# Setting up a rehome tank



## considerthis

Hi everyone, my neighbour has been given a goldfish by her daughter, he is 6 inches long not including tail and is 9 years old.

Currently he lives in a 30 - 35 litre tank which has a elite stingray 5 filter which has the abilty for 25 litres. i go once a week to clean him out and do a big water change, as the filter gets clogged with his muck.

My neighbour doesn't understand that clarity of water does not equal absence of damaging chemicals. I've done test strips to show her and even told her about the smell of the water but she will not clean him out herself.

He has old ammonia burns and some missing scales as well as damaged fins from burns. 

I have tried to convince her to get a bigger tank and filter but she has written him off saying he's old and doubts he'll live much longer. She is not willing to spend any more money on him and says she has no space for a bigger tank.

Failing that i have convinced her to give him to me to go in a bigger tank i have from years ago i'm in the process of setting it up, can anyone offer any advice, i've never seen a common goldfish this big nevermind kept one.

I've taken my old tank out of the wardrobe washed it and checked its water tight though i am going to reseal the edges anyway. This Tank is about 110 litres. i have ordered a filter capable of this capacity, an airstone and pump and have enough treatments already.

Any advice is welcome


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## NaomiM

Poor fishy  You're doing a great thing by offering him a new home.

I'm not sure what the recommended tank capacity is for a common goldfish - I have a feeling it should be even bigger than the tank you have (as they're really pond fish), but the new tank will definitely be infinitely better than his old home.

There will be others here who can advise better than me, but I just wanted to say well done for taking this fish in


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## considerthis

I think you're probably right about the tank size but this is pretty big and should be Ok, it is just him going in nothing else, it's got to be better than his old one. 

she told me earlier he was starting to go still and didn't look good as he does after a few days of a change , so when I asked if I could go then to change him today she told me another day. Poor guy. 

But I'm sure a tank this size with filtration, plants and airstone and regular clean outs it will be just fine. 

I just wish I could get it all set up now and go get him.  

Poor guy, he clamps all his fins to his body and lies on the gravel. He is always so happy when new water goes in, he dips thru the downpour 

Oh also I will be running the old filter along side this new one for a few weeks.


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## Phoenix24

Just a couple of tips for you as it sounds like you're going about it all the right way.

Try to save some of the old substrate as it will help to seed the new tank. Do not be tempted to wash it at all.

Make sure you inoculate the new filter with a squeeze of dirty water from the filter in the small tank. 

Don't let the old filter and media get dry, and don't wash them in anything either (most you can do is squeeze out the poo in old water like you do during a water change). 

Keep all the old tank stuff wet whilst you do the transferring, and try to complete all of it as swiftly as possible.

You could do a fishless cycle with the new tank before adding the goldfish, this involves using bottled household ammonia to grow bacteria in the new filter and on the new substrate/tank surfaces before you add any fish to it. It's safer for the fish to do it this way, but as you have said the fish looks poorly in the set up it's in, this fish might not have time.

It might actually be better to put some (or all) of the old filter media into the new filter, as this will be more effective at inoculating the new filter, plus the old filter will not be powerful enough to circulate the volume of water in the new tank enough to remove the toxins - putting the old filter media in the new filter ensures good water circulation around the existing bacteria. 

I'd say try to re-home the goldfish in an established , filtered pond, but it would be difficult to monitor this fish, especially if its poorly.


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## considerthis

Hi, I finally have him in this tank, he's enjoying all the room and loves the bubbles from the filter. It's so rewarding to watch him swim. I fed him bloodworms the first night I had him. My neighbour agrees he seems loads better. I told her to visit him whenever.
Here is a pic


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## considerthis

Can someone tell me what type of goldfish he is?


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## considerthis

Here's a better pic


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## Fishyfins

Hes just a standard goldfish. there are only 2 main types of goldfish - standard and fancy, though there are variations within both. Standard goldies include shubunkins and comets (i think yours looks like a comet), and fancies include oranda and moors.


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