# Tank mates for common goldfish?



## Kammie (Apr 4, 2009)

I've recently got my son a small starter tank to see how he gets on with his own pet goldfish, he has quite an obsession with fish whenever we go somewhere that sells them or he see's them on TV (we have animal planet on a lot). 

The tank is only tiny I know this but as I say its to see how my son gets on with it before going the full hog. Its a 28l tank and has one goldfish, its a starter tank that came with its own pump. 

The idea is that if my son keeps an interest in the tank and is still keen come the summer we'll be getting a larger 70-90l tank and adding a few more fish. I know this size is still not ideal for a growing goldfish but the idea if that my son see's the goldfish grow and once its close to outgrowing the larger tank it will move into my mums garden pond to grow to its full potential with her goldfish. 

Now my question is what other coldwater fish would get on well in the same tank as a goldfish? I'd like to add some variety for my son rather than just goldfish but I know goldfish can eat smaller fish and some of the cleaner fish can take the slime coat of the goldfish. 

With the idea that the current goldfish will move into my mums pond when it outgrows the larger tank what sort of easy to manage fish could happily be housed together in a 70-90l tank?

My son is only 2 and the tank is my responsibility but he loves to watch 'his' fish and helps with feeding. So although I do all the hard work, its still his fish and he's learning from it by feeding it everyday (with me helping of course).


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

Personally I would get the goldfish out of the 28ltr tank ASAP. It won't outgrow the tank but instead living in there will stunt its growth and consequently will shorten its lifespan considerably. 

I wouldn't put common Goldfish in a 70-90ltr tank either; really they need to be outside in a pond unless the tank is absolutely massive. You could put one fancy goldfish in a tank that size but the tank will look rather empty.

Does the new tank have to be cold water? because compatible tank mates with goldfish are fairly limited. If you wanted something alternative to goldfish, you could try a small group of Rainbow Dace or Paradise Fish (not together) with maybe a Weather Loach as something of interest on the bottom.


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## Denise90 (Mar 27, 2013)

A 90L tank is just below acceptable for a Goldfish as it is so it wouldn't be advisable to put any other fish in with it. 

By pump are you referring to a filter? If so, and if you would like something more interesting for your son, what about putting the Goldfish into the pond now and filling the 28L with a heater and some Endlers or Galaxy Rasbora (they're pretty small, colourful and active)


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## Kammie (Apr 4, 2009)

labradrk said:


> Personally I would get the goldfish out of the 28ltr tank ASAP. It won't outgrow the tank but instead living in there will stunt its growth and consequently will shorten its lifespan considerably.
> 
> I wouldn't put common Goldfish in a 70-90ltr tank either; really they need to be outside in a pond unless the tank is absolutely massive. You could put one fancy goldfish in a tank that size but the tank will look rather empty.
> 
> Does the new tank have to be cold water? because compatible tank mates with goldfish are fairly limited. If you wanted something alternative to goldfish, you could try a small group of Rainbow Dace or Paradise Fish (not together) with maybe a Weather Loach as something of interest on the bottom.


I was thinking the goldfish would have been ok in this size tank for a few months (thinking July time to upgrade to the bigger one). At the moment its barely an inch long from nose to tail (99p from the garden centre). If the tank is going to stunt its growth I'll move it into my mums pond sooner rather than waiting.

Ideally I prefer coldwater as I'm just a beginner having only ever looked after pond fish when living with my mum. I want to start simple, which is why I went for the one goldfish and prefer to stick with coldwater.

Is there a list or database that shows all the different coldwater fish? Since this goldfish is destined for my mums pond in a couple of months I'm open to more options for what to put into a basic coldwater tank.

This is the tank I'm looking at upgrading to so you have an idea of what could live happily in there.
Aqua One Aquastyle 620 Aquarium


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

The only difference between keeping coldwater fish and tropical fish is the addition of a heater to keep the water warmer. It's a bit of a myth that coldwater fish are easier to keep or more suitable for a beginner 

I'd definitely agree that the goldfish needs to go to a pond sooner rather than later though. Given plenty of room goldfish will grow very quickly, but if they're not given the room they can become stunted and sickly, which obviously is not very nice to watch.


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## Kammie (Apr 4, 2009)

magpie said:


> The only difference between keeping coldwater fish and tropical fish is the addition of a heater to keep the water warmer. It's a bit of a myth that coldwater fish are easier to keep or more suitable for a beginner
> 
> I'd definitely agree that the goldfish needs to go to a pond sooner rather than later though. Given plenty of room goldfish will grow very quickly, but if they're not given the room they can become stunted and sickly, which obviously is not very nice to watch.


I thought there was more to it than just a bit of heat! How do the heaters work, do they heat from the outside of the tank through the glass or are they inside the tank like the filter? How do you control the temperature? Do different tropical fish need different temperatures?

Sorry for all the questions just want to get as much info as possible.


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

Kammie said:


> I thought there was more to it than just a bit of heat! How do the heaters work, do they heat from the outside of the tank through the glass or are they inside the tank like the filter? How do you control the temperature? Do different tropical fish need different temperatures?
> 
> Sorry for all the questions just want to get as much info as possible.


Nope, as magpie said the 'tropical fish are harder' thing is just a myth. My goldfish have always been more effort to maintain than my tropical's ever have. The only thing you have to watch out for with tropical fish is to make sure all the fish you buy are compatible as your choice of fish is far, far larger than it is with cold water. However, if you take advice from a reputable aquatics shop and do your research online, it shouldn't be a problem finding out which fish do and don't mix.

Heaters are placed on the inside of the tank. They come with a temperature gage which you can manually adjust and most decent ones have an internal thermostat which shuts it self off when the desired temperature has been reached.

Most tropicals commonly sold in the aquatics trade will adjust to varying temperatures. Some have specialist requirements (prefer higher temperatures etc) but most of your basic tropicals have a wide range of temperatures that they can tolerate.


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## Kammie (Apr 4, 2009)

labradrk said:


> Nope, as magpie said the 'tropical fish are harder' thing is just a myth. My goldfish have always been more effort to maintain than my tropical's ever have. The only thing you have to watch out for with tropical fish is to make sure all the fish you buy are compatible as your choice of fish is far, far larger than it is with cold water. However, if you take advice from a reputable aquatics shop and do your research online, it shouldn't be a problem finding out which fish do and don't mix.
> 
> Heaters are placed on the inside of the tank. They come with a temperature gage which you can manually adjust and most decent ones have an internal thermostat which shuts it self off when the desired temperature has been reached.
> 
> Most tropicals commonly sold in the aquatics trade will adjust to varying temperatures. Some have specialist requirements (prefer higher temperatures etc) but most of your basic tropicals have a wide range of temperatures that they can tolerate.


What would you suggest as a good starting point for a tropical tank? For a 90l tank what sort of mixes could I go for to have some variety but easy to care for?


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

Totally depends on what you like the look of. The list of possibilties are endless and it is always great fun stocking a new tank.

If you wanted fish that are pretty and colourful, then live-baring fish (fish that give birth to life young) are nice; swordtails, guppies, platy's, mollies, etc. Downside is that that their life expectancy is not particularly long and you may get overrun with babies if they don't eat them first! good starter fish however. 

Or a tetra fish tank would be nice. A nice mix of neon tetras, glowlight tetras or black neon tetras with a few larger 'centrepiece' fish (like a little group of Dwarf gouramis) would look good.

If you wanted a slightly feistier tank, I had a lovely combination of barbs in one of my old tanks. I had a shoal of Tiger barbs and a shoal of Gold barbs with a lovely Ruby shark who dominated the bottom.

Or if you wanted something a bit 'different', a pair of dwarf Cichlids (Kribensis or Rams fit the bill perfectly) are always fascinating to watch. I use to breed Kribs and watching mum and dad take care of their babies is brilliant.


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## Kammie (Apr 4, 2009)

You've given me loads to think about now. 

Thank for all the advice, need to decide what to go for and do some research now. 

Are there any fish to avoid as a beginner?


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

When I'm after new fish, I tend to go to a few local aquatics/pet shops, make a note of any that take my fancy, and then go home and read up on them. That way you get to see what is available locally to you, and you get to see what they look like in 'real life' (as opposed to pictures on the internet).

The only thing to bear in mind is that they don't always show their full colours in the shops, and not to be talked into buying anything on the spur of the moment!


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

Kammie said:


> You've given me loads to think about now.
> 
> Thank for all the advice, need to decide what to go for and do some research now.
> 
> *Are there any fish to avoid as a beginner?*


Nothing that is going to outgrow your tank. That may sound obvious but most fish are sold as juveniles and it is easy to assume that the cute little fish you bought in the shop is going to stay that way. Especially when you can get conflicting advice from staff in aquatics shops and/or fish might be incorrectly labelled. Common pleco's are a classic example of this; they are sold as tiny juveniles in shops and are often recommended as algae eaters, which is all good and well but they can grow up to 2ft!

Avoid any of the more specialized fish; things like Puffers are popular but have special requirements, definitely no predatory fish and avoid all the larger types of African and South American cichlids as your tank will be too small and again, their requirements are above average.


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## Guest (Apr 3, 2013)

I've got a danio in with my goldfish. Had the danio for think it's 2 years so from my experience a danio isn't completely tropical and a goldfish won't eat a smaller fish. I just have my light on for a bit. I've found a few things out about pleco's too. My pleco Dylan sadly died but got him when he was 2 he died think it was a week before he turned 5 which told me they can live in a cold water tank too and won't suck goldfish as my uncle once believed. He sorted my algea out. so if you want more fish then danios are great with goldfish. Shadow's not been eaten yet by Prince the goldfish. Had considered putting the danios in a seperate tank but no need. If you want to sort algea out a pleco however for your son may be best to avoid pleco as they look flippin strange lol.


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

Goldfish will eat small fish if they are large enough and able to catch them. In a very large fish tank the Danios may have a chance of escaping but that doesn't necessarily mean the Goldfish wouldn't eat them if it had the opportunity. 

I know technically speaking Danios can live in cold water successfully but I am pretty sure that OATA don't recommend it as standard.


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## Fishyfins (Feb 28, 2009)

Danios are a temperate fish, and can be kept at both room temperature and tropical conditions with no problems. however, as said, the goldfish will eat them when given half a chance, so its really not reccomended keeping them together at all. all too often have i seen a tank absent of previous small inhabitants, and one very happy looking goldfish with a suspiciously large belly :/


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## Guest (Apr 3, 2013)

labradrk said:


> Goldfish will eat small fish if they are large enough and able to catch them. In a very large fish tank the Danios may have a chance of escaping but that doesn't necessarily mean the Goldfish wouldn't eat them if it had the opportunity.
> 
> I know technically speaking Danios can live in cold water successfully but I am pretty sure that OATA don't recommend it as standard.


My tank I's quite a big one. Had to be big to have Dyl in it. The only time my danios or any of my fish have been eaten I's if they died and I didn't see them in time. I must be lucky with mine.


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

I used to have wcm minnows in my old 200L with my goldfish... til they started disappearing   And that was chunky, fancy goldfish that I didn't think could catch another fish if their life depended on it!!

You're lucky if your goldfish shows no interest in eating your danio, but I definitely wouldn't recommend keeping the two together to anyone else as it seems to be more common that they end up getting eaten.


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## Peapet (Feb 8, 2013)

You need to know what your waters like. Look on your water suppliers site or buy a test kit(you'll need one anyway). Then look for fish to suit your water. 
Although most will adapt, some don't or won't live as long.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

I was in the same situation as you. I got a small tank for my 1-year-old son, and stocked it with 2 goldfish as the shop recommended them as being fine for that size tank and suitable for beginners mad2 Well they were totally wrong! Both goldfish died  and I now have a second-hand 70l tropical tank, set up using the fishless cycle method (which is something you ought to research before you get any fish), and it's going great  Doesn't need loads of maintenance, just a 25% water change once a week, and my son loves watching them 

I have guppies, platys, rasboras and neon tetra, and I'm going to get some corys, but as Peapet says, it's worth checking your water before you decide, as different fish need different water parameters (pH and hardness).


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## Kammie (Apr 4, 2009)

NaomiM said:


> I was in the same situation as you. I got a small tank for my 1-year-old son, and stocked it with 2 goldfish as the shop recommended them as being fine for that size tank and suitable for beginners mad2 Well they were totally wrong! Both goldfish died  and I now have a second-hand 70l tropical tank, set up using the fishless cycle method (which is something you ought to research before you get any fish), and it's going great  Doesn't need loads of maintenance, just a 25% water change once a week, and my son loves watching them
> 
> I have guppies, platys, rasboras and neon tetra, and I'm going to get some corys, but as Peapet says, it's worth checking your water before you decide, as different fish need different water parameters (pH and hardness).


I had goldfish in a small tank like this when I was a kid and then put them in mums pond when they got too big so that was the plan with my sons fish, the fish in my mums pond all started out as 99p goldfish in a small tank and are now huge. Looking more into it now though I was niave in thinking the fish would be happy in the small tank. So once we can get the bigger tank we'll move this fish to my mums and start up a tropical tank the right way. So far we've had the goldfish a couple of weeks and my son is still really keen on it, going to see it several times a day just to watch it swimming around.

I've not tested the water or anything, again thats lack of knowledge and based on my own childhood fish going straight into tap water. This weekend we're going to get a test kit and make sure all is ok with the water quality and do the best we can for this fish till we can move it to the pond when the weather is warmer. I wouldn't like to put this tiny fish into the pond till the weather stays above 0c at night so it stands a better chance after being kept in a warm house.

I looked up our water company for the hardness and we're at 10.89 for hardness, not sure how high that compares or if it will affect our future fish choices.


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