Fishkeeping anyone ??

  • Thread starter Thread starter BigJamesGTI
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TheCracker
I have a modest set up of a 18"x12"x12" glass tank (don't know the gallonage) with one very plain goldfish. The only thing of any note is the fact that George (the goldfish) will be celabrating his 19th birthday this year!!!

I know that a goldfish is expected to live for 20 years, but i've never heard of one last for more than a couple of years before. He (maybe she) is incredibly tough - he's survived for 2 months without any food, my sister was to blame for this - he's survived many, many shattered tanks and since we got the two dogs his tank gets cleaned irregularly at best - but he just keeps going, he's older than many people on this site!
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Wow, that fish must have a will to live! alot do live up to around 20 years...but thats if they are well taken care of :lol:
I think the record was around 50 years for a common goldfish, the owners won it at a fair in the 1950s!!
A big mistake that alot of goldfish owners make is the size of the tank, I would put a common goldfish in a tank no smaller than a 40gal, and a 30gal for fancy types....I know this seems like alot, but there are some goldfish enthusiasts who would think thats too small. I have 4 goldfish in a 33 gal, with a filter that cycles the water completley 10 times every hour! lol...a little overkill?? yes. :lol: but It makes for healthy goldfish...and they dont smell! haha.
 
powripper
A big mistake that alot of goldfish owners make is the size of the tank, I would put a common goldfish in a tank no smaller than a 40gal, and a 30gal for fancy types....I know this seems like alot, but there are some goldfish enthusiasts who would think thats too small.
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But then your goldfish get big and they aren't so cute. Besides most parents have no problem buying their five-year-old child a $.99 pet that can sit quietly on a shelf. Most goldfish owners don't care oif they live or die. If they truly cared they would have a real tank.

I have 4 goldfish in a 33 gal, with a filter that cycles the water completley 10 times every hour! lol...a little overkill?? yes. :lol: but It makes for healthy goldfish...and they dont smell! haha.
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Only 10? My old freshwater 10 gallon had a 110 gph power filter and then an undergravel filter powered by two 230 gph powerheads.

I'm currently setting up a 55 gallon marine aquarium and have a 150 gph canister and will have an undergravel running with two 230 gph powerheads.


Honestly there is no such thing as overkill when it comes to filtration, especially when you consider that since it is an enclosed system no amount of filtration will prevent waste and bacterial buildup. I remember when I was buying the stuff for my aquarium I was looking at a canister rated for 60 gallons and multiple sources told me I needed a bigger one (Mine is good up to 150) or have a secondary filtration system. It is always good to have a system that can handle twice the water you actually have.

The only reason to decrease power would be if it is a breeding tank. The moment you can tell you have fry you need to reduce the suction. I don't know how many guppy fry I have removed from filter media. I had to use only the undergravel filter until they were large enough for me to get them separated from the adults.
 
FERGU$_MANERGU$
we've got a beta sittin on the back of the crapper
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When it eventually dies you just have to tip it in and flush. 👍
 
I plan on raising a koi pond in the future. I've been quite fond of them ever since I went to this japanese spring festival. They had the florida koi assosciation there, and there were some MONSTER fish. Hahaha. One of them had to be the size of a reasonably priced piano keyboard; the ones with 5 octaves of keys.

Plus, they were selling for a TON of money.
 
I personally have had a couple of Indoor aquariums. I had a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft tank about 4 years ago which i had freshwater tropical fish in. I had a variety of fish over the years ranging from Neon Tetra to fighting fish. I then got bored and changed it to a Marine set up ( Saltwater) but i only had this for about 6 months as it was a hell of a lot of work to keep.

Currently my dad has about 15 Koi Carp in the garden. Our current pond in about 12ft long x 9ft wide and is 6ft deep. With Koi carp though its not so much a job to keep the fish but you are actually keeping water clean so you can view your fish. There is an assortment of Koi in there, some are worth a little bit of money others are just "pond fillers" and are worth nothing. The largest fish being 27 inches long and is a Chagoi. Its more my fathers hobbie but fish are quite tame now and will happily take food from your hand.

Spec....
 
Omnis
Plus, they were selling for a TON of money.
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Which will be your biggest obstacle to get started. Ponds can be cool but Koi can be expensive depending on what you want. If you don't mind it looking like a bunch of giant goildfish, which is what they really are, but if you want the fancy cool kind then you will have to cough up the big bucks.

Being in Florida building your pond won't be as much of a hassle as if you were in Kentucky. My mom wants a pond with fish in it but she has to dig a minimum of 3 feet deep to get below the freeze line so that the fish can stay below any ice in the winter. However, if you want a 3 foot long fish you might as well just build a full-fledged pond, like Spec's dad. Of course, when someone does that I recommend stocking it with bass, blue gill, and catfish and then call me in two years and I will help thin it out for you. I'll even cook them up for dinner. :D

Also, being in Florida I am betting that gators can be an issue near any body of water, especially one's stocked with large fish. So, I don't know how bad they are near you but a fence of some sort might be a good idea.

The key to remember with Koi, or any fish in the carp family (goldfish, grass carp, etc) is that their maximum size is determined by the size of the body of water and their food supply.
 
Pako strikes once again to not only one-up us all but to throw down the gauntlet, pick it back up, hit us with it and then throw it back down on our foot. :lol:
 
TB
Pako strikes once again to not only one-up us all but to throw down the gauntlet, pick it back up, hit us with it and then throw it back down on our foot. :lol:
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:lol: Don't know about that but,......I should note that the tank is now gone. I have since cut it up and hauled it off. I kept two of the three sections of glass from the tank. It was just too much to maintain and when it started to leak out the back where I didn't have access to it, I had to decide if I wanted 500 gallons of water in my basement (right next to the recording studio) or to just cut it up and move on. Needless to say, I took it out in pieces. It was cool though and might someday do a smaller salt water tank. That would be very cool!
 
FoolKiller
Which will be your biggest obstacle to get started. Ponds can be cool but Koi can be expensive depending on what you want. If you don't mind it looking like a bunch of giant goildfish, which is what they really are, but if you want the fancy cool kind then you will have to cough up the big bucks.

Being in Florida building your pond won't be as much of a hassle as if you were in Kentucky. My mom wants a pond with fish in it but she has to dig a minimum of 3 feet deep to get below the freeze line so that the fish can stay below any ice in the winter. However, if you want a 3 foot long fish you might as well just build a full-fledged pond, like Spec's dad. Of course, when someone does that I recommend stocking it with bass, blue gill, and catfish and then call me in two years and I will help thin it out for you. I'll even cook them up for dinner. :D

Also, being in Florida I am betting that gators can be an issue near any body of water, especially one's stocked with large fish. So, I don't know how bad they are near you but a fence of some sort might be a good idea.

The key to remember with Koi, or any fish in the carp family (goldfish, grass carp, etc) is that their maximum size is determined by the size of the body of water and their food supply.
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The babies weren't that expensive. But, of course, a 3.5 foot long fish that looks like it ate a golf bag is going to be super-expensive. It was, indeed.

Anyway, yeah, I have alligators under my bed and in my closet. Lol. I don't live in the everglades. Birds would be a bigger threat, imo. This isn't going to happen for a long while, though. It's still just a thought.
 

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