would it be possible to keep a goldfish for a while in a 2 gallon bowl with a under gravle filter? thanks in advance for any info

No one will "yell" at you. That is silly and counterproductive.

You know why it is not a good choice for your fish. It can certainly be done, but not without great risk and one heck of a lot of work for you.

A single fish can overwhelm 2 gallons of water with his waste in less than one day. An undergravel filter is probably not going to help much at all. It may help filter a bit of the large particles from the water, but they will never have a chance to be properly processed in a nitrogen cycle for there will simply be far too much waste coming far too quickly.

My suggestion is to really consider alternatives.

Is this to be a temporary set up? Perhaps using a rubbermaid type tube that holds 10-18 gallons of water with a cheap HOB filter on the tub would be possible. Even without a proper "cycle", the volume of water alone would give you a greater time buffer in your maintenance.

If you have absolutely no other option for the fish, you will need to feed exceedingly sparingly, and change that water out every day or twice a day without fail. You need to match pH and temp of the replacement water at every change and keep a close eye on your fish. In cramped and possibly less than stellar water parameters, any little problem, parasite or disease, can explode into a life threatening situation within hours.

Good luck. And let us know if we can help.

I did it for a very short while when I first started keeping my fish (at the very bad advice of a petshop employee). I can only tell you I tested each & every day & did alot of water changes (The only redeeming thing it that it's only 2 gal so I could use jugs for the water changes & when my fish came down with Ich it was easy to medicate) I also hated the UGF - too much muck trapped under it.

I got a bigger tank ASAP & things are much much better now!

I really wouldn't recommend it unless your fish is really small & you can be really fanatical about water changes. At some point that fish is going to outgow that space (think - won't be able to move around) or you will have seriously stunted it (& who wants that??)

Sorry to sound to negative - I've been in that place & it's not fun. If your funds are limited I'd do what Daryl suggested & get some type of bigger tube thing (although the 10 gal tanks in my lps are only 10.00 or so & a filter is about 15.00 so maybe you could save up???)

Jenn

well actually im not planning on keeping a goldie in it. thogu I did with muy wife fan tsail for a couple weekks while setting up a ten gallon, unfortunatle a monthafter being placed in the ten gallon it got swimm bladder disoder and died , the pet store told us we couldnt do anything for her, I how ever found out we could with this site. in the middle o ftreating her though dhe died I am planning on haveing goldfish in the future but definatly wanted to rule out the bowlwhich I am going to put my female betta in. I reallly really really want a goldfish right now though but have to resist for a while. the main ones I keep eyeinf are commets, fantails and moores. I am also very tempted to set up a my 51/2 gallon for now a put a gold fish in it, but am fighting the temptation

Good for you! A betta it is.

About the SBD, swimbladder won't kill by itself unless it got seriously infected or something.



I disagree, I love my vocal chords and yelling never stops the Canadian government from working.

Wait...bad example.

Ha Ha.

You're not going to believe this, but I kept my fantail in a ONE gallon tank for a YEAR with NO filter at all [also on the advice of petstore employees, and, believe it or not, my biology teacher]. I used bottled water and changed his water 100% about once a month. No other water maintenance, chemical testing, anything. I didn't know the first thing about any of that stuff. Then, after about a year, my fish started getting sick. He just sat on the bottom of the tank, all listless and sad. He stopped eating. I searched the internet to find out what was wrong, and, thank God, stumbled on this site, where a member, who was undoubtedly shocked by my poor fishie's living conditions, recommended an immediate move into a 10 gallon tank. I bought one the next day, let it run for 48 hours and moved him in. He perked right up! Within hours he was zooming around the tank. He slowly began eating again. Oliver LOVES his new tank.

The reason for this long, rambling story is to illustrate that goldfish NEED space - as much as you can give them. Looking back I'm suprised that Oliver survived as long as he did in his one-gallon tank [and with almost zero water maintenance at that] - he must be one tough little fish. So please think before you set your fish up in this small tank. I got my 10-gallon setup at PetSmart for $40, and the little bit of extra maintenance is SO worth it to see my fish so happy!

Cat