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Will I be overstocking this 20 gal?

774 views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  jpappy789 
#1 ·
Hello fellow planters! I joined this hobby in the beginning of the year and it has been a wild educational journey. I, like I assume most beginners, decided I know enough and tried to start too many projects at once. Needless to say, I have a couple nanos, a 10 gallon, and a pond. All in dire need of re-working.

I recently came into possession of a 20 gallon tank + stand for the low, low price of FREE! I decided I'm going to approach this one nice and slow - I've started it already using the DSM and I'm probably not going to have the tank fish ready for another couple months.

I have already decided my 3 amanos, 4 fathead minnows, and 5 ottos will be going in here (my current 10 gallon is a mess). I also have 5 fatheads in my pond that I want to add. Now the BIG question - I need to add a fancy goldfish too (also in pond). Will this be over stocking? Also, will the goldfish destroy my plants?

I will have a whisper filter (rated for a 50 gallon), and probably the sponge filter from my 10 gallon.

Thanks in advance.
 
#3 ·
Golds will eat a lot of plants, but keep on researching, using words like
Goldfish and Planted Aquarium.
There ARE threads about tanks where Golds are not eating the plants.
There are some plants Golds tend not to eat, or even nibble: Java Fern, Anubias and Bolbitis are some. If you can find the threads that list the plants I am sure you will find more plants that seem to be OK in the same tank as Golds.
I think part of the key is to feed plenty of fresh and lightly cooked vegetables, and to have a large enough tank that there is room for more plants. If the Golds nibble a little bit of a plant they do not like very much then very little damage is done. But in a smaller tank there is not enough room for more plants, so even if they do not like it very much they may keep tasting it.

However, a single Gold needs a lot larger a tank than a 20, unless it is really small. Perhaps a single 2-3" Gold is OK. Also depends on the type of Gold.
The distorted fancy Golds with misshapen spine or long flowing fins are not great swimmers, but those fat bodies have all the body mass of a much longer (normal shaped) Gold, and therefore all the same needs for oxygen and the same production of wastes (CO2, Ammonia...)

If your pond fish is the normal shape or longer bodied Gold then they are fairly fast swimmers, and need the larger tank.

Golds grow FAST when they are treated right. My Golds were less than 2" when I bought them were over 4" in just a few months. I kept them in a 20 only long enough for quarantine, then raised them in a 45 gallon (4' long) until they were ready to go into the pond. Mine are the regular body shape, long fin, shubunkin colored.

Several years ago when my original pond liner started leaking I brought the Golds in and kept them in tanks until I replaced the liner. At that time all I had were tanks from 20 gallons on down. Those tanks were WAY overcrowded with just one or two fish per tank. At that time the largest Golds were about 4".

If you need to over winter a Gold in a warmer location, how about getting a stock water trough, perhaps 50 gallons and keep it in a non freezing place, but maybe not in the house. Do you have an enclosed porch or garage?
 
#4 ·
Java fern and anubias generally do fine in a goldfish tank, but they need to be tied down to rocks and such. Depending on the type and size of goldfish though, your otos may be at risk of being eaten (no experience with amano/minnows and goldfish). The problem with this is otos have spines, and barring quick removal, this usually results in the death of both fish.
 
#7 ·
Hmm. Well that's upsetting. It is a really beautiful fish and does well in the pond (some bacopa in there, as well as water lettuce/hyacinth, never eaten any of that). Maybe I can over winter it? I don't have any enclosed location, unfortunately. Is it unheard of to leave it in the pond over winter (I'm talking a 30-40 gallon pond dug into the dirt)?

I would take the risk, but this new tank will be too beautiful to take the chance, I really should have thought ahead.
 
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