# The big tank! (goldfish!)



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Well I posted it on my thread on TFK but I figured I should share with you guys as well!
The tank is 90 gallons, and is currently home to 5 baby buffalo head cichlids, and two goldfish. A lionhead (Pascal) and an oranda (Paisley). I'm picking up 3 more fancies soon, and after that not sure what else to squeeze into that last bit of room I have, I'm planning on waiting a couple months before adding more fish. So here's some photos!

Pascal is a pretty outgoing fish, he always rushes up to say hi, and he (and the other lionheads) would follow me all around at the store.:

























Paisley is a little more shy, she's so cute. She still likes to hide in the back of the tank when I come up, but she's calming down pretty quickly.:











































Left side:









Right side:


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Nice tank Beatiful tank.


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Beautiful fishies :thumbsup: They must be loving that sweet setup.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I would not recommend any more fish for that tank.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Thanks guys. It's 90 gallons, it's pretty understocked right now, even with goldfish. Plus getting a ton more plants so that'll help a lot.


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

cichlids and goldfish in the same tank? i wouldn't try that myself. do you have plans ready to rehome one or the other if their natures or their individual species needs start to clash with each other?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

They are fine.. they are very peaceful cichilds.. I did my research on them.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

You can trust Olympia, she really does research! (; Can Goldfish bond with you just the same as Bettas? I find them to be show-offs in the fish world for some reason.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Show offs? I think not! The life of a goldfish:
"derp derp nom nom derp nom derp nom nom nom."
:rofl:

They do come to recognize you and seem to get fond of their owners. They are a little more shy though.


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

Olympia said:


> Show offs? I think not! The life of a goldfish:
> "derp derp nom nom derp nom derp nom nom nom."
> :rofl:
> 
> They do come to recognize you and seem to get fond of their owners. They are a little more shy though.


our goldies aren't shy at ALL. when we come in the door after being gone away, they all huddle in the front corner to say hi to us, jumbling all over each other to be the ones with the best view.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

i would recommend 83 more fish, all at least 2 feet long


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Trust me, Olympia has this under control. The goldfish are actually helping the cichlids be more outgoing. Beautiful fish and tank! I can't wait to see it finished. Those goldfish will grow huge and beautiful for you! :-D


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Yea true, the goldfish are excellent for dithering. I actually get to see my cichlids now. xD


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

do they work well together temperature-wise? i know goldies usually like high-60's to low-mid 70's, whereas i thought most cichlids preferred tropical temps.

i'm not criticising, i'm just generally curious as to how the two species get along. also, how do you keep the goldfish from turning your live plants into stumps?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Fancy goldfish need to be kept at 70-80F actually. Below 70F messes with their digestion and shortens their life span (Koimaiden taught me well!) so at 77F it's pretty perfect.

Well, I read it's good to overwhelm them with plants, and provide roughage in the form of blanched spinach/chard/stuff like that.. And tough plants.. Plus it's two babies and so many plants, they ARE nibbling but they aren't doing a lot of damage. They like the hornwort which grows pretty fast.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

See, koimaiden is a pro! (; Goldfish are what people 1st think when they hear fish. They seem to steal the spotlight from Bettas rotting in stores. :\


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Aww thanks guys!







I try. 

LBT, I think betta and goldfish both get the short end of the stick. That's why I love both. Beautiful fish, such bad care.


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## mkayum (Jul 5, 2012)

You are making me want to get a moor goldfish.... I have like two of 20 gallon tanks (long and tall) sitting and collecting the dust in the space room... 

Your fish are so gorgeous !!!!!!


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Neat but I though you were putting a knifefish and some other more exotic fishies in the 90?

so if fancies can do up to 80 temp wise, can they be housed with bettas - or would the betta go after the goldie? 
*is curious*


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## PaintingPintos (Dec 27, 2011)

BEAUTIFUL tank!!! How big are the fish? My goldies are a Black Moor and Pearlscale, about 3 1/2-4 inches each...in that tank setting all of those plants would either be uprooted or eaten O____O
You have such beautiful fishies ;___;


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## PaintingPintos (Dec 27, 2011)

Tikibirds said:


> Neat but I though you were putting a knifefish and some other more exotic fishies in the 90?
> 
> so if fancies can do up to 80 temp wise, can they be housed with bettas - or would the betta go after the goldie?
> *is curious*


I wouldn't ever put goldfish with tropicals...they just don't mix.
Not only do they not look very attractive mixed with things like bettas, but just because they can SURVIVE in temps up to 80, who says you SHOULD do that?
Anyway, in most goldfish books, it is explained that goldfish breeds prefer certain water temps in order to grow properly. Often the range is 50-70 degrees.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

yes but Olympia already explained that most fancies need temperatures between 70 and 80


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Well since I'm such a goldfish noob, maybe Koimaiden will be able to explain why fancies shouldn't be kept below 70F. . . 

They are around 2" as is.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Tikibirds said:


> so if fancies can do up to 80 temp wise, can they be housed with bettas - or would the betta go after the goldie?
> *is curious*


Temp wise, betta and goldfish would do fine. But I have a feeling the betta wouldn't appreciate the flashy colors and might go after the long fins of the goldfish. Not to mention once the goldfish gets big enough the betta will become a sushi dinner. A great article about goldfish and tropicals: Goldfish with tropicals - right or wrong? | Blog | Practical Fishkeeping (It's dinner right now, and I don't have time to type out a long argument). 

As for the temperature, according to Fishbase.org goldfish can survive at temps up to 100F (this is probably referring to the single-tail, slim-bodied ones as they are much hardier). As for the temp requirements of fancies that is due to their shortened body shape. Their organs are squished together in odd ways, and this can cause digestion to be slower (as well as other problems). Fish metabolism is dependent on water temp. At lower temps, food isn't pushed through the deformed GI tract of fancy goldfish fast enough and can cause bloating and infection. A similar thing happens with pond fish (koi and goldfish). They shouldn't be feed below 50F as their GI tract won't push the food through fast enough; it will just stay in there and rot. Same thing happens with bettas. If the water isn't warm enough, the food can't be digested properly and will foul in the intestines. 

As for goldfish at 80F, an aquatic vet I know who has been keeping goldfish for years and years heats her goldfish tanks to 78F year round. She has noticed no ill effects on them aside from a shorted life span (roughly 6 years as opposed to 10 years) due to their metabolisms being at an elevated rate year-round. I heat my fancy goldfish tank. It's really becoming standard practice now (unless you live in the tropics).


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

This argument of warmer vs colder exists with ALL fish, might I add. Any fish will live a shorter life, but grow much faster in warmer water, and a longer life, but grow much slower in cooler waters. This is one of the "no right nor wrong" parts of fish keeping IMO. Some people keep their tanks warmer and others keep them cooler.. Lately the trend has been to cool down your tropical tank and heat up your goldfish tank however.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Intersting. So is that why people say Oh my betta lived 4 years in a .5 gallon, unheated tank - because of slower metabolism? 

I wouldn't put a goldie and a betta together, I was just curious. Well, maybe I would for a little bit - just long enough for my sister to see it in there and start screaming but I don't think I would want to subject my babies to her tank water. (yes, I like to get her going. It gives me much pleasure :twisted. 

Olympia - it is annoying when searching for info and all you find is contradictory information. I was looking up bristlenose plecos and TFK says they need 20 gallons for 2, liveaqueria says 40 gallons for one and some other site said 30 gallons. It's like "MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MINDS PEOPLE".

Most of my tanks are between 75-80


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Tank size is also pretty subjective. A pleco isn't a very active fish on one hand, but on the other hand it produces a lot of waste. As long as you can keep your parameters under control it really doesn't make all that much of a difference. Really your plecos are fine Tiki.  
Once you get into active fish, then there's a lot more arguing. 

Yea, those little unheated .5 gallon cubes have had some very long lived fish, can't lie. Usually these are the people that were told to feed the fish once a week too, so that slows things down even more.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

> Once you get into active fish, then there's a lot more arguing.


 I have noticed that. 

someday I'll venture into something other then bettas and snails, when I live in a basement that can handle 500 pounds or more of water weight.


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## SpookyTooth (Dec 23, 2011)

I have to say... I squeed insanely inside when I saw Pascal. I've never seen a lionhead goldie before -- he's just... so... CUTE and unassming! D'awww. I can't wait to see how things look when you finish the tank, best of luck with all the fish!


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Olympia said:


> Fancy goldfish need to be kept at 70-80F actually. Below 70F messes with their digestion and shortens their life span (Koimaiden taught me well!) so at 77F it's pretty perfect.



I actually had no idea! I kept my goldfish at room temp which was around 70-75 degrees...

Your goldfish are sooo cute! I really like the ones without dorsals, they look so chubby and adorable.


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

Looking up this old thread as I was told your tank is something to see. Any updates and full tank shots? I also keep fancy goldfish, and keep mine at 76F year round. I do not have to heat it in the warm months, it stays right at 76. I only heat it in the winter.


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