Hi everyone , Im stephanie . Im new to this board. But I have 2 questions. The first is I had a leapord pleco who always minded his own buisness and did a great job cleaning the tank . He wasnt big .. only about 2 inches or alittle smaller. Well, I woke up the other day and all i saw left was his bone (back) . My fish ate him. I have a 20 gallon tank with 2 fansy tail and 7 comets. The biggest is also about 2 inches so all my fish are not big at all. Why did they eat him? . 2nd question --My gray fish changed colors its a comet. Its not a light gold with black on the top of its body. Is this because it was a baby and is now changing ? Sorry but I have one more question I promise ! I saw all over this webpage but how do I sex a comet. And how big can they be to breed ?

maybe your pleco was sick or something and the GF picked on it? although the GF are small... 2inches.

GF color change a lot during their lives. you can sex the GF by looking at the anal fin part. more info on breeding here: http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...?act=SF&s=&f=13

Ok, first of all it is difficult to sex young fish. Mature males will display "breeding stars", these are white dots on the gills and pectoral fins. Another way to tell is to look at their bottoms. Male fishy bottoms sort of poke out and female bottoms are sort of tucked in. Generally, gf need to be around 3yrs old to be mature enough to breed but sometimes it happens sooner.

As for your grey fish changing to gold with black stripes. This is normal for young fish. Some do not develope their colouring until later, like yours is doing. After a while all the black will fade and it will just be gold.

Goldfish do not usually attack plecos, especially small goldfish. I have 3 possible scenarios.

1. Your tank is overcrowded and it became a territorial issue. If this is the case then other goldfish will also be attacked in the future.

2. Your tank is overcrowded and the fish are hungry so they attacked.

3. Your tank is overcrowded and your pleco actually died from starvation or from bad water quality then your goldfish pecked at the carcass. Goldfish will scavenge other dead fish.

If you read around Kokos it won't be long before you come across the "10 gallon rule". Basically it is a recommendation that goldfish require a minimum of 10g each in order to grow and be healthy. Fast swimming fish such as comets are recommended to have 20g because they are also fast growers. In cases where the goldfish are very small it is possible to keep them for a limited time in 5g each.

Even if your goldfish are very small, your tank is very overcrowded. The main problem is keeping the water clean and not poisonous. On kokos home page there is a good article explaining how the chemistry of the tank stabilises itself, it's called 'the cycle of the tank'.

Thanks Guys... Well I want be buying fish for a LONGGG time.. It doesnt look like my tank is over crowded at all.. well I'll have a photo of it soon ! Thanks

Looking forward to seeing your photo. I understand what you mean when you say your tank doesn't look overcrowded. We are so used to seeing goldfish in bowls or lots of goldfish together in the tank at the pet store.

It won't take long for your mind to adjust though that goldfish need a lot of room. The reason is very simple, they eat a lot more than tropical fish of the same size, they poop a lot more and therefore foul their water a lot more.

Some people will tell you about a goldfish they kept in a bowl for years and years. Survival stories like this do happen now and again but the average life span of a goldfish after it goes home from the pet store is only around 3 weeks. The major killer of these fish is bad water.

However, a goldfish kept in 10g of water each (or more) will grow quite large and live a long life, anything between 8-20yrs. Well, there is a bit more to it than that but truely, good water quality is the key to healthy goldfish.

I would think that your pleco died and the goldfish ate it. Sorry about your pleco

Also, you comet is just going through its normal colour change. I have quite a few dark grey young comets in my pond. They are now a year old and haven't changed colour yet. Most of them will, although a few will probably remain grey. I have one all dark grey comet who is 3 years old

As a previous poster mentioned, in order to sex your fish, look for tiny white raised dots along the leading edge of the pectoral fins (the "arms" ) and on their gill covers. Some of my one year olds are already displaying these breeding stars.

As some of the others have mentioned, as your fish grow, you will have to move up to a larger tank. Goldfish get very big! I currently have three of my fish in a 40 gallon tank and they are starting to look crowded. And as mentioned earlier, it is much easier to maintain good water quality if you allow at least 10 gallons per fish

Oh, and

Though I agree with everybody's replies on the tank size (it may become too small when your 9 fish start growing 1" a month), I would like to think that your goldfish were like angels....

....avenging angels, whose vengeance struck down your poor pleco. (Probably not, but I like to think it)

Sorry, had to say that.

Slugger

Thanks guys .. Im trying to make room in my tank .. and get rid of some fish.. Looking into it .

stephanie, don't feel bad or anything about the overcrowding in your tank, I have two 1 1/2 inch orandas in a 16litre 3.5gall tank, im trying to upgrade to a 20gall within the next month, but its difficult expecially when you have already bought lots of fish, and you wernt informed of the requirements of goldies, and there isnt enough space in your room to get a huge tank, and they are sooooo expensive. Remember your not alone, im in your same position

I cant get another tank so Im stuck with my 20 gallon .. I might make a iny tiny pond also. Well I finally met someone with an over crowded tank lol.

lol, snap, same age:) we both have trouble affording and convincing the parents to buy a bigger tank then?

nice to meet you by the way steph

lol! i know how hard it can be!! it took alot of pursuading to get my parents to accept all my tanks!!!
lol!!
good luck with the pond!!

nice to met u both. =]

Im mean I dont get it where the ones that will pay for it ( tank) but they stilll wont let us go bigger
--> Ill take that - now they dont want to hear anything about a pond . but Im getting . I told them that

Yep same here steph, i will pay for a massssssive tank, but i'm still not allowed, it took a lot of convincing to get my 3.5gall tank with my first 2 goldies, im never gna get a massive tank like i said in another topic a girl can only dream

i wouldnt get a pond, firstly i wouldnt be allowed, secondly i like tanks cause you can watch em all the time with a pond you cant see them as well, secondly the foxes in my area would eat em

FOXES ??? where are u from that is so cool. I just have to worry about strange cats and seagulls. I got my pond today ! Its a fountain 20 gallon. =]

Hey, are you allowed avatars with only 58 posts? Just wondered...

avators- thats the icon right ? Yea I would say so

yay congratz for your pond, yeah I only live in London, England, but we get foxes in our backyard once in a while, no its not good its wierd lol,

Well you would say so since you have one. But no, you are not allowed, and people have been in ###### for doing that at Koko's, so don't be stupid enough to get caught.

EDIT: spelling

So am i allowed to have one ?

This is how I understand it. Up to 100 posts you can use one of the "pre-applied" avatars. After 100 posts, you can upload your own avatar.

Thats a lot of post u did ! Well I have an already one... Im almost to 100 I suppose

Hey all! I'm 14, that's almost 15 right? I've been here on Koko's for a while and have been looking for some ppl with the same point of view, *Parents won't let me have this, parents won't let me have that* and I think I've finally found some! Hey, Steph, how many fish did you end up keeping? I've got a 20 gallon tank with 2 fish, just like they say.
~*Spazzy*~

Wow, I just relised how new I am to this site, it seems I'll never get an avatar!

Ditto Spazzy, I will never get an avatar!

I am still overstocked in my 10Gal tank...haha 3 fishies, 2 are MAYBE an inch, and one is about 2.5-3 inches tail included. He's the one I really care about. I have had him for 8 months, and am extremely attached. They all seem to be doing very well in the 10 gal though, no problems, no diseases.....water perams are great, so I'm thrilled. If the smaller two die off, I won't be taht upset like I said because Jacque is my main concern (This is terrible...but the truth!)

To those of you that have to talk your parents into wanting tanks.... it doesn't get any easier! I am 19, and live at home for 4 months of the year (when I'm home from university) and STILL am not allowed to have a tank bigger than my 10gal. Meh, all I care about is the fact that I'm going ot go animal crazy (as long as I can afford it) when I get a place of my own YEAR round. I want a wall tank...haha I have a whole design in mind...oooo boy.

Good luck to all overstocked, and with parents that don't want you "blowing" money on "silly goldfish".

hello.... yep I have a 20 gallon with 2 fishies . And I just got a pond who keeps going green on me =[ Im way over stocked in that sooo im not going to get in trouble by posting how many .... heheheheh ..... That stinks ur 19 and cant get one !! I would just go buy one lol .. But I dont even think i have room in my tank for a bigger tank... I have two bird cages in my room =X ... I love that name for the fish SharkBait lol..Well i have one... im not sure if im allowed to have a aviator either... but i like it =]