I purchased a 5" shubunkin goldfish yesterday, happily he is doing splendid in his tank with active behavior and sharp colors. He is in a 20 gallon high with a Aquaclear 150 filter, I also put a Aquaclear power head 101 with an attached sponge filter. There are no other fish in the tank right now (There were some until the day before I got him, so the tank is already cycled) My question is this, what other animals/fish could I put in there? I’m not sure if I could safely put another goldfish in or not. Thanks.
Goldfish and ?
- Thread starter JKO
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If you take good care of him (and you're off to a great start 
) he will outgrow that tank in short order. He will be able to easily reach anywhere from 10 - 16" in body length -- certainly a good 6" anyways within the next year even in a tank that size with proper maintenence (keep nitrates under 20!). I would not add any more fish unless you have a rock solid escape plan (larger tank, pond, stock tank) You'll find shubunkin need horizontal space as opposed to vertical space (fancies are better for vertical tanks but do still require surface area) since they are quite active fish and will simply run out of room quickly while swimming back and forth.
How large is he now? Any chance you could upgrade within the next 6 months or so?
) he will outgrow that tank in short order. He will be able to easily reach anywhere from 10 - 16" in body length -- certainly a good 6" anyways within the next year even in a tank that size with proper maintenence (keep nitrates under 20!). I would not add any more fish unless you have a rock solid escape plan (larger tank, pond, stock tank) You'll find shubunkin need horizontal space as opposed to vertical space (fancies are better for vertical tanks but do still require surface area) since they are quite active fish and will simply run out of room quickly while swimming back and forth.How large is he now? Any chance you could upgrade within the next 6 months or so?
Right now he is about 5". Unfortunately I wont be able to upgrade my aquarium for a rather long time, a 20gallon being the largest I can get right now. However, I read quite a lot of info on them before I purchased him. Most of the stuff I read said he would get 8" to 10" max because he was a fancy variety of gold fish. So I figured my tank would be fine having just one. Was I greatly misinformed or are you guys mixing-up his size with the common goldfish? Either way some advice would be greatly appreciated. On one last note is there any other thing I could put in their, some sort of snail? Anyway, thanks.
An American/Japanese shubunkin shares the same body style as the comet, and is classified as a torpedo shaped goldfish as opposed to the more egg shaped fancies. The single-tails can grow quite long, even the wakin (Japanese goldfish with torpedo shaped bodies and fantails) can achieve a good 10" or so.
IME, shubunkins and comets don't grow as quickly as commons but do catch up eventually. I'll try to take a picture of one of my sarassas this weekend for reference.
In the Spring you may wish to look into Rubbermaid stock tanks -- you could even set it up inside. They're very personable fish and quickly learn to eat from your hand and greet (beg) anytime you approach the tank/pond. Shubunkin really are bred to be viewed from the top (actually, pretty much all goldfish and koi are with a few exceptions -- keeping them in glass boxes is a newer wrinkle in an ancient symbiosis) and, imo, are more appropriately pond fish tho plenty of people have kept them quite well in aquaria. I've seen some very pretty set-ups with simple stock tanks done very cheaply, if expense is an issue. (of course, there's always craigslist/freecycle/etc)
IME, shubunkins and comets don't grow as quickly as commons but do catch up eventually. I'll try to take a picture of one of my sarassas this weekend for reference.
In the Spring you may wish to look into Rubbermaid stock tanks -- you could even set it up inside. They're very personable fish and quickly learn to eat from your hand and greet (beg) anytime you approach the tank/pond.
Shubunkin really are bred to be viewed from the top (actually, pretty much all goldfish and koi are with a few exceptions -- keeping them in glass boxes is a newer wrinkle in an ancient symbiosis) and, imo, are more appropriately pond fish tho plenty of people have kept them quite well in aquaria. I've seen some very pretty set-ups with simple stock tanks done very cheaply, if expense is an issue. (of course, there's always craigslist/freecycle/etc)