My Goldfish Tank

I keep 2 Ryunkins 2.5" with my Oranda 4", Pearl Scale 4", Panda Moore 3" and 2 Black Moores 3" (as well as a cory 1.5", feather cat fish 2,5" and a chinsese algae eater 3") in a 55. My Oranda chases the Ryunkins every once in awhile. I believe he is in "Lust" though not "Angry". When he does this, I usually get my long handles wooden spoon out and give him the spoon treatment.... Nothing bad- I just gently move him and it usually works. I keep him away until his mind is changed. Then he goes back to being just a harmless boy. BTW the Ryunkins and the Black Moores were gifts. I had not planned on getting either of these two breeds but what could I do?

I am looking for another large aquarium 55+ (for cheap) and trying to talk my hubby into building me a custom but he is not as crazy as I am. I am thinking about puting in a couple ponds this summer but they would not be able to winter over outside (it is -2F today). I keep my home at 70' and the tank is around 68' .... My cats seem fine are eating and are as active as they are in warmers temps.

I did try to rescue a 4" comet (bad idea) from my neighbors. They had him in the pond and when it was winter discovered him. They put him in a 5 gallon- he was there in the dark dirty yucky water so I said I would take him. He was terrible. He bit the fins and body of my Oranda- destroyed my tank and made a ruckus. He was afraid of the light too. I ended up taking him to my local pet store pond after a week.

I learned that you shouldn't keep the single fins with the fancy's. I have read many times that Ryunkins can be hard to keep with other fancy's- I haven't seen it yet. I keep my eyes on them. I worry about the telescopes. I keep several live plants for them to munch on, and I feed 2-3 times a day (1-2 / 30-50% water changes weekly). About 1/2 a month I change the aquarium around after a water change to mix things up.

Food- Mixed fruits and vegis, 2 different flakes, 2 different pellets, algae wafers, shrimp pellets, frozen blood worms, & frozen brine shrimp. My guys are not picky but I don't feed any garbage either. I love these guys.

My biggest Pet Peave is when "Know- it- Alls" tell people that Goldfish are dirty and have different water needs than other tropical fish. Yes they can get dirty if you don't care for the properly. I wouldn't try to keep them with Discus, Rams or Angels- but I think they can be kept with other trops if you keep them right.

I will post pictures when I can get them loaded onto my computer. I have been trying to get some good shots over they last few days. I probably have a few hundred to pick through. Maybe I will work on that tonight?

JulieAnna

Bring back memories for me. Kept goldfish for over a decade before getting into different species. Never had a problem keeping comets with the orandas - but the comets were always added while very small. When they grew too large - I moved them to the pond since comets can handle that.

Goldfish do produce more waste than some other aquarium fish, but with adequate filtration they are no problem. I just can't keep them now since I'm getting into planted/moss tanks. (YUM! says the goldfish!)

Trying this picture thing....

Welcome to the group! Since I would prolly fall under that category of a "know-it-all", I will refrain from posting anymore. Pretty fish!

I have a 80 gallon with a black moor, 2 fan tails 1 oranda and several shunbinkins. I've never had any problem with the fancies living with the shunbunkins. They all get along fine, and eat well.

I have great filters and do plenty of water changes and mine are doing fine. My oldest is 13 year old.

I love all fish and I've housed most of them, even salt water but my love is my first love, I always have at least one tank of goldies.

I'm glad to see other goldie lovers here!

I'm a know it all, but you can tell me to insert my foot in my mouth at any time ;)
First of all, let me say you have beautiful little goldies! I love your crown pearlscale! I have a big soft spot for "black eyed" fish!

The arguement with long bodied goldies (sarasa, shubunkin, comets, etc) vs short bodies (everything else) is a difficult thing to comment on. In my personal experience, as long as the SB fish were bigger than the LB fish, we had no problem. LB goldies are "usually" more aggressive when it comes to seeking out food, but it's all about the individual fish. Housing the two was never an issue, and when the LB fishes got too big, it was time to throw them in the pond. =)

I've never heard of Ryukins having issues with other goldfish... any male fish thats in the mood for some loving will literally chase a female to death, but either altering the temp in your tank or seperating the two fixes that problem easily. As for adding tropicals, I've seen it work both ways, mostly towards the good. As long as your sensible about it, it's fun to stock goldies and trops, as the compliment eachother nicely. Just remember that anything that a goldie can fit in its mouth will be considered food and tried to be eaten.

I've heard horror story after horror story about plecos sucking the slimecoat off of goldfish. I know it can happen, but personally have never seen it.

Your telly should be fine, their only real hassel comes from how sensitive their eyes are and how easily they can scratch them on sharp objects (tank decor, rocks, etc) but they are hardy fish and you should be fine.

You could (somewhat) easily winter a pond outside, so long as you have your filter turned off to stop air flow. Water only freezes at a certain tempature, and provided your pond is deep enough your fishies could easily spend the winter under the ice, provided you dont mind opening a hole in the ice for air. There's always (and what we always have done) housing them indoors, or for lack of space in the garage. We housed our goldies in a standard 29 gallon tank for many years without problems (but I lived in southern texas) and when that finally died, we opted for an old cooler and rigged a filter to the inside. Insulated box, easy water changes, an all around good setup.

That's the extent of my "know it all" expertise. Hopefully you gathered something useful from all that garbage.

I totally agree with you Kori on the subject of the plecos sucking on other fish. I have had plecos for years and have never had that happen. My theory on that is a well fed pleco will have no reason to do that. If a pleco is then it isn't getting enough food..................Fish in a pond should never be fed any food during the winter months once the water temp gets down to 52. With out heat to digest there food it will just root in the stomach. Besides the fact that they generally are in hibernation and won't eat anyway which means you have food rotting in the water. Also I keep a bubble stone going and the filter in the water during the winter months for air also it helps to keep a hole open in the ice for that. They still need air even during hibernation.