The 10 gallon rule

I'm a newbie to Goldfish care. I'm seeing over & over the
fecommendation of 1 fish per 10 gallons of tank to start with. To me
this seems excessive for small juveniles (although I understand the
rationale for older fish).

a) Is that assumption wrong - that even small juveniles need that much
tank?

b) just how fast do they grow i.e. how many months or years should it
take for say a tiny 2" GF baby to require such space?

c) do all you serious GF ppl not even bother with the small fish &
average stores & hunt around for, only taking home, perfect fist sized
or better specimins?

Curious George wrote:
I'm a newbie to Goldfish care. I'm seeing over & over the
fecommendation of 1 fish per 10 gallons of tank to start with. To me
this seems excessive for small juveniles (although I understand the
rationale for older fish).

a) Is that assumption wrong - that even small juveniles need that much
tank?
Well, I put juveniles in a 10g for about 19 months, but their growth
rate was SLOOOOOOW! Then I transferred them to a 40g, and over this
summer, they tripled in size. So whether it was the change of tank
size, or the time of year I made the change, I don't know for certain.

b) just how fast do they grow i.e. how many months or years should it
take for say a tiny 2" GF baby to require such space?
Again, the more space, the faster they will grow in my experience. I
don't know what others have observed.

c) do all you serious GF ppl not even bother with the small fish &
average stores & hunt around for, only taking home, perfect fist sized
or better specimins?
Oh, no! Who has $$ for that? I so long for the gorgeous $50 and up
goldies, but I don't have confidence in my goldfish keeping to even
chance it. One day I yearned for a $27 6" fish at PetSmart. But I just
stood there and resisted the temptation. Some day, when I get my 100g
tank, maybe I will try.
n

On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 21:17:44 GMT, NanK wrote:

snip

Thanks to you (& others here). This gives me a better perspective.

c) do all you serious GF ppl not even bother with the small fish &
average stores & hunt around for, only taking home, perfect fist sized
or better specimins?
Oh, no! Who has $$ for that? I so long for the gorgeous $50 and up
goldies, but I don't have confidence in my goldfish keeping to even
chance it. One day I yearned for a $27 6" fish at PetSmart. But I just
stood there and resisted the temptation. Some day, when I get my 100g
tank, maybe I will try.
n

Maybe I'm just a clueless newb but I don't follow. How do you not
have money for a $27 fish yet you can afford to keep a healthy home
for fish (of any price)?

Right now for $3 (USD) for young Ryukin & a $26 "beginner tank combo"
I'm now in well over $100 in supplies, decorations, etc and looking at
larger tanks (partly due to learning as I go as opposed to doing more
homework in advanced). I've seen a lot of 55 & 75 gal tanks & stands
in the $400-1000 range locally. So to spend $500+ just to get
started, plus supplies over time, what's the difference between
stocking it with $3 fish or $30 fish? choosing between different
models depending on your decor, for example, impacts the total cost of
the aquarium much more (in my mind). It just seems like a lot of
effort & expense for cheap fish & is untenable on a very tight budget.
I'd also think that, like most animals, your chances of getting a
really fine specimen in a pet shop isn't that great. With a juvenile
I'd think ther'd be guesswork (unless or even if you're _really_
experienced) as to how one would develop. With a more mature animal,
generally what you see is what you get.

Of course I'm at the bottom of the learning curve & I get why it might
be more fulfilling to nurture a baby to a nice, healthy, mature fish.
& If you're confident in your fish keeping skills & in it for the long
haul +/- 6-9 months for a substantial fish doesn't matter. I'm not
trying to be a snob or denigrate the helpful answers. When I was
looking for my current dog I looked around at fancy breeders with
$2000 price tags. Then I walked into the local shelter & fell in
love. My "superdog" before that came from death row. Right now I'm
willing to do just about anything for $1 a piece fancy GF (deep
discount) & a common. Go figure.

more water per fish, faster growth, better health. it is difficult to keep small
amounts of water proper cleanliness, even a bit of ammonia stunts them, takes down
their health, one reason small fish die so easily.
build a pond and put small fish in there, they got a better chance of getting big
over summer, then bring them in. Ingrid

Curious George wrote:

I'm a newbie to Goldfish care. I'm seeing over & over the
fecommendation of 1 fish per 10 gallons of tank to start with. To me
this seems excessive for small juveniles (although I understand the
rationale for older fish).

a) Is that assumption wrong - that even small juveniles need that much
tank?

b) just how fast do they grow i.e. how many months or years should it
take for say a tiny 2" GF baby to require such space?

c) do all you serious GF ppl not even bother with the small fish &
average stores & hunt around for, only taking home, perfect fist sized
or better specimins?



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"Curious George" wrote in message
...
I'm a newbie to Goldfish care. I'm seeing over & over the
fecommendation of 1 fish per 10 gallons of tank to start with. To me
this seems excessive for small juveniles (although I understand the
rationale for older fish).

$$ It does make sense as goldfish grow rapidly if healthy and well fed.
Starved goldfish grow slowly but are subject to disease and deformity.

a) Is that assumption wrong - that even small juveniles need that much
tank?

$$ There is no such thing as a tank too large for GF.

b) just how fast do they grow i.e. how many months or years should it
take for say a tiny 2" GF baby to require such space?

$$ Around 9 months (or less) if well fed and healthy.

c) do all you serious GF ppl not even bother with the small fish &
average stores & hunt around for, only taking home, perfect fist sized
or better specimins?

$$ I always bought young adults. Now I raise my own outdoors.
--
McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Reel Mckoi wrote:

b) just how fast do they grow i.e. how many months or years should it
take for say a tiny 2" GF baby to require such space?


$$ Around 9 months (or less) if well fed and healthy.
Reed,
Is this for pond fish. Don't you think indoor fish would take longer?

n

Yep 10 gallons typically OR 3 gallons per inch of goldfish
(not including tail length).

Fish will grow small if they don't have the space, I believe they
release a hormone which limits (or stunts) their growth which
isn't good for them as it leads to a shortened life.