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Old 24-08-2003, 01:42 PM   #1
whtan1
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Default Qn: The ideal No. of Goldfish in tank

i know this has been asked many times before. i thought i better be sure before i get tempted to buy anymore fish i fancy at LHS.

Specification of tank:
i ve a customed made 3ft tank with
a volume of 0.183 cubic metre or 183000 cubic cm of water.
using IOF system and supplemented with an external air pump foe asethetic reasons. no plants no sand no gravel.

No of Fishes it currently housed:
x 4 ranchu of 5 inches long
x 2 ranchu of 3 inchues long

no problem with clarity and nitrates. all fishes feeding well so far.


based on the a/m , is it OK and wise to add 3 more 2.5 "size or smaller ranchu.



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Old 24-08-2003, 02:41 PM   #2
CyberET
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Default Re: Qn: The ideal No. of Goldfish in tank

erm, thats about 48 gallons, holding 26inches of fish.. and you wish to add another 7-8 inches of fish, making it 34inches of fish.. well.. of course its not recommened.. but as long as your filtration is efficient/overkill (bro HB ), and you change water very often.. but don't add all 3 at once.. better if u do 1 at a time.. slowly.. remember to QT.., else you'll have a headache later..

of course recommened is 10 gallon per fish.. but that would mean you've already overstocked

maybe you could provide the amount/type of media you r using in your IOF system? the bros could suggest a more efficient way for your filtration and allow you to stretch it abit more?
Quote:
Originally posted by whtan1
i know this has been asked many times before. i thought i better be sure before i get tempted to buy anymore fish i fancy at LHS.

Specification of tank:
i ve a customed made 3ft tank with
a volume of 0.183 cubic metre or 183000 cubic cm of water.
using IOF system and supplemented with an external air pump foe asethetic reasons. no plants no sand no gravel.

No of Fishes it currently housed:
x 4 ranchu of 5 inches long
x 2 ranchu of 3 inchues long

no problem with clarity and nitrates. all fishes feeding well so far.


based on the a/m , is it OK and wise to add 3 more 2.5 "size or smaller ranchu.



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Old 24-08-2003, 03:08 PM   #3
victri
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For goldfish, IMHO, you need to watch out for surface area as well. Very important for gas exchange. Here's a simple formula I got from a site:
Inches of goldfish = Surface Area / 30

(Some include the tail in the fish length, some do not, since goldfish have very different tail lengths.)


Based on this, if your tank is 3ft x 1.5ft,
Surface area = 36" x 18" = 648 sq in.

Current can support 21.6" of goldfish. Seems you are already at max or a bit overstocked at 26". Current situation should be ok if the bioload is efficiently handled by the filter (mech & bio). If you seriously intend to add more fish, then frequent water change, no overfeeding, etc. You should know lah. But as CyberET mentioned, better to add 1 fish at a time and monitor the tank closely. Also max out the efficiency of your filter with good media. Stuff like ehfisubstrat or biohome are fantastic.

I've also a 3 x 1.5 ft tank overstocked with 9 small 1.5" - 3" size GF too. 20% water change every 3 days, lots of bio media in my canister, never overfeed, scoop up poo and uneaten food everytime I see it, and a moss wall to help with the nitrates (rest of tank is bare). Water and fish are beautiful so far. Hope this helped.
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Old 24-08-2003, 09:03 PM   #4
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Stocking of fish in a tank not only by size. It's one of the criteria but what happen if the fishes grow another 1/2" in a couple of months ? Start changing tank or throw some fish away ? Figure that out. Dun say couple of months later than think. By then too late liao. Calculation can only provide some tell-tale sign of how many "inches" or mass of fish at the very instant.

No matter how many fishes in there, the most important is still the quality of water. If over stock, then better figure out how fast to change water and constantly monitor the water and fish health.
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Old 25-08-2003, 10:42 PM   #5
whtan1
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Quote:
Originally posted by Demekin
Stocking of fish in a tank not only by size. It's one of the criteria but what happen if the fishes grow another 1/2" in a couple of months ? Start changing tank or throw some fish away ? Figure that out. Dun say couple of months later than think. By then too late liao. Calculation can only provide some tell-tale sign of how many "inches" or mass of fish at the very instant.

No matter how many fishes in there, the most important is still the quality of water. If over stock, then better figure out how fast to change water and constantly monitor the water and fish health.
thanks for all the advise.

i am using the patented tank which was shown on the last TV serial programme on channel 8. Checked the filter. pretty simple design. Use all coral chips amd sponge at the filter media end and water is "dripped" over the media instead of immerging the filter elements in water.

since the space is abit sparse, i added bio balls to cultivate more BB. i need not have to clear the poo much bec the pump is pretty strong. water, i only change it earlier bec of new tank syndrome.

i think 10 gallons per fish is abit overkill.
by the way, i did include the tails.

some commented my tank is sparesely populated. that's why thinking of getting more.
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Old 25-08-2003, 11:23 PM   #6
frankloh
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If you want more BB to cultivate in your media, skip bio balls cos their arent efficient at all. Maybe can try "Biohome" or Eheim products
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