I am new to goldfish (and to fish in general—until now I was mainly a dog person) but I find myself hopelessly hooked on the care of these cute little guys.
My question is how many plants can be placed in a goldfish tank before the ecological balance is thrown out of wack? Or more precicely, are there any signs I should look for (on the fish or on the plants) that would indicate that either is not getting enough food, light, etc.? You see, for me part of the fun of having an aquarium is in trying to establish a well-balanced ecosystem for Sam and Yub-yub (a darling little fantail and the most splended blackmoor, respectively).
Right now I have an Amazon Sword, a few grassy shrubs (I am not certain of the name), and some Anacharis. All seem to be thriving and Sam and Yub-Yub seem content to simply swim through them rather than snack on them. As I find the plants quite beautiful and know that they are helping to clean/oxiginate the water for my two little guys, I want to add more plants but don't want to go overboard. Is there any rule-of-thumb as to what ratio of plants to tank size to fish one can use?
I should note that I am not particularly bothered by the sight of algae so that is not a concern. Besides, if the algae growth were to get out of hand, I am not against adding algae eaters.
Any advice you can supply is greatly appreciated.