I am setting up a tank and want to use white sand as opposed to gravel. I was wondering if I could use sand with goldfish or if it could be harmful to them( if swallowed when they are eating, ect. ) Also, is aragonite sand ok to use with goldfish, because I have heard that it can make the water to alkaline, but when I emailed a distributor they said it would be fine with them, but I want to be completely sure before adding my fishies. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Greetings and welcome to the board!


For goldfish, sand is generally a big no no. When
they are foraging through the bottom, they suck up
stuff which could be passed through their gills. Sand
will tear up the soft tissue of the gills. It would
be similar to using sand paper on your tongue.

for goldfishes, gravel is more recommended.. but the size of the gravel also must be considered lest fish get choke on them..

cheers

Absolutely. Adding regular colored gravel is okay with smaller goldies, but when they grow a bit bigger, (like my commons have) there can be major problems. One of my little guys got a piece of purple gravel stuck in his mouth, and probably would have died if someone hadn't noticed right away. I now use larger river rocks. With river rocks, everything looks a lot more natural... and it's easier to perform regular cleanups.

I use sand and river pebbles of all sizes and have not found it to be a problem.I have never observed my Comets sucking up the sand so hard that it comes out of their gills. I believe that if this was to happen the fish would certainly feel pain and quickly learn not to "suck" so hard. As a retired diver, both professionally and as a hobby I have observed many fish in the ocean sucking and sifting through sand and spitting same out without apparent problems.

Rudolf is right . However, the origin of goldfish is actually rivers and streams which generally have gravel and rocks rather than sand, so they are not as well-adapted to sifting through it as marine fish are, and it *can* cause problems with their gills in time. Plus some GF are such enthusiastic foragers, they can stir up huge clouds of sand which clog the filter and cloud the water. Finally, sand can compact under the weight of water or heavy ornaments, causing anerobic (oxygen-less) areas to build up which can release toxins into the water.

All in all, it's best not to use sand for goldies, or only to use a very thin layer if you absolutely MUST have some.

Thanks for the help guys...

Oh yeah, and I think someone else in another thread mentioned that sand is a pain to clean, since siphoning sucks up the water as well as sand.