That's great news Stephen!! Another one converted...g
Your fish will be so much happier in their nice new tank and I bet you that
in 6 months you'll understand why they need the 10 gallons when you see how
big and healthy they they have become.
You'll probably find that the Fluval 2 will do the job while the fish are
smallish, but once they start growing bigger and producing more waste you'll
probably find you need to upgrade or add another. To keep the water crystal
clear it's best to have a filter/or a combination of filters which will turn
the volume of your water over between 8-10 times per hour. Again, this might
sound excessive (like the 10 gallons rule!) but once you've got it you'll
see why.
As for plants, most will get wrecked within hours with goldfish. I have had
success with Java fern which I grow on chunks of bogwood but anything else
I've tried has been eaten.They do sometimes last a bit longer if you give
the goldfish a supply of romaine lettuce on a veggie clip as they tend to
pick at that instead of the plants.
Some plastic plants do look a bit tacky, but there are some better ones
around. Silk ones tend to look more realistic and although I've never bought
them I've seen them around in a few shops round here so I expect they're
readily available.The plastic ones will look better with age though as they
get a coating of algae etc.
As for other mates for your fish, opinion becomes divided. I have heaters in
my goldfish tanks so keep a couple of bristle places with them. These are
just about the only type which are suitable with goldfish so don't be
tempted to try anything else. Unlike most other places they stay herbivorous
for their entire lives and only get to 6 inches max. They would need a piece
of bogwood to hide under and chew. Trouble is once they were all full grown
your tank would be overstocked again so only get one of you know you can
upgrade when the time comes. I also have an apple snail. Despite what people
tell you they aren't that great at cleaning the algae off the tank (like the
bristlenoses), and also create an awful lot of poop. Hillstream loaches
would be another option. These are coldwater, stay very small (3 inches ish)
and are safe with goldfish. They like a lot of current though so you might
need to add the other filter to keep them happy.
Hope this helps anyway,
Mel.


"ste mc ©" wrote in message
...
Hey there,

First of all, thanks to Mel, Ingrid, and Deanna for your replies. I was
going to come back here and tell you that I thought your advice was a bit
over the top, and that my fish tank would be fine as it was. I was going
to
say, if you want such a big tank for your fish, why don't you do the right
thing and let them back in the ocean where they belong, rather than
keeping
them trapped in some aquarium, which no matter how big, will never compare
to their natural habitats.

But I then started reading more after your advice, so I've followed it.
:-)
I bought a new tank today to replace the large goldfish bowl which we had
beforehand. The new tank came with a Fluval 2 filter. Hopefully, it will
do the job. If not, we'll just get a bigger filter later on. The tank
also
came with a light in the hood, and the tank is 80cm x 30cm x 40cm, which
holds 96 litres, or 21 gallons.

I've got two fish in this, a Blackmoor, and something else - I will take a
photo later in the week and upload it to my webspace so someone can
identify
it! ;-)

If anyone can recommend any real plants that will look nice in the tank
and
be okay with my fish, then please feel free to do so. We've currently got
some of those plastic plants, but they look ever so tacky. Also, if
anyone
can recommend any other aquatic life that would work well within our
aquarium, then please let me know.

So thanks to everyone for their help, it's much appreciated - not by me or
my bank balance so much, but my two little fishies! :-)

Thanks,

Stephen



"ste ©" wrote in message
...
| Hi there,
|
| I've got a small goldfish tank with two goldfish. To clean it, I've
been
| putting the fish into a bowl of clean water, then cleaning out their
tank
| and gravel in the bath.
|
| The tank is probably too small to bother with a filter, but is there any
| other way to keep the water clean without changing it every week? Are
there
| any small water creatures I can get that will keep it cleaner for
example?
| I've also read somewhere about some sort of 'water hoover,' would that
be
| any good for what I'm talking about?
|
| Thanks for any advice.
|
| Regards,
|
| Stephen
|
|