a more appropriate and cooler temperature. This may also contribute to the belief that they are dirtier than other types of fish when people have not been keeping them in the proper conditions.