# Does my fish need company?



## KirstenJ (Dec 6, 2015)

Today, my goldfish of 15 years passed away due to swim bladder disease. Him and his buddy have been together for a decade and a half. Will she be okay without him? Or does she want company? At the moment she just looks so lost and its breaking my heart...


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

What type of goldfish, and what size tank? Goldfish do ideally prefer company, but it's not 100% essential for them. Goldfish nowadays are a lot less hardy than they were 15 years ago, so if your tank is on the small side, adding another fish (and therefore increasing the amount of waste produced) will do more harm than good, and the new fish may well not survive.


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## KirstenJ (Dec 6, 2015)

NaomiM said:


> What type of goldfish, and what size tank? Goldfish do ideally prefer company, but it's not 100% essential for them. Goldfish nowadays are a lot less hardy than they were 15 years ago, so if your tank is on the small side, adding another fish (and therefore increasing the amount of waste produced) will do more harm than good, and the new fish may well not survive.


They were both standard goldfish and the tank is 61x38x38cms. She's the smaller of the two, the one we just lost was huge! I just don't know whether to get another one? I don't know whether she will like another fish after being with him for so long.


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## KirstenJ (Dec 6, 2015)

KirstenJ said:


> They were both standard goldfish and the tank is 61x38x38cms. She's the smaller of the two, the one we just lost was huge! I just don't know whether to get another one? I don't know whether she will like another fish after being with him for so long.


61x31x31cms**


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

So that's around 70L or so then? In that case I wouldn't be looking to add anything else. Common goldfish are really pond fish, and while your tank size is better than what many poor goldfish end up housed in, it's still really too small for long-term goldfish keeping. Your fish have done well to get to the size and age they were, but in a pond they could live 20-40 years and grow to over 1ft long!

On the other hand, your tank is the perfect size for a starter tropical tank, so if you have the option of rehoming your goldie to a pond with some goldfish buddies (not now, but in the spring once the weather has warmed up) then I'd personally be tempted to stick a heater in the tank and convert it to tropical. In fact, that's how I first got into tropical fish keeping - I bought a 70L tank for my goldie and ended up going tropical!


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## KirstenJ (Dec 6, 2015)

NaomiM said:


> So that's around 70L or so then? In that case I wouldn't be looking to add anything else. Common goldfish are really pond fish, and while your tank size is better than what many poor goldfish end up housed in, it's still really too small for long-term goldfish keeping. Your fish have done well to get to the size and age they were, but in a pond they could live 20-40 years and grow to over 1ft long!
> 
> On the other hand, your tank is the perfect size for a starter tropical tank, so if you have the option of rehoming your goldie to a pond with some goldfish buddies (not now, but in the spring once the weather has warmed up) then I'd personally be tempted to stick a heater in the tank and convert it to tropical. In fact, that's how I first got into tropical fish keeping - I bought a 70L tank for my goldie and ended up going tropical!


We used to have them in a pond but couldn't keep it with the dog (she's just jump in, netting or not!) The two in the tank were only babies when we got rid of the pond and they've been together since! I'd worry putting our other one in a pond because she is a lot smaller than most pond goldfish, especially compared to the one we just lost! Thank you for your help anyway!


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