Goldfish People...

[sillysally]

How big of a tank would I need for a pair of fantail goldfish. Also, what sort of plants would do well with them?

[crazedACD]

Fake plants . They usually do eat them...maybe something like Anubias would live.

For a pair of full grown Goldfish, the minimum recommended size is 20g long term.

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

I'd do a 29 for two full grown fantails. They get about the size of your fist which is pretty huge. You have to give them plenty of horizontal AND vertical space. And keep in mind that they produce a lot more waste than most fish, so you'll be limited to how many fish you can have in the tank and do water changes accordingly.

I had one baby fantail in my 20Long but I was going to upgrade to a 29 before it got too big. I took my tank down though and am in the process of rehoming my fish. Eventually I want a 29 with a fantail. I love Goldies.

[Romy]

29-30 would be good for just two. If you want to be really generous, a 40 gallon breeder tank would be wonderful and give you the option of adding a third fish at some point. If you have a choice, horizontal is preferred over vertical because it gives them a lot more surface area.

Supposedly they eat plants, but if you feed them really well there shouldn't be a problem. Most people way underfeed their goldies, which is probably for the best considering most people really overcrowd their tanks and don't clean them often enough.

Mine have duckweed floating on the surface. I have to keep a separate bucket of it growing all the time because they will eat it down to nothing, but it's really good for them. Especially deep bodied fancies like fantail and ryukin because they tend to get constipated on a pellet or flake diet.

I had a big gorgeous aponogeton and a lotus that were growing really well, but accidentally killed them. T.T There were some ich cysts so I did a salt treatment. The plants were taken out for the treatment but I wanted to kill the ich on them too so I did a quick bleach dip and got distracted by kids and forgot to take them out of the dip. They did fine with the goldfish though.

My fish get fed 4-5 times a day with home made gel food and bits of cooked beef heart and tuna. They get a 50% water change 3x a week, partly because they're fed so heavily but also because I have them a bit crowded in their tank right now (the outside fish came in for the winter).

Sponge filters are magical and really affordable too. They go a long ways toward keeping a tank nice and healthy.

[~Tucker&Me~]

Originally Posted by Romy

29-30 would be good for just two. If you want to be really generous, a 40 gallon breeder tank would be wonderful and give you the option of adding a third fish at some point. If you have a choice, horizontal is preferred over vertical because it gives them a lot more surface area.

Supposedly they eat plants, but if you feed them really well there shouldn't be a problem. Most people way underfeed their goldies, which is probably for the best considering most people really overcrowd their tanks and don't clean them often enough.

Mine have duckweed floating on the surface. I have to keep a separate bucket of it growing all the time because they will eat it down to nothing, but it's really good for them. Especially deep bodied fancies like fantail and ryukin because they tend to get constipated on a pellet or flake diet.

This what I was going to say, and I am glad you mentioned the duckweed. Sounds funny but tons of goldies get constipated and I feel so bad seeing them looking uncomfortable in pet stores...

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Can you get duckweed at a normal store like Petsmart or do you need to go to a specialty place? I'd like to get some for my future Goldies. I've never had luck feeding mine without them getting bloated (floating weird, swimming at an angle, etc)

[~Tucker&Me~]

Originally Posted by ~Dixie's_Mom~

Can you get duckweed at a normal store like Petsmart or do you need to go to a specialty place? I'd like to get some for my future Goldies. I've never had luck feeding mine without them getting bloated (floating weird, swimming at an angle, etc)

You might find some there but you would probably have better luck at an independent store. If you post to craigslist I am sure some people would have some.

[Xandra]

Go to a pond store for duckweed, it tends to grow anywhere with standing water (ditches etc).

[Romy]

Originally Posted by Xandra

Go to a pond store for duckweed, it tends to grow anywhere with standing water (ditches etc).

^This. You can collect wild duckweed and sterilize it with potassium permanganate and then do a quick bleach water dip (VERY quick. I accidentally got distracted and killed all my plants recently ). After the bleach dip you can stick them in a bucket of water with a bunch of dechlorinator and let it soak for a while to make them safe again.

If you feed a home made gel food there shouldn't be any problems with the bloating and stuff too. Mine has a bunch of spirulina and turnip greens in it. Goldies love turnip greens and it's really high in vit E which is very good for them too.

They can also have little bits of fish canned in water, or fresh cooked fish like swai or salmon or whatever. I used whole pureed sand goby in their gel.