Oranda - getting him some friends

[Kellbot]

My girlfriend, wonderful though she is, got me an Oranda for my
birthday, which I was woefully unprepared for. I previously had a
betta fish in a little bowl, and when he died my gf got me the Oranda.
I ran out and got a filter for the bowl, and I've had him for over a
week and Bob the Oranda seems to be doing fine.
But since I understand he's going to get MUCH bigger (he's about 1"
now), I figure I ought to get him a nice big tank, and conveniently a
friend of mine is selling a 10 gallon tank complete with filters and
pH testing kit and all that jazz.

Do fish get lonely? Would he be happier with a friend? is a 10 gallon
tank big enough for 2 Orandas? if not, are there other kinds of fish
he might get along with? Do Orandas tend to eat smaller fish? I kinda
wanted to have a little school of 4 or 5 tetras, but I thought that
maybe Bob would be inclined to eat them once he got larger.

Thanks! I haven't had goldfish since I was a kid...
-Kelly

[blove]

goldfish do appreciate their own kind, but you will need atleast a 20 gallon
tank for 2 fancy goldfish. unfortuneatly, only goldfish can go with
goldfish so the tetra idea is not good. you could keep the 10 gallon for
the tetras and buy a 20 gallon for Bob and another goldfish buddy.


"Kellbot" > wrote in message
om...
> My girlfriend, wonderful though she is, got me an Oranda for my
> birthday, which I was woefully unprepared for. I previously had a
> betta fish in a little bowl, and when he died my gf got me the Oranda.
> I ran out and got a filter for the bowl, and I've had him for over a
> week and Bob the Oranda seems to be doing fine.
> But since I understand he's going to get MUCH bigger (he's about 1"
> now), I figure I ought to get him a nice big tank, and conveniently a
> friend of mine is selling a 10 gallon tank complete with filters and
> pH testing kit and all that jazz.
>
> Do fish get lonely? Would he be happier with a friend? is a 10 gallon
> tank big enough for 2 Orandas? if not, are there other kinds of fish
> he might get along with? Do Orandas tend to eat smaller fish? I kinda
> wanted to have a little school of 4 or 5 tetras, but I thought that
> maybe Bob would be inclined to eat them once he got larger.
>
> Thanks! I haven't had goldfish since I was a kid...
> -Kelly

[Mick Manford]

You should aim for about ten gallons for every fancy goldfish.

My advice would be get the biggest tank you can imagine. Fishkeeping
is all about looking after the water. The smaller the tank the more
volatile the water chemistry is and the more the temperature
fluctuates. With bigger tanks there is actually less work. I know that
sounds daft but its true.

Also - the price of glass tanks does not shoot up as they get bigger,
so its not that much more to have a 50 gallon tank than a 20 or 30.

And there are other fish you can keep with golds. Zebra danios or
white cloud mountain minnows would be fine with a couple of orandas in
a 30g or up tank.

Tetras are not good because generally they like quite acidic
conditions whereas goldfish prefer it to be neutral to slightly
alkali.

[Kellbot]

Hm, are there any types of small goldfish that could live with him? or
do big fish and little fish not get along too well?

I'm going by the "one gallon per inch of fish" rule, so right now it
seems like he's an OK size to share a 10 gallon tank with someone, and
once he gets bigger I figure I would have to separate them into 2
tanks or get a bigger tank.

"blove" > wrote in message >...
> goldfish do appreciate their own kind, but you will need atleast a 20 gallon
> tank for 2 fancy goldfish. unfortuneatly, only goldfish can go with
> goldfish so the tetra idea is not good. you could keep the 10 gallon for
> the tetras and buy a 20 gallon for Bob and another goldfish buddy.
>
>
> "Kellbot" > wrote in message
> om...
> > My girlfriend, wonderful though she is, got me an Oranda for my
> > birthday, which I was woefully unprepared for. I previously had a
> > betta fish in a little bowl, and when he died my gf got me the Oranda.
> > I ran out and got a filter for the bowl, and I've had him for over a
> > week and Bob the Oranda seems to be doing fine.
> > But since I understand he's going to get MUCH bigger (he's about 1"
> > now), I figure I ought to get him a nice big tank, and conveniently a
> > friend of mine is selling a 10 gallon tank complete with filters and
> > pH testing kit and all that jazz.
> >
> > Do fish get lonely? Would he be happier with a friend? is a 10 gallon
> > tank big enough for 2 Orandas? if not, are there other kinds of fish
> > he might get along with? Do Orandas tend to eat smaller fish? I kinda
> > wanted to have a little school of 4 or 5 tetras, but I thought that
> > maybe Bob would be inclined to eat them once he got larger.
> >
> > Thanks! I haven't had goldfish since I was a kid...
> > -Kelly

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Kellbot wrote:
>
> Hm, are there any types of small goldfish that could live with him? or
> do big fish and little fish not get along too well?
>
> I'm going by the "one gallon per inch of fish" rule, so right now it
> seems like he's an OK size to share a 10 gallon tank with someone, and
> once he gets bigger I figure I would have to separate them into 2
> tanks or get a bigger tank.

1 gallon per inch of fish does not work for Goldfish. You should be aiming
for at least 3 gallons per inch of goldfish. Believe me he will grow
fast and that 10 gallon would've been a waste of money. Get a 20 gallon
at least and get him a buddy. :)