# My new goldfish (pictures included)



## mj19

Hello everyone, this past monday my boyfriend bought me some goldfish for our anniversary. I decided to go online and do a little research, thats how I stumbled upon this site. 

I got two pearlscale goldfish and they are in a 5 1/2 gallon tank (i filled it with store bought spring water). I give them flake goldfish food at least twice a day and according to the little thermometer thingey it seems to be a pretty constant 66 degrees in there.

They are both really good eaters and seem to be doing just fine. But since I have read online that this tank might be a good deal too small for them I thought i'd see if that was the case. Is there anything else I should be changing? Should I be feeding them more/less? Tempurature ok?

Lastly, here are a couple pictures I just snapped, I never realized until just now how hard it is to take pictures of fish, silly things won't hold still. Hope you like them anyway:









the black rocks, and blue backround really make them standout









this guy has cool looking black eyes but a little peice of his fin missing (that happened before he came home from the petstore) but he's pretty anyway 









in that picture you can see the "pearls"


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## Ethos

I can't see the pic, but the general rule for goldfish is *20* gallons for one goldfish, and *10* gallons for every additional goldie.


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## Jonno

neither can i


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## osteoporoosi

yes, the tank is way too small for goldies. They are adorable creatures, but unfortunately they are only suitable for ponds or very BIG tanks, because they grow large( 8-10 inches!), are schooling fish and are huge messers. A good rule is 140 gallons/shoal(5-6 goldies).

If you still want to go with goldies, a bigger tank is necessary. The easier way is to give them to someone who has a pond, and replace them with smaller species.

Good luck, glad that you are doing some research as most people don't!


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## Lydia

I think those are fancy goldfish, which don't get as big. I have heard 29 gallons for the first and I forget how much more for the second. Either way you will need a bigger tank unfortunately. But until you get a bigger tank, you need to make sure you are doing maintenance on this tank. Are you doing water changes? Do you have a filter in there?

BTW Those are very pretty!! I am trying to find some as pretty as that for a pond I will hopefully be putting in soon.


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## mj19

They are only about 2.5 inches long right now, I beleive they will get to 6 inches long but very chubby, at least thats what i've been told. I am doing water changes, and there is a filter. When I go home in december I will move them into a nice big tank. We are planning on moving some reptiles we have into bigger tanks as well so we will have two rather large tanks available. I think one is around 29 and the other is around 55 (not entirely sure) I'm not sure I will move them into a tank that huge right away. But I will def get them a bigger house in december. Thanks for the help!


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## amelia

Pearlscale goldfish, like most fancy goldfish, grow from 6-10 inches long depending on genetics, living conditions when fry, living conditions when growing, and permanant living conditions in their homes. Their diet, water quality, and tank size, among other things can all determine the size of a fish. Goldfish can live upwards of twenty years, again depending on genetics and living conditions. The better the living conditions, the longer your pet should live. 

Comet and common goldfish, on the other hand, live the same amount of time but grow much larger. Many grow from 10-14 inches, some even to 18 inches. They are faster than fancy fish, and thus they require much more space than fancy fish. 

While you could keep two comet or common goldfish in a minimum of 55 gallons as a permanant home, less space is needed for their slower, smaller counterparts. 30-40 gallons should suffice for 2-3 fancy goldfish, regardless of whether it is a black moor, an oranda or ryukin, tosakin, ranchu, or in your case, a pearlscale. A 5 gallon home for even small goldfish is a mistake. This is not an appropriate holding tank for a long period of time while you search for larger tanks. Your fish are still small, and it is within the first year of life that goldfish grow the most. I have seen some fish only grow 2-3 inches in their first year, and some all the way up to 5-8 inches (One of my common goldfish being one that has topped 8 inches in his first year of life.) during their first year of life. The growth in the first year is also determined by.. you guessed it! Water quality, tank size, food quality, filtration, areation, etc. 

To prevent stunting the growth of your new pets, you should invest in a larger tank (Perferabley a tall tank as goldfish and koi both gain muscle by swimming vertically) of 30-50 gallons. While 30 gallons is suitable for 2 pearlscale goldfish, you can get a larger tank if you plan to have any more than that in the future. 

Another good thought is to not put a fancy goldfish with a common or comet goldfish (commons and comets do include shubunkins, which are sometimes labelled as fancy goldfish but are merely calico versions of a comet fish.). Common and comet goldfish are much faster and grow much larger than fancy goldfish, and have more "spastic" times than fancies do. They are more viscious eaters and can knock a fancy silly by simply smacking it with it's tail, which is never purposely. 

You can mix pearscales with any other fancy goldfish. They are not aggressive fish and are very happy in big groups. 

The 29 gallon you have would do for 2, but if you plan to get more you should put them in an established 55 gallon.

Since you have had reptiles in these tanks, you must make SURE they are sterilized before you put your fish in. You can scrub with table salt or vinegar, rinse with scalding or boiling water.. make sure to get all the salt and vinegar out before filling the tanks with water. Do not use any cleaning chemicals or soaps, as these leave residue that can kill the fish. I am not sure (though I have heard it can be done and other users could probably verify for you) if you can use bleach or not.. I have heard that you can. Again, make sure it's rinsed THOROUGHLY. 

Good luck with your new fish!


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## GaryTheGoldfish

amelia said:


> While you could keep two comet or common goldfish in a minimum of 55 gallons as a permanant home, less space is needed for their slower, smaller counterparts.


Up that to 100. 
At least the golds are being moved to a bigger tank.


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## MyCometGoldfish

It's not impossible ... 1 inch of fish requires at least 1 gallon, but you really should get a bigger tank, though. My sister has 2 pearlscales in a 5 gallon, which I think is too small, but 1 gallon per inch is the required minimum. :fish:


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## wildtiger

MyCometGoldfish said:


> It's not impossible ... 1 inch of fish requires at least 1 gallon, but you really should get a bigger tank, though. My sister has 2 pearlscales in a 5 gallon, which I think is too small, but 1 gallon per inch is the required minimum. :fish:


This is not always the case and certainly not the case with goldies. Goldies can be very dirty fish and need a larger tank. 

Can you imagine a 12" fish living in a 12 gallon tank?


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## Guest

Hello i am new to this forum but have had experience in other forume and fish keeping. Just make sure that the reptile tank will hold that ammount of water!!! Some reptile tanks are great for reptiles but when you put all the water in there the force can break the corner seals or even crack the face of the glass!! (sorry if i sound like a know it all but just trying to help). BTW very good lokking goldies 
:fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish:


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## WaterBoy~

hey osteoporoosi u CANNOT put fancy gold fish in a pond. Ponds can only have koi, comets, and pond fish in them, but comets still arent good. mj19 the pearl scales will be able to live in that tank for oh about maybe half a year because when they get bigger they need more space to be able to breathe.


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## Niki2105

Fancy Goldfish can be put in ponds they just shouldnt be put in the same pond with Commons or Koi because the Commons and Koi are so much bigger and faster.


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## sambi7878

Glad to hear your moving your fish to their new home. fancy fish grows 6-8 inches and commons up to 12 inches. 10-20 gal tank is required for a single goldfish. The 35 gal tank is enough for the 2 of them. You have fancy goldfish and they are really nice! I also have one fantail that have his dorsal fin missing like yours...lol!

Fancy and common goldfish can be put either on tanks or fish. The reason commons are placed in ponds is that they grow faster and really big so a tank will be small to them. They also swim a lot than the fancy so ponds are advisable.


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## x-Golden-Lucy-x

You are gonna need a much bigger filter than the one in there for the time being, goldfish are the masters of making ammonia! it is essential that you get a good filter pumping at least 50gph (gallons per hour) and get it cycled, so you will need to to a 20% waterchange every day till the levels are safe.. do you have a test kit?

Waterboy, comets are some of the best fish to put in a pont, they certinaly do not belong in a tank, what makes you say that?


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## Guest

Just to give you a quick example about how big your pearly can grow, take a look at the picture below. His name is Bubbles and he is just over 1 year old. He's lil' less than 6" long.










He is in a 60gal tank.

Sponge


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## sambi7878

Very nice pearscale! You must have kept bubbles really well.


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## x-Golden-Lucy-x

wow nice fish sponge


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## Guest

Thx 

Sponge


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## glhs422

I have a question along the same lines - I am planning on buying a 10 gallon tank starter setup . . . I'm a beginner, you 've probably heard this many times before . . .

Well, I've searched a lot and I know everyone is saying that fish need a LOT more water than I ever thought - especially the requirements people are stating for goldfish!

If I were to buy the $.24 goldfish or even the $.12 goldfish at petsmart (I know most of you will probably look down on that . . . but I gotta start somewhere!!), I'm assuming that these goldfish aren't going to grow to the 6-8 inches or more that everyone is talking about. Will I be OK butting 2-3 of these *cheap* goldfish in a 10 gallon tank?

Then again, I could be way off base - the cheap $.25 fish *ARE* goldfish, right?? Or are they something else entirely?

LOL! Anyway, I want to setup a 10 gallon with a few (2-3) of the cheap ($.25) goldfish and maybe one of the bottom feeders that cleans up the algae (what are they called - plecos??).

I appreciate any help - I am obviously new to fish and this is actually my first post here. 

Thanks!
_____________
Eric - I'm *Brand New* To Fish!
No Fish Yet
Doing Research on 10G Tank


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## Willow

Eric--My friend had 2 of those cheap goldies that she got as a prize at a fair. She had them in a 10 gallon for a couple years, they each got to over 6 inches in that time. After that, she put them in a 20 gallon, they each grew to over 10 inches while in that tank. They could barely turn around. She moved and gave them to me, one of them had a fungal problem (probably brought on by the overcrowding) that killed him, and I gave the other fish to a guy with a pond. 
If you choose to put a common or comet goldfish in a 10 gallon, expect it to outgrow that tank in a few years. If you're planning to get a much larger tank at that time, you can keep them in a 10 gallon for a while, but you should not even think for a minute that a 10 gallon will be adequate for the life of the fish. Even fancy (such as fantail) goldfish should be kept only one to a 10 gallon, and Plecos grow to amazing sizes. 3 Commons and a Pleco would be way too much, and you would lose all the fish to ammonia poisoning in short order. If you want to keep more than one fish in a 10 gallon, you should look into tetras or danios. 
For 3 common goldfish and a Pleco, you should have at least 100 gallons, but really, commons are best suited to ponds.


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## Niki2105

Willow is right. The cheap goldfish are common goldfish and can reach a length of at least 12 inches and sometimes more. They are best used in ponds or some people feed them to other big fish while the goldfish are small. A ten gallon tank is even to small for one common let alone 3. As for adding a Pleco to the mix, thats not a good idea because they have been known to suck the slime coats off goldfish and attack them. There are a couple types that can be kept with goldfish but sometimes the still attack them. Also some types of Plecos can get very big too and wouldnt be happy in a 10 gallon tank. So if you really want Goldfish i would get a bigger tank, or you could get some smaller fish for the smaller tank. 
Niki.


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## glhs422

Willow said:


> If you want to keep more than one fish in a 10 gallon, you should look into tetras or danios.


Thanks for the help! Now for my next question. I have seen a lot of posts on what fish are too big for a 10 gallon tank. So, what are the suggestions for fish in a 10G tank? Is there a "recommended list" somewhere? 

For example, 3 tetras, and some kind of bottom feeder, etc.?

And as far as tetras go, there are LOTS of different kinds of tetras, right? Can I mix and match or should I stick with the same kind of tetras in the tank?

Thanks again!


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## Niki2105

Yes there are quite a few different types of tetras. Im not sure if mixing would be a problem just make sure you read up on the types you might want to be sure they are not too aggressive.. Also you should have at least 6-10 of each type so they can school. Im not sure if two different breeds would school together or not. Maybe you should post this question in the General or Begginer topic and you might get some better help... since this is the Goldfish thread some people may not come on it but may know lots about tetras and other small freshwater that you could put in the 10 gallon.


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## glhs422

Niki2105 said:


> Yes there are quite a few different types of tetras. Im not sure if mixing would be a problem just make sure you read up on the types you might want to be sure they are not too aggressive.. Also you should have at least 6-10 of each type so they can school. Im not sure if two different breeds would school together or not. Maybe you should post this question in the General or Begginer topic and you might get some better help... since this is the Goldfish thread some people may not come on it but may know lots about tetras and other small freshwater that you could put in the 10 gallon.


Thanks Niki! Another question . . . If I buy one of the 10G starter kits that comes with the filter and heater, and stock it with 4-5 tetras and maybe a few other fish, what will the water changing schedule look like?

Will I have to change the water every week? Every two weeks?

Also, how much of the water do you have to change out every time?

Thanks!


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## Niki2105

I have a 10 gallon with some Neon tetras that i clean once a week but only cause i have a bunch of small Apple Snails in it(they are big waste producers and i have 10 small ones). Before i got the snails i had the 9 Neons 2 Dwarf Gourami's and a Betta and i could let the tank go for about 2 or 3 weeks with about a 30-40% water change each time because they do not produce very much waste.
Hope i was of some help.
Niki.


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## glhs422

Niki2105 said:


> Before i got the snails i had the 9 Neons 2 Dwarf Gourami's and a Betta and i could let the tank go for about 2 or 3 weeks with about a 30-40% water change each time because they do not produce very much waste.
> Hope i was of some help.
> Niki.


You are definitely a help to me!

Next question: Do you know of a website that explains how to properly change the water in a tank of this size (10 gallon)? 

Thanks!


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## Niki2105

I did a quick check and found this site http://ga.essortment.com/fishtankhowt_rkdj.htm it seams to be pretty good.


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## BlueMaxx

Can't see the pickture


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## glhs422

I found awesome site for comparing new fish and looking for compatibility . . .

http://elmersaquarium.com/000tropfishcareguides.htm


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## Rebecca

*Hey Eric*

I'm a newbie as well, but I've done some research. I have 2 fancies in a 29 gallon tank, and my tank is nearly maxed out. I could possibly squeeze in another one, but I don't think I will
The cheapie goldfish (common) actually get the biggest, over a foot when full grown, and would do poorly in such a small tank. 
I would get another type of fish for your 10 gallon. It's even too small for a fancy, unless it's a very temporary home.
I have a 5 gallon with a gorgeous betta and 3 white cloud minnows


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