# goldfish tank



## Ridewithme38 (Oct 16, 2011)

Byron let me ask you:

29 gallon

700gph of filtration, no plants
1 Common goldfish 3" (commons on his way out of the tank any day)
1 fantail goldfish 1.5"
1 Black Moor 1"

Since i don't have any plants, i noticed someone on here is selling Malaysian Trumpet Snails...could i use those to stir up the substrate, eat my algae and kinda take the place of plants?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

I moved your post to start its own thread as it is getting off topic from the bacteria aritcle.

I'll leave the tank size for these goldfish to those with experience in that area to comment. To the question about the snails then. Nothing takes the place of plants except the filter, sort of. Snails will help with algae and organics in planted or non-planted, and help keep the substrate cleaner.


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## Ridewithme38 (Oct 16, 2011)

Yah i'm not too worried about the size, the reason i ask is about gravel vacuuming and the thread you posted...avoiding graveling vacuuming would make my two weekly 50% water changes much easier!


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

If I remember right he/she is going to be moveing the common in the Spring to a pond, and is going to be keeping just the other two in the 29 gallon so he/she will be ok. I still think you should vaccume the substrate because I do not think the snails will eat the poo that the goldies make.


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## Ridewithme38 (Oct 16, 2011)

Calmwaters said:


> If I remember right he/she is going to be moveing the common in the Spring to a pond, and is going to be keeping just the other two in the 29 gallon so he/she will be ok. I still think you should vaccume the substrate because I do not think the snails will eat the poo that the goldies make.


When you have a planted tank, the roots and plant material *sorta* eat the poop?

Currently the Common does add to the bio-load, but its not stay in this tank long term


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

I have not had good experience with goldfish and snails. It seems like anything I add they like to munch on. I tried some larger ramshorns from my pond: gone in a day. The pond snails didn't even get a chance to hit the bottom. I tried MTS because they mostly stay in the substrate and only venture to the walls at night; I might have one or two left in the tank. It seems like any snail that is too large to fit in their mouths doesn't keep the algae under control like I'd want, and any snail that keeps the algae under control just gets eaten as soon as its seen. For algae control I think you are better off just scrubbing the walls.

Bottom line: with a goldfish tank there is no way you can get away with not vacuuming the gravel at least once a week.


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## Ridewithme38 (Oct 16, 2011)

thekoimaiden said:


> I have not had good experience with goldfish and snails. It seems like anything I add they like to munch on. I tried some larger ramshorns from my pond: gone in a day. The pond snails didn't even get a chance to hit the bottom. I tried MTS because they mostly stay in the substrate and only venture to the walls at night; I might have one or two left in the tank. It seems like any snail that is too large to fit in their mouths doesn't keep the algae under control like I'd want, and any snail that keeps the algae under control just gets eaten as soon as its seen. For algae control I think you are better off just scrubbing the walls.
> 
> Bottom line: with a goldfish tank there is no way you can get away with not vacuuming the gravel at least once a week.


Have i told you your awesome yet? Great advice! Thank you! So far it appears the only algae i have is some brown spots on the glass (diatoms?)...i've read nothing eats fish poop, but with goldfish having (almost) no stomach, is it really poop? it would be nice to have something to clean up some of the extra food(yah i know goldfish eat everything ) and undigested food...meh, odds are i need a bigger tank for anything that''ll do that


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Glad I can help. Snails are a sore point between me and my goldfish. <_< You might be able to try some larger ramshorns. Maybe if your little guys grow up with them, the snails won't be seen as food. 

The brown stuff is the easy stuff to wipe off. I have the kind of algae that only comes off with a LOT of elbow grease. x_x

As far as goldfish poop, its a great indicator of health. Ideally you want their poops to be short and about the same color as the food. Long stringy poops are a sign of poor quality food. Air bubbles in poop are a big no-no! I know some people will giggle at the thought of fish farts, but it is not laughing matter for your fish. Those air bubbles mean your fish isn't the one in control of the buoyancy and will cause them stress. Thus ends a short lesson on goldfish poop. 

To clear up the extra food problem, try feeding them smaller amounts throughout the day. I feed my guys 3 times a day. When I eat, they eat. I hand feed them to make sure everyone gets a fair share.


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## MinaMinaMina (Aug 28, 2011)

On snails...
Now, I don't have Goldfish, so I don't know... but could snails coexist if they were larger snails with tougher shells? Ponds and Ramshorns are small and have pretty brittle shells. Would Nerites (personal fav, little piggies!) or Mysteries work any better?


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Ridewithme38 said:


> When you have a planted tank, the roots and plant material *sorta* eat the poop?
> 
> Currently the Common does add to the bio-load, but its not stay in this tank long term


Yes I know this I just forgot you have plants. Sometimes its hard to keep up with who has plants and who doesn't. LOL


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## Ridewithme38 (Oct 16, 2011)

Calmwaters said:


> Yes I know this I just forgot you have plants. Sometimes its hard to keep up with who has plants and who doesn't. LOL


Sorry, it was more of a question, since i don't have a planted tank i wasn't quite sure if that's how it worked:



> I still think you should vaccume the substrate because I do not think the snails will eat the poo that the goldies make.





> When you have a planted tank, the roots and plant material *sorta* eat the poop?


I'm considering planting my goldfish tank but i've heard alot of horror stories about goldfish and plants and am not to sure about lighting,substrate, fertilizers, co2...all those things make me a bit nervous

But those specifics are more for a different thread


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

I have plants in my goldies tank so if you like let me know and I will be happy to help you out. Plants are actually very easy and really are helpful to the fish. ; )


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

I actually recommend plants in a goldie tank. It helps with the nitrates and gives them something to munch on. I keep anacharis, hornwort, and water sprite with mine. I love the hornwort because it is fast growing and is a great nitrate sink. I think it has been growing at a rate of around 1/2 inch a day! The water sprite also does a good number on the nitrate, but need a little more light than hornwort. I think my anacharis isn't doing so hot because my lighting is fairly low (just the basic bulbs that come with the hood). I'm holding off on getting new bulbs until I can kinda get my algae under control.


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## Ridewithme38 (Oct 16, 2011)

because of my lack of knowledge about planted tanks, i was just going to buy a cup of duckweed and throw it at the top of my tank and call it a day...hoping my goldfish don't eat it all up in 24hrs

I'll look into hornwort, i also just have stock lights


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

I agree with koimaiden the plants are great I don't have special lights and my plants grow well they are just the 6500 daylight bulbs you can get at Lowes for about $8.00. ; )


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Duckweed is another GREAT plant! That thing sucks nitrate out of the water like nothing I have ever seen. If you can get your goldies to leave it alone for about a week it will carpet the top. If they don't leave it alone, put your duckweed in a long container with some water and place it where it will get a lot of light. Every day take a little bit of goldfish water and put it in the duckweed "tank." You will see growth in a week or less. You can use that growth to replace what the goldfish nibble on. 



Calmwaters said:


> I agree with koimaiden the plants are great I don't have special lights and my plants grow well they are just the 6500 daylight bulbs you can get at Lowes for about $8.00. ; )


Awesome to know! I can't seem to find the right bulbs at the pet stores around here. Also they charge an arm and leg for bulbs.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Glad I could help. I love finding cheap ways to do things that work. ; )


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## Ridewithme38 (Oct 16, 2011)




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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Aww they're so tiny!! I tend to forget that goldies can be that small. Mine are 6in and 4 in without fins. Kinda like when you see a kitten after having cats for 10 years. ^-^


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## christina21maria (Nov 12, 2011)

The pond snails didn't even get a chance to hit the bottom. I tried MTS because they mostly stay in the substrate and only venture to the walls at night; I might have one or two left in the tank.

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## Ridewithme38 (Oct 16, 2011)

wow, i didn't realize this pics would end up so large on here! I'm sorry about that, just trying to give you guys an idea of basicly what i'm working with...i'd love to do sparse plantings, maybe swords, between the spongebob 'houses' and next to and behind the 'crusty crab'

I'm still considering MTS and duckweed, i figure the worst thing that happens is i spend $20 and my goldfish get a great meal, best thing, for only $10 i can be a little less cautious with overfeeding and maybe cut my vacuuming/water changes to 50% once a week instead of twice


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Duckweed and MTS sound like a good idea. Your tank doesn't appear to have too much surface movement, so the duckweed should take hold. Once it does you will want the goldies to nibble on it once in a while. 

Another suggestion for planting would be to only have things across the back wall. Kind of like a living background of kelp fields. ^-^


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## Ridewithme38 (Oct 16, 2011)

thekoimaiden said:


> Duckweed and MTS sound like a good idea. Your tank doesn't appear to have too much surface movement, so the duckweed should take hold. Once it does you will want the goldies to nibble on it once in a while.
> 
> Another suggestion for planting would be to only have things across the back wall. Kind of like a living background of kelp fields. ^-^


It takes an almost exact level of water height to keep the TopFin30 and AquaClear 110 from turning into waterfalls and screwing everything up, i also think the prefilters help with slowing down the flow just enough

The Planting across the back would be nice!


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

I just wanted to add I love duckweed the little roots that hand down from it give it a really nice look.


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