Gold Fish Tanks

[TIFFERS]

I have three massive goldfish...and right now, they get these 1/2cm x 1/2cm crisps to eat. I jar is $20 and it lasts me about two weeks. It's insane. I give them a handful 3-4 times daily.

However, these fish are starving...they eat on each other, they're destroying the plants, the sand...everything. Constantly trying to find food. I've been to Petco and PetSmart looking for pond fish food because it's bigger pellets or crisps, but MOST of them cloud the tank and some of the stores don't even have a pond section anymore. So...is there other stuff you can feed goldfish besides oranges and goldfish food? Or anyone have any pond fish brands in mind that I can buy that won't cloud my tank?

Also, my next question...I have 150 pounds of sand in the bottom of this tank (it's a 55 gallon). If I had 50-75 pounds of rocks to it to keep the sand down and the fish from eating it and keeping the tank sandy-cloudy...will my stand be able to withhold it? How do you figure that?

Also, this is all assuming the kiddos live through the next few weeks after Hurricane Ike made his mark on the state.

[Bettachris]

i encourage the use of http://americanaquariumproducts.com/SanyuGoldfishandKoiFood.html

This is from carl site, who if you remember was a strong fish contributor for us a couple of months back.

support ur forums.petlovers members.

Anyway, his koi food comes in big bags and is great for goldfish as well as koi.

i personally would recommend this product as apose to 11 bucks here or there at the chain stores.

[TIFFERS]

Does it cloud the water or anything like that? That's my biggest concern. Most koi and pond fish foods cloud the water so bad you can't see the fish. Which that isn't a big deal with ponds, but in my tank...it is.

[cstrohmeyer]

I have three massive goldfish...and right now, they get these 1/2cm x 1/2cm crisps to eat. I jar is $20 and it lasts me about two weeks. It's insane. I give them a handful 3-4 times daily.

However, these fish are starving...they eat on each other, they're destroying the plants, the sand...everything. Constantly trying to find food. I've been to Petco and PetSmart looking for pond fish food because it's bigger pellets or crisps, but MOST of them cloud the tank and some of the stores don't even have a pond section anymore. So...is there other stuff you can feed goldfish besides oranges and goldfish food? Or anyone have any pond fish brands in mind that I can buy that won't cloud my tank?

Also, my next question...I have 150 pounds of sand in the bottom of this tank (it's a 55 gallon). If I had 50-75 pounds of rocks to it to keep the sand down and the fish from eating it and keeping the tank sandy-cloudy...will my stand be able to withhold it? How do you figure that?

Also, this is all assuming the kiddos live through the next few weeks after Hurricane Ike made his mark on the state.


BC asked me come in and help with this question;)

First as to the rocks, most stands made for aquariums should have not problem supporting this, however my concern is that your fish are clouding the water when digging around in the sand for food. Sand can trap copious amounts of organics in FW aquariums leading to high DOC which are not good for the the long term health of the tank. Consider pebbles or better consider adding to your filter system such as an additional filter (a Hydro Sponge #5 Pro, an Internal Wet/Dry such as the ReSun model all increase your bio capacity), also consider more fequent vacuumings and/or using cleaning filters such as the Aquarium Cleaning Machine.

As to the food question; being constntly hungry is not a bad thing, it keeps your goldfiish active instead of lazy. Also over feedign can cause many more problems such as poor Redox (http://americanaquariumproducts.com/Redox_Potential.html), high DOC and even intestinal infections in the goldfish.
The Sanyu Bio Gold food (http://americanaquariumproducts.com/SanyuGoldfishandKoiFood.html) BC recommended is excellent as is Hikaris and amny other similar pellet foods. All dry foods must be soaked in FW at least 5 minutes prior to feeding.
I strongly recommend supplementing this food with Spirulina 20 (http://americanaquariumproducts.com/Spirulina20Food.html) for improved immunity and as well supplementing with Frozen or FD Brine Shrimp for a more varied diet (also Brine Shrimp acts as a natural laxitive too)

Carl

[TIFFERS]

I really appreciate the help from both of you. I'd like to get rid of the sand, actually...but, the fish are so big, I have no where to move them while I get the sand out. So, I was opting to just cover the sand up. I have two filters on the tank now for bigger tanks. I don't know if you remember, but my Fluval went to heck in a handbasket. So, I opted for Bio-Wheels? Yay or Nay?

[cstrohmeyer]

I really appreciate the help from both of you. I'd like to get rid of the sand, actually...but, the fish are so big, I have no where to move them while I get the sand out. So, I was opting to just cover the sand up. I have two filters on the tank now for bigger tanks. I don't know if you remember, but my Fluval went to heck in a handbasket. So, I opted for Bio-Wheels? Yay or Nay?


I would suggest leaving the fish in; then removing one half the sand. About 2-3 weeks later remove the other half. Yes by this method sand will be left behind, but maybe 10-15% tops if done carefully.

As to bio wheels (& sorry to be a negative person here), these are a filter along with their cousin the Emperor that are vastly over rated especially as to bio capacity and abilities. I have exchanged these filters for others including Sponge Filters and achieved better results as per tests of water parameters.
However I am not saying to dump your Penguin now that you have it, only to compliment it with something else such as a higher capaicty bio filter such as the Hydro Sponge #5 Pro (http://americanaquariumproducts.com/SpongeFilter.html) or a the ReSun Wet/Dry internal filter (http://americanaquariumproducts.com/ReSunPowerFilter.html).

BTW, I wrote an article about the many controlled tests I performed with bio wheels in the 1990s that changed my view about them (previously I admit to recommending these filters based on anecdotal evidence):
Aquarium Answers; Do Bio Wheels really work? (http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2006/12/do-bio-wheels-really-work.html)

Also my Aquarium Filtration article has mmuch more about filters in general (plusses/minuses, etc.): Aquarium filtration (http://americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Filtration.html)

Carl

[Bettachris]

personally goldfish are strong fishes and at that size they wouldnt have a problem dealing with being taken out and placed in a plastic can, so you can work on the aquarium.

though i dont recommend taking fish out for a water change, if you want to remove the sand i would remove the fish and then take out the sand and add gravel.

the stress wouldnt be that bad and the fish should be large enough where that wouldnt bother them.

also biowheels.... BioHome is where its at.:D +1 for the BioHome, but anyway, for goldfish with no sand in the aquarium i would switch back to a canister due to the ammount of water and the mess that goldies can produce. and then u can use Biohome!

http://americanaquariumproducts.com/ViaAqua750CanisterFilter.html
would be a great choice for a 55+ gallon tank. with most fishes, it would be best to go with better filteration than what is getting by.

[TIFFERS]

I had my Fluval for a long, long time...with the sand. But, when we moved back all the pieces were put in the wrong places. I'll have to check all these links and save up for a better filter. I don't mind getting one, because the tank is so cloudy and dirty...partially because the fish stir up the sand constantly. It takes too long to load them right now since I am on the laptop. We don't have power because of Hurricane Ike, so it'll be a while before I can start up the desktop computer. I will also look into ordering some of that food, especially since I'm pretty much out of what I've got.

[Bettachris]

yea thats why i dont put sand in unless i had to for like motoro rays, or my marine tanks.

for all of my freshwater i switched from sand to gravel. it isnt that hard getting a net and getting most.. you will never get all of the sand out and it can be rough on filters.

so i know what u mean.

[TIFFERS]

i encourage the use of http://americanaquariumproducts.com/SanyuGoldfishandKoiFood.html

...I'm looking at this food now. Do you have a guesstimate as to how big the 'medium' pellet is? I am considering getting this food, but does it float?