Tropical Fish Keeping banner

A bit of help with gold fish

2K views 10 replies 3 participants last post by  otter 
#1 ·
Hello,
I know that gold fish aren't tropical, but I don't belong to any other fourms.

I have a 26 gallon tank, and was thinking of getting 2 gold fish

Can someone please tell me the best goldfish for a tank this size?
I don't want them getting too big for the tank :/
so gold fish that grow to about 6" maybe?
Do you have any suggestions?

I also have 2 white cloud minnow that are in a tropical tank right now for some weird reason..
Is it ok to put them in with the gold fish?

Also, the room that my fish tank is in, gets really hot in the summer so the water could get up to 80 degrees. Is that ok? I can always lower it with ice, but I don't want it to be a really big problem.


I really like pom pon gold fish!
Do you think that those would do well?
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Hi I love gold fish Tropical or not. I would try and find a Lion-head, Rancho, or a nice Calico fantail. I would not put feeder goldfish in it; they will get 12" long in a few yrs. I would not put more than 3 in that tank. Goldfish need room.
 
#3 ·
thanks! Yeah I was going to put 2!
 
#4 ·
A 26 gal isn't large enough for goldfish. Physically they may be able to fit inside it depending on the dimensions, but it's not a large enough amount of water to dilute the copious amounts of waste. A 30 gal is a good minimum size, but really any tank under 55 gallons will struggle with nitrates.

I have a 6 inch goldfish in my 55 gallon tank and can't imagine him swimming around a 26 gal. He would be bumping the walls at every turn. Fancy goldfish are very clumsy and need room to move.

White clouds aren't a good idea with goldfish because they likely will become food. Goldfish have to be kept with fish that won't fit in their mouths.

As for the temp, goldfish are fine at 80F for a while. My tank gets that hot on some summer afternoons. They just need good aeration when the water gets that warm. Constant temperatures this high will reduce their lifespan.

Frankly, I would hold off on goldfish until you can afford a larger tank. Pom pom goldfish are some of the more sensitive breeds and need good water quality. I don't believe you will be able to provide that in a 26 gal tank. Just move your white clouds in there and turn it into a white cloud tank. I've seen some really neat hardscapes done with WCMM.
 
#6 ·
oh yes, they seem a bit cramped :c

thanks for telling me. I was hoping to get really small goldfish.. like ones that only grow a few inches, but I don't know any that grow to be that small.
I think i will just put some dwarf gourami in it instead and then maybe turn it into brackish later on.
 
#7 ·
Ya. Those are beautiful fish, but they just don't work in small tanks. There is no such thing as a small goldfish. Some of the more elaborate fancies like ranchu and celestial eyes will only grow about 6 inches long, but that's still a pretty big fish for a 26 gal tank.

Gourami sound like a much better idea. That's what I turned my 29 gal tank into: a gourami and loach tank!
 
#10 ·
But there is something to be said for swimming space. There is not a lot of it in a small tank like that. Goldfish are much more active fish than most people think. You can keep a large animal in a small enclosure if you keep that enclosure clean, but that doesn't give it a good quality of life.
 
#9 ·
^^^ I hope so!
Im scared to put them in now, I don't want them t o be unhappy
 
#11 ·
yeah you're right ^__^ I decided to keep my dwarf gourami in there and give them away later on and get some different species. I really really want an oscar but i don't have any tanks that are big enough :(
I might turn it to salt and get clown fish but that means I would probably have to get an anemone depending on the species and I have no idea how to take care of one.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top