I got 6 goldfish

Cubby23

Small Fish
Oct 25, 2005
28
0
0
#1
Well yesterday i went to Petco to get some Koi and goldfish for this BIG urn/bowl thing outside. I originally planned on having the goldfish and koi together but the Petco rep said it was a bad idea, becuase of the possible diseases the goldfish might carry. And that I should keep them separate for a month or so. I had an empty 10 bought a filter and voila now I have an indoor tank setup. I also bought a air pump and 10" air bar. The tank looks great and they all seem to be doing well. I'm so happy I finally got a fish tank setup.
 

ram man

Superstar Fish
Apr 16, 2005
1,441
4
38
33
Arizona
#2
6 gold fish? you do know that they can and most likly will grow to 10 inches or more, they are messy fish(reason i dont like them) the rule for stocking goldfish is a 20 gallon for one and ten to 15 gallons for each additional fish. so the minimal tank size you should have for those six would be a 70 gallon. and you didnt even cycle the tank, most likely those fish will die from ammonia poisoning. there is a stickie in the freshwater begginer section on cycling a new tank.
 

homebunnyj

Superstar Fish
Jul 13, 2005
1,299
4
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Western NC
#4
:) Your very best bet for a successful fishkeeping experience is to take the goldies back to Petco right away and get two or three hardy little fish like danios to cycle your tank. Read all the stickies in the beginner forum. If you get enough store credit from the goldies, use it to get an ammonia test kit. The ammonia will rise peak, and fall. When it begins to fall, get a nitrite test kit, then as that falls get a nitrate test -- unless you can shell out the cash to get all three at once, or even better, a master test kit. Follow all the info you read about cycling faithfully and you'll end up with a nice little tank that brings you a lot of pleasure.
 

Cubby23

Small Fish
Oct 25, 2005
28
0
0
#5
Maybe I forgot to mention this is a temporary setup before they are put into a HUGE urn/bowl thing outside. I'm doing water changes, and used water from the pre cycled outside fish bowl.
 

Jan 16, 2004
1,669
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35
Syracuse, NY
#8
Cubby23 said:
I originally planned on having the goldfish and koi together but the Petco rep said it was a bad idea, becuase of the possible diseases the goldfish might carry.
Absolute rubbish. Koi need alot more space but theres no reason they shouldnt live with goldfish. Most people with ponds (myself included) mix them.
 

Cubby23

Small Fish
Oct 25, 2005
28
0
0
#9
The guy at petco said to keep the goldfish from the koi for a month or so, because the goldfish are shipped in much larger numbers at lower qualitites and carry more potential diseases.
 

Pure

Elite Fish
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
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Jacksonville, FL
#11
This may be true, but if petco is like all other big box retailers they all share the same water with one big filter for the entire system. Making his advice worthless if you buy them the same time, or even the same week for that matter.

With that said, I highly doubt unless your tub thing is HUGE it is big enough for koi. Prob gonna be a squeeze for comets too. Comet goldies are carp just like koi, and with their torpedo shaped bodies they can reach well over a foot in length.
 

Cubby23

Small Fish
Oct 25, 2005
28
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0
#12
That is what confused me too. I assumed that they all used the same water with one huge pump. I asked but he said nope, ther different, this is a ery small petco
 

FishGeek

Elite Fish
May 13, 2005
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South Carolina
#14
Well I think that the idea is fine as long as you understand that they may outgrow your urn thing in time. Just keep an eye on things and make sure that no one is crowded. If/When that occurs you will need to relocate some. But from my knowldege (might be wrong but...) Goldfish and Koi dont just grow that large all of a sudden it will take a few years.

I would like to see some pics though. :D
 

Cubby23

Small Fish
Oct 25, 2005
28
0
0
#16
I did the calculations, one cu foot equals 7.48 gallons about 105 gallons, and right now everyone is around 3 inches. I figured I could keep them in that this year, and then next spring get a large pond. This i guess could be sped up if they grew faster than expected. I'll get some pics up later this week