# I have too many fish...what are my options?



## Vagrant Storm

OK thanks to some dinks at my local pet store...I have way too many gold fish in my tank.

I have a 55 gallon tank and the people there told us the rule of one gallon per inch of fish rule. Which is true for some fish it looks like, but NOT gold fish. So what has happened is that we have seven fancy gold fish and two silver dollars in this 55 gallon tank. We purchased all these fish over a few month period, but we had them all for about 2 years. The pet store tags claimed they all had a max length of 6" and they are all approaching that size...probably all are 4-6" from mouth to tail tip. Which is why we have as many as we do...9 fish x 6 inches = 54 gallons.

We have not had a problem until recently. One gold fish got a bacterial infection of some kind. I moved it to a 10 gallon tank and treated it and it is looking like it will make a full recovery. Look normal now, but its supposed to get two more days of treatment according to the medicine I used. 

I don't know if the sick fish was due to the over crowding or not. They look like they have plenty of space to stretch their fins. Is it really only 4 gold fish in a 55 gallon tank? Does this 4 gold fish rule only take effect when they are fully grown? 

So I feel like an idiot for not researching this and just taking the word of the "professionals", but I am not afraid to look like an idiot to help these fish. Is there anything I can do? perhaps run an extra filter? I have a filter rated for 55-70 gallon tanks (Aquaclear 70) and four under rock filters. Or is my only option to get some fish out of this tank? What will happen if I leave them in there? Will they not grow as big as the normally would have? How will it affect their life span?

Thanks


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## emc7

There are several things that limit stocking. 

One is simply bioload: can the filters handle the amount of waste produced? This you can increase by adding more and bigger filters and changing more water more often.

The second is are the signals that fish send and receive via molecules in the water. This is what causes stunting. The fish "know" they are in a small container and grow slower. Stunted fish will have a shorter life. This effect can be mitigated by replacing the water frequently. 

If you have a system that replaced the water, say, twice daily (some Asian distributors have this). The fish will grow large even in ridiculously crowded conditions and water quality will still be good.

The next limit is the behavior of the fish. Do they nip each other? do they chase?, Can they turn around? Are they just stressed out from the crowd, making them more likely to get sick? There isn't a lot you can do here. You can optimize decor, you can add or subtract flow (aggressive fish fight less in strong current). But this is what is most likely to make me rehome fish.

An infection is a waning sign. Either you water quality has declined or at least the fish that got sick was stressed from crowding. Check the water: temp, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, kH and watch the fish interact. A sick goldfish in July would make me check temperature first. Do all the fish get something to eat or some 'not allowed' to eat? 

If you have an issue and don't resolve it, you will keep getting problems.

If the issue is water quality, there is a chance of a "crash" that could kill most or all your fish literally overnight. Or they could just start getting less healthy. You'll fight cloudy-eye, fin-rot and assorted other diseases that are present in every tank but only flare up when the fish are stressed.

If the issue is stunting, the fish will stop visibly growing and die young. Maybe at 5 years instead of the potential 20 years.

If the issue is aggression, you will have one or two fish at a time get excluded from the group, get picked on, go hungry, and probably come down with a stress-related illness which it can pass to the rest of the fish. You will see things like nipped fins and missing scales that can get infected.

Most likely you will see a combination of issues. 

The first thing to do is up your water changes while you consider your options.

You can get a bigger tank or increase the water volume of the one you have by adding a sump. Or even get a pond.

You can take some fish out. There is a market for large fancy goldfish. Harder to get rid of, but a better first choice, IMO is to rehome the silver dollars. They are schooling fish and can get aggressive in small numbers. 

You can replace all the fish. Trade the big ones for small ones and start over of just do something completely different. 

The "rules" are just guild lines. Most people who follow the rules will have fewer problems than people who don't. But your situation may vary. If you are wiling to change water everyday, you can stock far more heavily that someone who will change water once a fortnight. But you will still have to deal will the behavioral limits.

That 6" max size is usually measured just on the body, not the tail. From mouth to base of tail, so your fish likely have a bit more to grow. Rules are generally based on full grown size. Goldfish grow quickly enough that you need to plan for full grown. You can put hundreds of new-hatched goldfish in a 55, but most people don't like to get rid of fish. Most of the forum-given advice will be based on the assumption that you want to keep your fish their entire life-span.


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## Vagrant Storm

I have been doing a 50% water change every weekend. I've never had a water reading too far off from optimum. 

I've actually already decided to move the Silver Dollars to their own tank...I will probably go with a 20 gallon...or would a 10 gallon be ok for two silver dollars? Regardless, I think a 20 gallon will look nicer and I would get one eventually.

I haven't really noticed any aggressive behavior. Just the occasional chase, but they are typically short lived. Heh, I think these gold fish are too fat to swim fast for too long. The Silver Dollars rarely interact with the gold fish...in fact I don't think I've ever seen them go near one out side of feeding times.

I guess I haven't really had many issues, but I will start with moving the Silver Dollars out and then try to give out a gold fish. The only other issue I have is with one of the gold fish will some times eat air bubbles...and then sure enough it will have troubles swimming. After a while you will see it poop out air bubbles and then it is fine. Heh, we call him Possum, because he will look like he's dead and then swim off or be swimming and then stop and float motionless to the surface ( I wanted to call it "Blow Ballast" but my wife liked Possum better.)

Four fish would just be a really boring tank is all...I might try six. I think I have some decent filtering, but if I see any problems I will thin it out more. 

Thanks for the help. I guess I don't have any aspirations of these fish living for 20 years...I thought ten years would be pretty cool though. I will have to think about what my conscience will let me get away with by knowingly shortening their life.


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## emc7

There are drawbacks to everything. If you add more filter, you may warm the water.

One sick fish may mean the just got too warm for a while.

But if you start having one thing after another going wrong, then it is time to rethink your stocking and/or setup.


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## Vagrant Storm

Temperature is usually around 75 these days according to the on tank thermometer. 

The sick fish is going back into the general populace in the morning. It is looking normal now though. We will see how it works out.


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