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What tank size should i have?


Fish Luver
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I have a single red cap oranda goldfish and i love him a lot , i wanna provide him the best life possible. Can somebody tell me how much gallons tanks should i buy for him. Actually i am going to bring a black moor next year.So i want a size appropriate for two goldfishes to live in.Is 20 gallon ok for both of em. Till my new pet arrives he shall be living alone in that 20 gallons. Also how much should i feed him.I think hes 2 invhes now.

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I would say 20g is the minimum for one, a 29g would be better.  I'd go with 10g more for each additional, so a 40g (or larger) would be ideal for the fish.  Those are for the fish to grow into.  While they are small, smaller tanks are ok with plans to upgrade.

I had a red cap once upon a time.  He was my favorite.  He was in a 10g at the time that I lost him in a tank stand mishap.  I was so bummed.  I plan to have another in the near future.

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Conventional wisdom is that certain fish get big and you need a big tank for them. But aren't goldfish the outlier to this wisdom? Feel free to correct me, I'm more than willing to accept that I'm wrong here. I've never kept goldfish but I thought they're bred to be okay in smaller tanks? And no, I don't mean the mason jars you can win them at the fair in. But they've got to be the original aquarium fish and have been bred to be just that. I wonder if they're actually ok with being in a smaller tank as opposed to others that are sold in the hobby as little fish? I'm looking at you Bala Shark, oh I fell in love with that fish at first sight. Got over it after I went home and learned about them. Sorry, got off track there. Anyway, I recall aquarium science.org posting a story to the contrary of goldfish needing large tanks due to their unique biology and I'm only poorly parroting what I read a while back. So take this for the grain of salt it is, but it does make for an interesting discussion. At least I think so. 

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On 1/11/2022 at 10:23 AM, Chad said:

Conventional wisdom is that certain fish get big and you need a big tank for them. But aren't goldfish the outlier to this wisdom? Feel free to correct me, I'm more than willing to accept that I'm wrong here. I've never kept goldfish but I thought they're bred to be okay in smaller tanks? And no, I don't mean the mason jars you can win them at the fair in. But they've got to be the original aquarium fish and have been bred to be just that. I wonder if they're actually ok with being in a smaller tank as opposed to others that are sold in the hobby as little fish? I'm looking at you Bala Shark, oh I fell in love with that fish at first sight. Got over it after I went home and learned about them. Sorry, got off track there. Anyway, I recall aquarium science.org posting a story to the contrary of goldfish needing large tanks due to their unique biology and I'm only poorly parroting what I read a while back. So take this for the grain of salt it is, but it does make for an interesting discussion. At least I think so. 

Orandas and Black Moors get pretty big when fully mature, they don't maneuver very well, and they are dirty fish.  Larger tanks address all three of those concerns.

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Get the biggest tank you can and a lot of filtration. Goldfish have long lives and grow continually better to set up for it than having to keep forking out for new tanks and extra filters (I lived and learned this).

I loved keeping goldfish hope you get to enjoy yours for a long time. Black moors are adorable hope you get to add one to your collection but as others have said for two mature fish you will be needing 40gal plus

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My recommendation is to start by buying the largest tank you can afford that will fit in your home / fishroom.  This will give you room to grow and to add more fish later if you like.  You can go with something smaller like a 20g, but it takes more work effort to maintain.  You might be fine with the 20g while the fish are small, but eventually it will be difficult to keep up with the water changes.

As the goldfish get bigger, they eat more and poop more.  More food = more poop = more ammonia = more nitrates = more water changes.  I have two "medium" size orandas (4 - 6 inches each) in a 20g tall and I do a 25% water change 3 or 4 times a week.  I don't mind the work because I look at it like a labor of love.  More time to spend with my goldies!

StanF

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