# How big is my goldfish going to get?!



## Jamsammich (Jan 24, 2018)

Hi everyone, I have a 240litre cold water tank which has mainly goldfish in. I've had this one fish for a few years, and he was above average shop bought goldfish size but nothing out of the ordinary. However he is now very large, dwarfing all of the other fish in my tank. He seems happy but I can't help but worry I'm going to have to find him some larger accommodation. Any ideas how much bigger he will grow in this tank? He's approximately 10inches currently.


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

Non fancy goldfish can grow to 12 to 15 inches long and also get to 5 inches wide. Large specimens can get to almost 2kg in weight. Due to their size they can become very messy fish and are not suited for tanks. A pond is best. Goldfish can easily live for 20 - 30 years plus.


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## Jamsammich (Jan 24, 2018)

Thank you! I was thinking a pond maybe needed in the future, which I don't mind doing for him, but I had always heard that goldfish wouldn't outgrow their living space, probably an old wives tail.


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## Calvine (Aug 20, 2012)

He's lovely; is he still growing?


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## Jamsammich (Jan 24, 2018)

It's hard to tell really, I see him every day so I didn't really notice and then a few months ago I looked up and I was was like, bloody hell you're huge . Im not sure on his age which isn't helpful


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

The 'grow to the size of the tank' thing is partly true, in that their growth can become stunted in a too-small tank. However, their internal organs will keep on growing even when their external body becomes stunted, which leads to a painful death 

Your tank size is better than many we've seen on here, but kittih is right - they should really be in a pond. (Not just that goldfish, but any other single-tailed goldfish you have in the tank.) You could keep a few double-tailed fancy goldfish in that tank instead, or add a heater and convert it to tropical.


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## Jackie C (Feb 16, 2016)

What a pretty thing he is!



NaomiM said:


> The 'grow to the size of the tank' thing is partly true, in that their growth can become stunted in a too-small tank. However, their internal organs will keep on growing even when their external body becomes stunted, which leads to a painful death


How awful.


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## 3dogs2cats (Aug 15, 2012)

Jackie C said:


> What a pretty thing he is!
> 
> How awful.


Yes it is! Sadly there are still a lot of pet shops and aquatic shops that will tell customers it is perfectly fine to stunt their growth, one actually has an `information` sheet printed on how to keep goldfish small. Makes me so cross I would love goldfish indoors but just don`t have a spare wall big enough for the right size aquarium so just keep to my tropical and temperate tanks.


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## Jackie C (Feb 16, 2016)

3dogs2cats said:


> Yes it is! Sadly there are still a lot of pet shops and aquatic shops that will tell customers it is perfectly fine to stunt their growth, one actually has an `information` sheet printed on how to keep goldfish small. Makes me so cross I would love goldfish indoors but just don`t have a spare wall big enough for the right size aquarium so just keep to my tropical and temperate tanks.


I have literally no idea how to look after fish, not even goldfish. I've never owned one. This is really sad, as I just thought they were as "easy" to care for pet, as it was something everyone seemed to have when they were children. But it seems their needs are far more complex.


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Your fish is lovely @Jamsammich 



Jackie C said:


> I have literally no idea how to look after fish, not even goldfish. I've never owned one. This is really sad, as I just thought they were as "easy" to care for pet, as it was something everyone seemed to have when they were children. But it seems their needs are far more complex.


I think most people believe them to be an easy pet, not helped by the fact that they are often marketed as such by fish tank manufacturers and pet shop staff. As @3dogs2cats says, the information given out is often appalling. I'm on a few goldfish groups on facebook and they are constantly chock-full of new owners who have been sold two goldfish, a tiny tank and given no information on how to really care for them. The ones that listen to advice then have to desperately scramble to try keep the fish alive while the filter cycles and get a larger, suitable tank as soon as they can. All could be avoided if people were just given the correct information to begin with 

This is one of my 1 year old babies. He'd barely be able to turn around in the first 20L 'goldfish' tank I was given!


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

Jackie C said:


> I have literally no idea how to look after fish, not even goldfish. I've never owned one. This is really sad, as I just thought they were as "easy" to care for pet, as it was something everyone seemed to have when they were children. But it seems their needs are far more complex.


This is a common misconception and poor advice is often given out. I was part of a team that helped the practical fish keeping magazine team some years ago phone a number of aquatic and pet shops in my area pretending to be a newbie wanting advice. We discovered that a large proportion of shops gave poor advice.

The trick to keeping fish is to keep the water and the filter correctly ensuring all the water parameters are kept at the correct levels. If that is done the fish tend to look after themselves


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

magpie said:


> I'm on a few goldfish groups on facebook and they are constantly chock-full of new owners who have been sold two goldfish, a tiny tank and given no information on how to really care for them. The ones that listen to advice then have to desperately scramble to try keep the fish alive while the filter cycles and get a larger, suitable tank as soon as they can. All could be avoided if people were just given the correct information to begin with


This ^^^ was me five years ago - I've learnt so much since then! Sadly I was too late to save my two goldfish, who were originally in a 14L tank (the pet shop had even told me I could have more than two in there if I wanted!) The thing is, you expect the staff in a specialist aquatic shop to be knowledgeable, and it's natural for someone looking into getting fish for the first time to turn to them for advice and to trust the advice they're given. So yes, it does make me angry and sad


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## Jackie C (Feb 16, 2016)

kittih said:


> This is a common misconception and poor advice is often given out. I was part of a team that helped the practical fish keeping magazine team some years ago phone a number of aquatic and pet shops in my area pretending to be a newbie wanting advice. We discovered that a large proportion of shops gave poor advice.
> 
> The trick to keeping fish is to keep the water and the filter correctly ensuring all the water parameters are kept at the correct levels. If that is done the fish tend to look after themselves


I did guess that the advice generally given was poor, but I didn't realise goldfish needed that much care. I would_ hope_ most pet shops would be a little more proactive and offer advice now.


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

Jackie C said:


> I did guess that the advice generally given was poor, but I didn't realise goldfish needed that much care. I would_ hope_ most pet shops would be a little more proactive and offer advice now.


To be honest with research, goldfish and Tropical's are easy to keep day to day. Once you understand how the nitrogen cycle and filters work and the checks you need to do to ensure the water quality is optimum then they just need a weekly or two weekly water change and the filter giving a rinse out in old tank water.

The problem is that people just don't bother to do any research. With the internet it isn't difficult but many people are inherently lazy (just look at all those people that buy cats and dogs on the spur of the moment with not a moments thought) and think that just popping out getting a small tank, adding water and the fish is fine. It's not helped by some aquatic shop staff having little or no training regarding cycling. It's a tricky one as it is in the best interest of more unscrupulous shops not to inform their customers as dying fish will result in more sales for fish or for medications.

I did my telephone survey some 14 years ago now and to be honest if I were to do it today the outcome I suspect would not have improved.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

kittih said:


> To be honest with research, goldfish and Tropical's are easy to keep day to day. Once you understand how the nitrogen cycle and filters work and the checks you need to do to ensure the water quality is optimum then they just need a weekly or two weekly water change and the filter giving a rinse out in old tank water.
> 
> The problem is that people just don't bother to do any research. With the internet it isn't difficult but many people are inherently lazy (just look at all those people that buy cats and dogs on the spur of the moment with not a moments thought) and think that just popping out getting a small tank, adding water and the fish is fine. It's not helped by some aquatic shop staff having little or no training regarding cycling. It's a tricky one as it is in the best interest of more unscrupulous shops not to inform their customers as dying fish will result in more sales for fish or for medications.
> 
> I did my telephone survey some 14 years ago now and to be honest if I were to do it today the outcome I suspect would not have improved.


I agree with almost all of the above, but I don't think it's all down to people being lazy - like I said, if you know nothing about fish and you go into a specialist aquatic shop and ask for advice, you'd have no reason to distrust that advice. Yes in an ideal world people would research online first, but unless you know which websites are trustworthy, you can still end up getting bad advice - for example, I've seen sites that say it's fine to keep a betta in an unfiltered, unheated 5L vase!


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## mrs phas (Apr 6, 2014)

NaomiM said:


> I agree with almost all of the above, but I don't think it's all down to people being lazy - like I said, if you know nothing about fish and you go into a specialist aquatic shop and ask for advice, you'd have no reason to distrust that advice. Yes in an ideal world people would research online first, but unless you know which websites are trustworthy, you can still end up getting bad advice - for example, I've seen sites that say it's fine to keep a betta in an unfiltered, unheated 5L vase!


I went into a LFS last month, looking for a betta that caught my eye, the proprietor told me that I was wasting my tank on a betta with a few shrimp and corys, they would be much happier in a large glass vase on its own, he even had them there to sell to me, Put it on the window sill and it will be perfect, he said, they live in muddy puddles in the wild
I thought Id travelled back to the 70's!
And this was a specialist fish shop, only selling fish and tanks


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

The best gem of wisdom I've had from mine (also a specialist aquatic shop) is, "Oh, there's no point in testing ammonia levels, they fluctuate naturally!" :Jawdrop And this was from the manager!


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

NaomiM said:


> I agree with almost all of the above, but I don't think it's all down to people being lazy - like I said, if you know nothing about fish and you go into a specialist aquatic shop and ask for advice, you'd have no reason to distrust that advice


Yes, I think it's much like how people prefer to ask a question on a forum rather than googling for the answer. It's nice to speak to someone and get their personal experience & advice, rather than having to wade through multiple websites trying to figure out what information is correct.

People who are selling living creatures should be able to give out decent information about them.


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

NaomiM said:


> I agree with almost all of the above, but I don't think it's all down to people being lazy - like I said, if you know nothing about fish and you go into a specialist aquatic shop and ask for advice, you'd have no reason to distrust that advice. Yes in an ideal world people would research online first, but unless you know which websites are trustworthy, you can still end up getting bad advice - for example, I've seen sites that say it's fine to keep a betta in an unfiltered, unheated 5L vase!


No you are right. I think I was a little grumpy and jaded in my answer. I used to go on the practical fish keeping forum a lot when it existed and it was frustrating to see people coming on wanting help saving their dying fish after they had taken their kids to a garden centre or pet suppliers for a day out, seen all the pretty fish and come out with several bag fulls of unsuitable fish, a tiny tank and a bottle of conditioner on a whim. 

There are quite a few retailers giving poor advice. But there are also retailers giving good advice out there. I just wish there were more of them


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## Guest (Jan 30, 2018)

kittih said:


> No you are right. I think I was a little grumpy and jaded in my answer. I used to go on the practical fish keeping forum a lot when it existed and it was frustrating to see people coming on wanting help saving their dying fish after they had taken their kids to a garden centre or pet suppliers for a day out, seen all the pretty fish and come out with several bag fulls of unsuitable fish, a tiny tank and a bottle of conditioner on a whim.
> 
> There are quite a few retailers giving poor advice. But there are also retailers giving good advice out there. I just wish there were more of them


I know that forum, I was on it too once though not for long, I stopped logging in. The place where I got my current fish give very good advice. In fact after all my guppies died of ich I did contact them explaining what happened and adviced them to check the water for nitrates etc guesse what, everything especially ph had a huge spike in the tank the guppies were in before being bought by me and they found some with ich too. They were seperated.


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