Anyone know anything about goldfish

[mitch84]

Hi everyone,
My husband has expressed interest in fish, now we have moved house and have a bit more room, and I’m thinking about getting him a tank for Christmas and then us going to pets at home and he can pick a couple.
Definitely freshwater. I know cleaning etc will end up down to me so I do want low maintenance

Anyone know how big a tank you’d need for a couple of goldfish

We never had filters etc when we had them as kids, but to be honest they did die a lot. Just don’t know what I really need

Can anyone recommend a good starter kit from Amazon etc that I could order?

Any tips, things I need to buy etc?

[Brian01]

Goldfish need a very big tank for 2 fish it should be about 200-300 ltrs, they are also very messy and you have to change the water often to keep them healthy..The best option for a low maintenance tank would be tropical, I have 2 goldfish in an outdoor patio pond 2yrs old and both are over 8 inches in size it takes a lot of filtration and weekly 20% water changes to keep them healthy..

[mitch84]

Originally Posted by Brian01

Goldfish need a very big tank for 2 fish it should be about 200-300 ltrs, they are also very messy and you have to change the water often to keep them healthy..The best option for a low maintenance tank would be tropical, I have 2 goldfish in an outdoor patio pond 2yrs old and both are over 8 inches in size it takes a lot of filtration and weekly 20% water changes to keep them healthy..

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Ahh ok! Not what I expected at all so good job I asked.
When I lived in Australia I also had an outdoor patio pond, and it had fish in when we moved in, they were massive and lived forever too.
I was thinking of a little tank. I know where I get my hair cut they have small goldfish in little tanks on the benches, it’s lovely watching them swimming around but they wouldn’t be very big.
We have nothing like room for a 200 litre fish tank. Maybe we need to stick with the dog 😂
Thankyou x

[Brian01]

People keep them in bowls and small tanks it stunts their growth and they don't live long, kept in the proper environment they can grow to over 12 inches and live for over 20 yrs.. Tropical fish believe it or not are easier to look after if you want the fish to stay alive and have a happy life..

[Lostbrain]

We got goldfish a few years ago, it didn’t go well, they are really dirty, need frequent water changes and a really big tank, think ours was too small.
I’m definitely sticking to just cats in future, much easier.

[Rac20]

I’ve had both tropical and goldfish. Tropical are definitely easier to keep clean. You need a good filter for both and a heater if going down the tropical route. The tank should be set up a couple of weeks before adding the fish and you’ll need to look at all the different water treatment options that are required. 👍🏻

[mitch84]

Originally Posted by Brian01

People keep them in bowls and small tanks it stunts their growth and they don't live long, kept in the proper environment they can grow to over 12 inches and live for over 20 yrs.. Tropical fish believe it or not are easier to look after if you want the fish to stay alive and have a happy life..

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I definitely don’t want unhappy fish, and I’d be gutted if we just killed them.
I was just thinking of a little tank on our mantle-piece but the shelf is only 25cm wide. I had just naively assumed a couple of goldfish would be low maintenance. Our window sills are wider but north facing and can get very warm.
I’ll do my research but think this may be a no go

[mitch84]

Originally Posted by Lostbrain

We got goldfish a few years ago, it didn’t go well, they are really dirty, need frequent water changes and a really big tank, think ours was too small.
I’m definitely sticking to just cats in future, much easier.

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To be fair even my dog sounds easier to keep alive, and he tries to eat everything! Glad I asked. Think he might get a new plant

[Rac20]

Originally Posted by mitch84

I definitely don’t want unhappy fish, and I’d be gutted if we just killed them.
I was just thinking of a little tank on our mantle-piece but the shelf is only 25cm wide. I had just naively assumed a couple of goldfish would be low maintenance. Our window sills are wider but north facing and can get very warm.
I’ll do my research but think this may be a no go

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I don’t think the window is the best place. The light will encourage algae growth.

[mitch84]

Originally Posted by Rac20

I’ve had both tropical and goldfish. Tropical are definitely easier to keep clean. You need a good filter for both and a heater if going down the tropical route. The tank should be set up a couple of weeks before adding the fish and you’ll need to look at all the different water treatment options that are required. 👍🏻

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I might try to find a shop and have a chat, this definitely doesn’t seem like the low maintenance pet I thought they would be 🤔. Are tropical fish very expensive?