Ok, I'm hooked

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