5.5g CLOSED (turned into a backup tank)

[doncityz]

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), 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


Top view

[diwu13]

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.

[vespers_]

that goldfish really needs a 20-30g tank. not 4g.

[MitchellLawson]

+1 for a bigger tank, looks sad in there.

[doncityz]

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.

[diwu13]

Oh ok. If she does hang around the middle then it should be alright.

Whats the filter size on that tank?

[doncityz]

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.

[YellowDawg]

Is this the 4g finnex kit? Either way, you should give that fish to someone else if you can't get a 30+ gallon tank in the next few weeks...

[doncityz]

Nobody I know wants the fish. So the fish stuck with me for now.

[YellowDawg]

Have you tried local pet shops? My petsmart takes goldfish, if they're above a certain size.

[diwu13]

If you get a larger filter, one rated for 10+ gallons the goldfish should do much better in the tank.

[allaboutfish]

could you not upgrade to a 20 long. that fish will die from stunting if kept in that tank.

[doncityz]

Thanks for all of your concerns... actually thinking of what to do next for a few weeks already.

We were thinking to get a small pond (this would be >50g), and place her in there... with a couple more... THAT, or returning her...

[YellowDawg]

I think the pond would be wonderful, but only if you got 1-2 more.

[ducky14523]

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.