Is my tank WAY too small??

[Lucky]

I am really worried about my tank. I did have a bowl, but thankfully
came to my senses and bought the fish a new 21 litre tank.

I asked the pet shop person how many litres of water is necessary for
each fish, she said 4-5 litres. That would be fine as I have 3
goldfish.

But I read EVERYWHERE that you need about 25-30 litres of water PER
FISH! (or 10 gallons for everyone who uses that measurement).

Now I am very worried that the fish will be overcrowded. They only have
7 litres each. The tank is only 5.5 gallons in total ( i think, if my
conversion is correct).

Is this a MAJOR problem? What will happen, and why do fish need that
much water each? I change 20% of the water every fourth day.

Please answer!!!

P.S How does everybody even OWN fish if everybody needs to have a
massive swimming pool tank to keep them!!!!

[bettasngoldfish]

Well your first lesson is that most if not all advice you get from a
pet shop is incorrect! Goldfish are large massive bodied fish
especially if you compare them to a tropical fish such as a guppie.
They produce massive amounts of waste and in a tank that small you are
basically killing them slowly in their own waste : ( A good rule of
thumb is to give each goldfish at least 10 gallons of water each, more
is better if you can (although most people find that difficult because
goldfish are addicting and you find yourself bringing "just one more
home" each time you vist a lfs) Hope this helps! Good luck to you : )

[soup]

Lucky popped their head over the parapet saw what was going on and said
> I am really worried about my tank. I did have a bowl, but thankfully
> came to my senses and bought the fish a new 21 litre tank.
>
> I asked the pet shop person how many litres of water is necessary for
> each fish, she said 4-5 litres. That would be fine as I have 3
> goldfish.
>
> But I read EVERYWHERE that you need about 25-30 litres of water PER
> FISH! (or 10 gallons for everyone who uses that measurement).
>
> Now I am very worried that the fish will be overcrowded. They only
> have 7 litres each. The tank is only 5.5 gallons in total ( i think,
> if my conversion is correct).
>
> Is this a MAJOR problem? What will happen, and why do fish need that
> much water each? I change 20% of the water every fourth day.
>
> Please answer!!!
>
> P.S How does everybody even OWN fish if everybody needs to have a
> massive swimming pool tank to keep them!!!!

The rule of thumb is 10 gallons of water per Goldfish
(they are messy so they need lots of water and they
grow to quite a massive size given room [it is an old
fallacy that fish grow to the size of the tank, what actually
happens is the fish are restricted in the size they can grow to])
Have found that the LFS (local fish shop) and hobbyists
seldom agree but the LFS is a business and it is in there
interest to sell you as much as possible.
In smaller tanks 'tropical' fish may be kept in greater numbers
than Goldfish.
There is a lot of people in here who talk of 50 60 70 gallon
tanks, biggest I have heard of was advertised at 995 gallons

At the moment I have two Goldfish in 5 gallons, if it was down to
me we would'nt even have one and the water is a tad murky
after two days, am doing 40%water changes every two days ,
supposed to be for the first month but I can see this being the
norm.
I can ,sort of, accept the fish dying (not very fair on the fish)
after
two~three months as fish keeping is not really a hobby of mine we
basicaly only have this set-up for my eldest son (12) as he got the
tank for his Christmas.
BTW An unthinking present has cost us a FORTUNE we have
had to pay for plants,fish,gravel,a net,de-chlor,a siphon,two buckets,
ornaments, etc.


--
yours S

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione

[bassett]

The answer to your question is Filters. Put simply you can't filter
water enough. You say that your changeing 20% of the water every 4 days,
What about the other 80%, and all the liquid waste that that contains.
Goldfish are messy things, and what goes in also comes out, So your water
needs to be filtered 24/7. A lot of people that have large tanks also have
large canister filters, that they move around from tank to tank, or they
have canister filters connected full time on tanks that contain Mucky fish.
People that have planted tanks and small tropical fish also use filter ,
even though the plants will breakdown waste to a degree.

bassett


I am really worried about my tank. I did have a bowl, but thankfully
came to my senses and bought the fish a new 21 litre tank.

I asked the pet shop person how many litres of water is necessary for
each fish, she said 4-5 litres. That would be fine as I have 3
goldfish.

But I read EVERYWHERE that you need about 25-30 litres of water PER
FISH! (or 10 gallons for everyone who uses that measurement).

Now I am very worried that the fish will be overcrowded. They only have
7 litres each. The tank is only 5.5 gallons in total ( i think, if my
conversion is correct).

Is this a MAJOR problem? What will happen, and why do fish need that
much water each? I change 20% of the water every fourth day.

Please answer!!!

P.S How does everybody even OWN fish if everybody needs to have a
massive swimming pool tank to keep them!!!!

[Ed VanDyke]

"bassett" > wrote in message
...
>
> The answer to your question is Filters. Put simply you can't filter
> water enough. You say that your changeing 20% of the water every 4 days,
> What about the other 80%, and all the liquid waste that that contains.
> Goldfish are messy things, and what goes in also comes out, So your
> water needs to be filtered 24/7. A lot of people that have large tanks
> also have large canister filters, that they move around from tank to tank,
> or they have canister filters connected full time on tanks that contain
> Mucky fish.
> People that have planted tanks and small tropical fish also use filter ,
> even though the plants will breakdown waste to a degree.
>
> bassett
>
>
> I am really worried about my tank. I did have a bowl, but thankfully
> came to my senses and bought the fish a new 21 litre tank.
>
> I asked the pet shop person how many litres of water is necessary for
> each fish, she said 4-5 litres. That would be fine as I have 3
> goldfish.
>
> But I read EVERYWHERE that you need about 25-30 litres of water PER
> FISH! (or 10 gallons for everyone who uses that measurement).
>
> Now I am very worried that the fish will be overcrowded. They only have
> 7 litres each. The tank is only 5.5 gallons in total ( i think, if my
> conversion is correct).
>
> Is this a MAJOR problem? What will happen, and why do fish need that
> much water each? I change 20% of the water every fourth day.
>
> Please answer!!!
>
> P.S How does everybody even OWN fish if everybody needs to have a
> massive swimming pool tank to keep them!!!!
>
>

I don't know what kind of goldfish you have or how big they are, but 3
goldfish in a 5.5 gallon tank is a little snug. Even a very inexpensive
filter would help a lot. An undergravel filter would be great, but even a
cheap replaceable cartridge that hooks to your airhose would help. The fact
that you change 20% every 4 days shows that you care, that's the most
important step. Goldfish are particularly messy, when the day comes to
restock your tank, you might look into smaller and/or cleaner fish. Or, you
may try upsizing. A 10 or 20 gallon tank doesn't have a much bigger
footprint than what you have. Aside from the initial investment of a larger
filter/heater/etc, the maintenance is in many ways easier. Smaller tanks
react greater to environmental changes.

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Ed VanDyke wrote:
> I don't know what kind of goldfish you have or how big they are, but 3
> goldfish in a 5.5 gallon tank is a little snug. Even a very inexpensive
> filter would help a lot. An undergravel filter would be great, but even a
> cheap replaceable cartridge that hooks to your airhose would help. The fact
> that you change 20% every 4 days shows that you care, that's the most
> important step. Goldfish are particularly messy, when the day comes to
> restock your tank, you might look into smaller and/or cleaner fish. Or, you
> may try upsizing. A 10 or 20 gallon tank doesn't have a much bigger
> footprint than what you have. Aside from the initial investment of a larger
> filter/heater/etc, the maintenance is in many ways easier. Smaller tanks
> react greater to environmental changes.

Ed I agree, I have a 15 gallon and a 63 gallon tank. The 63 is way easier to
maintain.

[Angrie.Woman]

"Geezer From The Freezer" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Ed VanDyke wrote:
.. Aside from the initial investment of a larger
>> filter/heater/etc, the maintenance is in many ways easier. Smaller tanks
>> react greater to environmental changes.
>
> Ed I agree, I have a 15 gallon and a 63 gallon tank. The 63 is way easier
> to
> maintain.

Me three. I have a 29g, but very sparse on fish. (1 gf, a snail, and two
really old tetras that just won't die) I clean it once a week, but there's
never any visible sign of anything but a little poo when I wash the gravel.
The filter also rinses practically clean.

I think my tetras are so old because their environment is really stable.
They're only supposed to live 5 years, but these are going on 8.

A

[D.L.]

My goldfish population is a very disorganized at the moment. I have the
following tanks set up:

5.5 gallon -- one 4 inch Ranchu
10 gallon -- one 5 inch comet
15 gallon -- one tiny baby pearl scale
20L -- one 3 in. pearlscale, one 3 in. telescope
33L -- empty right now because the filter is not working.

The Ranchu in the 5.5 gallon gets an 80% water change every day.

The comet gets a 70% water change every other day.

The baby pearl scale gets a 50% water change every 3-4 days.

The 3 inch pearl and the telescope get a 40% change once a week. They
also have the biggest filter -- a Penguin 350, which keeps their water
crystal clear.

[Geezer From The Freezer]

"D.L." wrote:
>
> My goldfish population is a very disorganized at the moment. I have the
> following tanks set up:
>
> 5.5 gallon -- one 4 inch Ranchu
> 10 gallon -- one 5 inch comet
> 15 gallon -- one tiny baby pearl scale
> 20L -- one 3 in. pearlscale, one 3 in. telescope
> 33L -- empty right now because the filter is not working.
>
> The Ranchu in the 5.5 gallon gets an 80% water change every day.
>
> The comet gets a 70% water change every other day.
>
> The baby pearl scale gets a 50% water change every 3-4 days.
>
> The 3 inch pearl and the telescope get a 40% change once a week. They
> also have the biggest filter -- a Penguin 350, which keeps their water
> crystal clear.

DL, just out of interest how come the baby pearl gets the most space?

[D.L.]

<<<DL, just out of interest how come the baby pearl gets the most
space?>>>

I have the baby pearl scale in her own 15 gallon tank because she's a
girl and the others are boys. I was in a LFS and saw her being chased
and harassed around a crowded tank of other pearl scales. So I brought
her home with me and set her up in her own tank:)

Once she gets bigger, I'll put her in the 20 gallon with the telescope
and the other pearlscale.

[D.L.]

<<<DL, just out of interest how come the baby pearl gets the most
space?>>>

By the way, the 33 gallon is going to be the comet's home. I plan to get
the comet a room-mate -- I'm thinking a wakin would work. The 33 gallon
tank is interesting because it's a 33 long -- meaning it's the same
length as a 55 gallon, but it's not as tall.

Eventually, I'm going to get a 55 gallon, and that will be home to the
Ranchu and one or two room-mates. As soon as I can talk someone into
helping me carry a 55 gallon from a LFS to my car and then help carry it
from my car to my living room! LOL!

The 33 gallon long is set up in the basement rec room, and the 55 gallon
will go in the living room. The smaller tanks can then be used for
quarantine/hospital tanks. So that's my plan for getting my goldfish
population organized:)