nativelaw wrote:
"Kay" wrote in message
news:zpRVb.131092$U%5.612495@attbi_s03...

nativelaw wrote:


Never had fish as a child except a series of "Goldie"s won from fairs,

that

lived in small bowls for the few weeks the poor things could make it. I
always thought it was a matter of willpower for those that lived longest
(and I guess it was; I wasn't doing them any favors.) In two short

months

now of learning the better way, I'm really enjoying my Orandas. I now

have

added a 20gal tank (two fish) to the master bedroom in addition to the

10gal

in my daughter's room.

My daughter's tank (standard rectangular 10g) had one red and white

Oranda

(Nemo) who's about 2" long excluding tailfin. I know that you're not
supposed to put more than one gfish in there, but a 20gal tank is too

big

for her room and Nemo seemed lonely. I have broken down and added a

small

(1") red cap Oranda. So far the two are getting along swimmingly (it's

just

been a few days.). The tank has a heater, a 6" air stone and I have

added a

bit of aquarium salt (just under .08%) to ease stress. If I am faithful
with watching nitrite/nitrate/ammonia, doing water changes, I am hoping

they

will be okay for a while. Any other suggestions (besides get a bigger

tank)

I'm glad to hear.

Also, if there is another kind of fish, smaller, that would make a

better

companion, we have a 30 gal tank coming in a couple of months that I'm
buying from my sister in law that I was going to use for tropicals --

can

you ever mix tropical and goldfish in one tank?

I'm sure this could vary greatly but any wild guess how old the average

1"

or 2" petstore Oranda might be? Also I assume when people speak of
measurements they are customarily speaking of body length and not any

tail

fins?

Thanks much,
Andrea



Your not going to want to hear this but that 10 gallon will not be big
enough for 2 goldfish. Sometime down the line it will be thier demise.
One sugestion would be cycle the 30 gallion tank and switch the 2
goldfish to that one and make a small tropical tank with the 10 gallon.
there are amny setups a 10 gallon can be with tropicals. so many small
fish to choose from.

Kay


Hi Kay,

Yes, I'm figuring I'm not going to be able to keep the fish that way for too
long (I read that Orandas can reach 12" long!) But I'm wondering how fast
these fish grow? If the two can stay together for a few months without
doing them harm I can do just what you suggest. Would even six months
together be a terrible strain for them if I keep them free of the N words?

Given the family's love of pets, I probably will end up with the 10 gal tank
as not much of anything but a quarantine/water change tank and upgrade all
of them. I'm just trying to get a sense of how long they could endure
healthfully in that space -- is the problem that you'll have to change water
so often to keep it clean that the stress of the changes gets to them? Do
they tend to develop diseases due to stress weakening immunity, etc.?

Thanks again,
Andrea



I kept a gold fish in a 6 gallon for a month, then a 29 gallon for
about3 motnhs and then moved him in a 55, but that was a common
goldfish, yours I dopn't think will be 12 inches, maybe 6 - 8? Common,
comet's or long bodied fish get to be 12 inches and over.

The problem would be the N in the water. You whould have to check it and
do aliot of water changes. I think godlfish grow faster than my
tropicals ie Clown Loaches.

Oh another idea for the 10 is an African Dwarf Frog tank with a apple
snail! I have one its great they are singing at night, it sounds so
cute, they stay small. They are just adorable.


Kay