Is my tank too small for my goldfish?

pog

5 years ago, I was told at the petsore goldfish need 10 gallons, so I bought a 20L thinking I was doing my pet a favor.

(Please ignore the SUPER sloppy tank background-- I need to buy new mirror paper.)

Does he look too big for this tank now? I'm terrified of getting a bigger tank because I'm moving to another apartment soon, and I'm afraid potential landlords will imagine 40+ gallons of water gushing over my floor and through the ceiling of units below. But I've grown very attached to this guy, and I really don't want to have to say goodbye to him.

What's the minimum size I could get? And has he even stopped growing? He's about 5 years old. I was considering a 55 gallon so I could play it safe and never buy another tank again, but I've heard the filters are deafening and the tank would likely be in my bedroom.

Any help/ input would be phenomenal! Thank you!

Olympia

Honestly, this doesn't look too bad for him. At 5 years he will be done growing. You could probably keep him in here.
However, if you do want to upgrade, you could get him some friends (goldfish are social), might be nice for the both of you. Most stores will sell larger fancy goldfish so you wouldn't have to worry about a larger one hurting a little one. Just a good QT period would be needed since a lot of the large fancies are dropped off as unwanted by people.
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charlie1881

Hey there ,

He is a handsome feller those tails are amazin long flowin very healthy very nice lookin fishy !!

As far as tank size goes he's fine for another 5 yrs no prob but bigger is always better lol . And I agree with the last post he needs a buddy in with him , but ... let me say b4 hand my lil girl & son both keep goldfishes an while my son has a tank and has added fish no problem , my lil girl won a fish at the carnival ( it lived ) being a miracle in itself , it is very aggresive for some reason. I've never heard of that with golds b4 but it can happen with any fish I guess . Might have something to do with it being alone for so long then she tried to add fish wich would be the case with you , all Im sayin is watch them if you do get him a friend for a lil bit . And I would get him a buddy while you two are friends he needs him a friend that can swim with him
He again is very impressive fish my son has one just like it only wayyyy smaller lol yours makes me excited to see it grow , and show him yours !

I went rambling away from what you asked sory .
God bless
charlie & family

Olympia

Yes, they can be territorial. I figure moving both fish to a larger tank at the same time will help out. Keeping them in sight of each other before having them together would be helpful too.

Geomancer

You can read up on the profiles here about Goldfish (click the blue shaded name). I'm not familiar enough with them to know which kind of Goldfish that is. If it's a fancy Goldfish you are fine with the 20gL but you could not get any more.

In regards to a 55 gallon though, just get a canister filter. You can put the output below the surface and honestly it's pretty darn quiet. HOBs and air pumps are far louder.

thekoimaiden

A 20 gal long is actually not bad for a single fancy goldfish. It's generally considered the minimum for a single fancy. If you want to upgrade I would just go straight for a 55 gal and bypass a 40 gal or 29 gal as you would still need to upgrade. And yes a canister would be quieter than HOBs; I have them on my goldfish tank in my bedroom and it does get a bit noisy. But canisters are more expensive. Why not just move the tank to the kitchen or dining room?

As Olympia said, goldfish are social creatures, but I notice you have a reflective background on the tank. Often times a mirror is enough to make the goldfish think it's in a school.

As to if he's stopped growing, I'm not entirely sure. He only looks about 4 inches in body length and that is about half the size these guys can get. Goldfish in warmer tanks grow faster, so if he's been kept at room temp he might not be done growing. Fantail goldfish usually get between 6 and 10 inches long (not including fins).

Bluewind

First of all, kudos on having a beautiful, healthy 5 year old glodfish! So many people take terrible care of them and it's nice to see it done right.

Like others have said, 20gal is the MINIMUM for 1 goldie. Some say 30, but I think that's more of a personal preference. About 35 would be the minimum for 2. You can "underfilter" if you add plants (like using a 30 gal filter in a 40 for example) which work as natural filters. Plus, there are plenty of plants they LOVE to munch on

I would also add a bit of decor for him to explore in. Plants, jars, and whatever you can come up with that wont alter the water chemistry is all good for him. He also needs a place to hide when he wants to be alone.
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