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5.5g CLOSED (turned into a backup tank)

5K views 33 replies 9 participants last post by  doncityz 
#1 · (Edited)
History of the Tank
When I started my planted tank hobby, my 4yo daughter wanted a goldfish.. so my wife and I bought a goldfish bowl for her. Yes, a bowl. Little that I know goldfish are not meant to live in a bowl... upon googling more about goldfish, i decided to buy a 5.5g tank. The goldfish, named "Dorothy" by my kid (inspired by Elmo's goldfish of course:icon_mrgr), was a juvie back then so I thought a 5.5g shoud be enough.

Anyways, the tank is also OceanFree with curvy edges at the front, like my 10g. We put some white pebbles in there, plus decos. Plastic plants all around.

I do 60-70%WC every week, but still it is not enough to ensure the quality of the water.. sure enough, a goldfish waste is overwhelming lol.. Anyway, I decided to get rid of the pebbles, and setup a paludrium instead. I have a small java fern in the water, and POTHOS!!!.

The tank current condition
Excuse the orangy water color - the ryukin is under treatment for some sort of parasitic/fungi


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#2 ·
Haha pretty cool way to use those planters. I was expecting you were going to half plants suspended half way up the glass.

One issue though, in both pictures I see the goldfish really close to the surface. Something might be wrong with the water as they usually prefer to hang around in the middle. What filter are you using? I read on this forum that goldfish need wayyy overpowered filters to handle all their crap. You'd probabily need a 10g HOB filter for that 4g, maybe even more. At least that will cut down on your water changes though. Also, using purigen > carbon if possible.
 
#5 ·
Yea... i agree on the tank size issue.

Anyway, Dorothy is really loving fish. She normally swims around at the center/bottom/everywhere when nobody's near the tank.. But whenever she sees me, she'll go up to the surface and begs for food. I don't give her much per day, something like 10-15 pellets once a day only.
 
#7 ·
Not sure what you mean by "size".. anyway the filter pump indicates 250L/h.
and the physical size is about 5 inch wide..

Probably WC should be done every 3-4 days.. earlier I had pebbles, and that makes it difficult to clear the waste buried inside, even with gravel vac. Now that its clear, i think the tank should do better.
 
#15 ·
good job on trying to improve your fish's quality of life. i'd personally suggest that you add at least a 20, better yet a 40 watt grow light(eco lux are like 10 bucks everywhere) and two more cuttings to each planter and one of those hermit coconut climbing walls so the pothos have something to climb up(not essential but makes a better presentation). with the light the pothos's growth will take off using up all that nitrogen and what not. My opinion is fancy goldfish have extreme physical deformities and placing them in large tanks with overpowered filters may force them to work more then their bodies may be able to handle. esp. not knowing the lineage of that fish. With that said i keep my fancies in those 8 dollar round tubs they sell for storage/ice buckets at most department stores. they hold about 18 gallons of water and make really nice indoor ponds esp with the 40 watt lighting suggested. But these are just my opinions. seems like a return to the store is never the best solution.
 
#22 ·
You could probabily keep some sulawesi species of shrimps. I heard those are super hard and will die on arrival haha, but people have trouble keeping their temperature really high. No worries for where you live though!
 
#23 ·
Sulawesi species? Never seen them in the lfs though... probably i should try to catch them wild lol.

Anyway, i just got a square polycarbonate 2'x2'x1' outdoor pond. i plan to put Dorothy in there... not sure if i can fit another goldfish to be her friend in there.. 2x2x1 works out to be 30gal. but, not going to fill it up fully..

i haven't got a pump but i think tomorrow im going to use my spare pump to start the cycling process. i need to get some plants as well to decorate the boring square container.

i wonder though, will cats eat my fish?

anyway, since Dorothy is moving to a better place... this tank.... will be.... budum budum bududududummm.... *to be continued lol
 
#25 ·
anyway, since Dorothy is moving to a better place... this tank.... will be.... budum budum bududududummm.... *to be continued lol
I'll finish that sentence for you -> SHRIMP TANK! haha. But yea those Sulawesi shrimps are super picky about parameters. So I'd try out some bee shrimp before moving onto those :O
 
#24 ·
That will be much better for her, the general rule for fancy goldfish is 15 gallons for the first fancy goldfish them ten gallons there after for any other added fish. I had a 29 gallon with my two fancies and they got big and just seemed cramped in the 29, the pond will be ok for her and another small fancy but expect to upgrade in a year or two!

Dont forget to post pics of her new home when you have it all set up!
 
#28 ·
Yeah I read about that rule in google as well, right after you told me about stunting and stuffs.

Pics are coming by this weekend. I'll put the 2 zebra danios i have in there first during cycling. The 2 danios have been helping me with lots of tank cycling so far they've done 3 tanks cycling. Good ol' danios! Bless them.

I plant to cycle the pond for 2 weeks, using some sponge bio media that i have in my 10g. (i put extra in there for cases like this. :icon_cool).

diwu13, i can't reveal it yet. It's not another shrimp tank though. I'd like varieties in my house.. soo... its gotta be something else.. i have one particular creature in mind... hehe.

Sushieraser, duckweed... man i hate that stuff. covers up all the surface, then i am not able to see Dorothy anymore... I am thinking of couples of Pistia stratiotes though.
 
#30 ·
Haha.. none of the above.

Cats are crazy animal. That much i know cause i have 2 of them. So, fences do not stop them. Stray cats are even crazier. But my uncle have 2-3 of these ponds, and so far cats aren't interested in them. But my uncle said he saw rats as big as cats fishing the fish using his tail... :eek5:
 
#31 ·
Hm... you might need to cover the entire top of the pond with some wire fence then. and since it's only 2'x2' you wouldn't need that much wire screen either. But that's only if there is an issue with things trying to eat the fishies.
 
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