# Goldfish and sand substrate



## catfishtabbi (Nov 10, 2008)

I know that goldfish eat off of or sift thru the gravle. Is it wise to use sand or eco-complete in the goldfish tank or could it pose a threat to the goldfishs GI tract ?


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## JohnnyD44 (Dec 5, 2008)

I'm not too sure about the GI-tract, but goldfish are notorious for being "waste" machines. The problem you will run into with that is that gravel easily hides goldfishes waste products. Sand subtrate does not allow for detritus to sink and be hidden by the gravel. You could use a sand subtrate but you might find yourself vaccuming it everyday to keep it looking clean...

what size tank and how many/type of golf fish do you have?


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## catfishtabbi (Nov 10, 2008)

Hi J, I have an extra 50g w/ a new canister filter so i was thinking of a redcap / oranda combo. I realize i could have only 3 possibly only 2. Any how i've wanted them for some time now but i sidetracked and had a go at breeding chocolate gouramis instead.
My tank is gorgeous black on black godl fihs will look great in it.If sand is not bad for them i'll be using black silica sand.I keep thinking that A. Kymme has GF that get swimbladder alot and i know she takes most excellent care with thier diet ,since she has sand i wonder if it's connected. Still looking for a solid answer.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Hi there. I was reading this thread and had to jump in. I don't keep GF but I do have sand in all my tanks. I think you were thinking about Kim as far as constipation issues. She keeps bettas and she has had to deal with swimbladder issues related to constipation. 
Hopefully someone with GF experience will pop in with some info. In the meantime I'll go google and see what I can come up with.


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## catfishtabbi (Nov 10, 2008)

OOPs sorry, i thought i seen your pic's of GF> I guess it was someone else or a different site and thanks for the googling. 
PS your word was a toughy however your up.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Well, the opinions differ in regards to sand vs gravel. We already know that GF's are diggers and some say they can swallow it and others say that they just spit it out. I've read that fancys normally do less aggressive digging than the standards. If it was me (and it's not!) I'd go with sand for two reasons. I prefer the looks of it compared to anything else and GF's are very messy fish and sand cleans up easily. Detritus merely "sits" on top of sand, where detritus falls down in between gravel. 

I don't find any absolute solid info that sand is "bad' for GFs so I think it's simply a matter of personal preference. Since they love to dig, if I had them I'd make sure that they were able to fully enjoy engaging in that behavior. I'd provide either very small gravel to make for easy digging or a larger grained sand so that when they dig in it they wouldn't kick it up into a sandstorm. It's just what I would do, not what you "should" do.

PS. Nice word. I had to look it up...learn something new everyday! ;-)


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