Hey, all.

[M&MKhan]

Glad to be here.

I have a 5.5 gallon tank with an undergravel filration system. I have two common (calico?) goldfish named Mr. and Mrs. Khan (or Sha Ruhk and Anjalie). S.R. is 1.5 inches roughly and A. is 1 inch. They both seem mostly content especially S.R. and I clean the tank regularly. I only got them two weeks ago as I am trying to get back to keeping fish. I used to have lots of g/f but they all died on me but I am feeling confident about these two.

If anyone has some easy tips for me that would be great. I am kind of nervous to ask but is my tank too small?

[Pac-Man]

your tank is WAY too small. a tank like that will stunt their growth. im assuming theyre fancy goldfish?? if so i recommend you at least get a 40 galllon for those guys, maybe less if u keep up with water changes. otherwise, you will have to find a new home for them or gve them back to the store. im sorry to bring you the bad news...

[M&MKhan]

40 GALLONS???? Yikes. Of course I want to do what is right for them but purely out of curiousity would it be harmful to their health I put them in a 10 gal. or would it just prevent them from growing?

[M&MKhan]

What if I just got rid of one goldfish? I don't THINK they are fancy fish. The lady at the shop said that they would get to be 6 inches though.

[Hamm3592]

for goldfish the rule usually is one gallon of water per inch of goldfish

[Pac-Man]

no hamm that is just totally wrong. the 1 inch of fish per gallon just isnt a good guideline AT ALL when it comes to goldfish. Really M&M a 30 gallon would be the BARE minimum for your goldfish. if u put them in a 10 gallon it would definetely hurt their health. they wont live nearly as long. goldfish can live over 20 years.

[M&MKhan]

Okay well I went to pet shop and talked to people and they said that the new deal is two gallons per inch of fish. So since my goldfish are going to be 6 in. in the end the minimum tank size would be 25 gallons. But she said I have a little less than a month to work with before they will outgrow their current digs.

[Pac-Man]

no thats just wrong. im srry but 2 gallons per inch just isnt enough. Goldfish are BIG waste producers. an okay rule for some goldish is 20 gallons for the first one and 10 gallons for each one thereafter. but even this ule can cause some space issues. and also, how does 3-4 goldfish getting 6 inches long equal 25 gallons????? if u get three by your rule u would need 36 gallons, and by four you would need 48 gallons. so, how are you even applying your rule of thumb???? i would suggest a 55 for your goldfish, they would be alot happier than in a 25.

[fish_doc]

I have my 3 goldfish in a 55gal tank and they have outgrown that. I do water changes 3 to 4 times a week and it still dirtys quickly. The comets I have are now over a foot long are very beautiful. First thing you need to do is find out exactly what kind of goldfish you have. http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/ftypes.html then we can give you a better idea on what size tank you need.

[Pac-Man]

what fish_doc said!!!

[Lexus]

Welcome! My recommendation is bring the goldfish back or upgrade to a bigger tank quick!

[Niki2105]

You really shouldn't have any smaller than a 30 gallon for a couple of Fancy Goldfish and a 40 or 50 for a couple of comets. I have just recently joined this site and found out that my goldfish probally shouldnt still be alive casue for the first 2 years i had her in a 2 gallon fishbowl. After i got my 10 gallon a few months ago i started doing research on fish to learn how to care for them and learend that my goldfish who is a Fantail should have 10 gallons itself. So my grandmother gave me her old 15 gallon tank but i first have to reseal it then i can use it till i can aford to get a bigger one. I only have one goldfish but when i move her into her own tank i want to add one or two more so she has some company. Right now she is in my 10 gallon with 3 guppys and 2 swords till i fix the other tank and cycle it. So i hope to get a 30 - 50 gallon eventually and have probally 3 - 4 Fantails in it.

how does 3-4 goldfish getting 6 inches long equal 25 gallons????? if u get three by your rule u would need 36 gallons, and by four you would need 48 gallons. so, how are you even applying your rule of thumb????

Pac-Man - If you would have read her post you would have seen that she only has two goldfish. So using the 2 gallon per inch and having the store say they will only grow 6 inches technicality she would only need a 25 gallon.

[osteoporoosi]

The inch/gallon-rule doesn't really work with goldfish. They are extremely messy and grow even bigger than 6 inches, 8-9 inches is a very common goldfish size. Obviously 5g is not enough, good luck finding a bigger one!

[svolk]

I was completely uneducated about fish keeping when I had my 2 first gold fish (comets). Like someone else said a few posts up, I unknowingly did everything wrong, but somehow managed to keep them alive for about 2 years in way too small of a tank. Now they are in a 55 gal. tank, and they have gotten HUGE so far (and they keep getting bigger!). Right now they are about 4 inches each, but they are massive considering how tiny they were when I got them (they are not only long, but they are thick as well).

I know it's alarming to hear that you really do need such a big tank for your goldfish, but hang in there. Read up, ask questions here, and you'll be fine.

[Lexus]

ya I was one of them too, I kept 3 comets in a 1gallon they lived then were moved to a 29G.

[ron v]

M&M..., welcome to the forum and " back" to the hobby. One little piece of advise from an old man, If I may. Forget anything you hear at your pet shop. Run your ideas and questions by the folks on this forum and you will do well.