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Goldfish care question
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Hi there. I am really interested in getting a goldfish. Here are some questions I'm having:
I would like just ONE Oranda goldfish in a 10 gallon tank. Will this work? If not, what type would do well in a 10 gallon?
I live in very Southern California. In the summertime the water in a 10 gallon tank can get to be about 73 degrees at the highest, then cools down to below 70 at night. Is this a problem? If so, how would I cool down the water? Anyone in California ever have this problem?
Thanks so much!
Posted at 8:39PM, 15 March 2007 PST
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Generally the rule for fancies is at least 20 gal. for the first goldfish and then ten gal for each additional fish. Comets - your basic feeder goldfish - need much, much more. It's pretty hard to keep a goldfish in anything smaller than a 20 because they put off so much waste. Also, keeping a ten gallon is actually harder than a larger tank because it's more difficult to keep the conditions steady. We had one in a ten for about a year but he never thrived and died recently. It's definitely not something we'll do again.
Temperature wise that's not too bad, although it's at the high end of what a goldfish will like. Again, a larger tank will be more temperature stable. One thing I've seen suggested in cases where temps get high is having frozen water bottles at hand and then places those in the tank when the water gets hot. That way the water cools down but no new water gets in the tank to screw up conditions or stuff like that.
For a ten gallon it's more fair to the fish to get some small tropicals like tetras, or a betta and a few cories.
Posted 21 months ago.
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Oh, okay. Thank you so much for your advice. I already have a 10 gallon and had my heart set on a fancy goldfish, but I don't want to keep one if it will be unhappy...Thank you. :)
Posted 21 months ago.
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If you have an active Craigslist community in your area, keep your eye on the Pets and Free sections. A lot of times you can find a tank with a volume appropriate for fancy goldfish for *much* cheaper than you can buy new in the store. People in my area will sell 20 and 30 gal. tanks for $30 or less. I've even gotten a few off of Freecycle. They go fast so you have to jump on them, but with patience it can be done.
Best of luck! Goldfish are beautiful fish.
Posted 21 months ago.
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Okay. Thanks!
Posted 21 months ago.
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As long as you have good filtration, good maintanence, and do not overfeed you should be able to keep one in a single 10 gallon. I'd use a external powerfilter with 3 step filtration designed for a 10-30 gallons. The current may be too high for an oranda at the 30 gallon setting so you would dial it down, this often refilters water, at least with the Aquaclear brand it will. Adjust the filtration so it isnt causing your oranda to fight too hard.
I successfully kept a Shubunkin in a 5 gallon tank with no water changes for over 12 months...the fish, Happy Jack, is now in a 20 gallon tank with 3 other smaller shubunkins. The smaller tank had an internal power filter designed for a 10 gallon tank and I used no chemicals to treat the water (well water). One thing I did allow was algae to grow on the items inside the tank, only cleaning the glass when it was needed, no obsessively.
The temperature range you stated should be just fine.
Originally posted 13 months ago.
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Ruthven78 edited this topic 13 months ago.
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I wouldn't keep any fish in a 10g tank let alone a 5g tank.
The smaller the tank, the harder it is to keep the water balanced.
A 29g tank is a great starter tank. Perfect for 2 adult fancy goldfish.
Posted 12 months ago.
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Great question! Always research before getting a new pet, I always say.
I hope you found a solution!
Posted 6 months ago.
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