I was just wondering . . . .

I have a 37 gallon tank with the same dimensions as a 29 gallon--except for depth. The tank is 30 L x 12.5 D x 24 H. A 29 gallon is 30 x 12.5 x 18 H. I've read that goldfish prefer longer tanks. Is the extra 6 inches (and 8 gallons) any benefit to the fish? Or would they be just as well off in a 29 gal?

FYI--I have 2 fancies in the tank (6" and 3") and don't plan on adding anything else. Two kids, one fish each.

goldfish dont really care for swimming up and down, plus its the surface area that matters....i would go for hte 29, the 37 really isnt worth your while.

Smack is right. But a tall tank is not necessarily useless.

Some breeds of goldfish do better in a "tall" than others. You would never want to put a more streamlined fish like a comet or a shubie in a tall tank - for they would not have the swimming length they enjoy. A bubbleeye or pearlscale or celestial, though, being rather slow, ponderous swimmers tend to do just fine in the tall tanks.

Having more water volume is always nice - the more volume the better off everything is. The ammonia and nitrites and nitrates are diluted more substantially as are any other water inclusions. The larger water gives you substantially more wriggle room when you are having water parameter problems. And fish grow better with more room. A tall tank has a smaller footprint, but larger volume, and for many, this is a very wonderful thing.

I think you would want to weigh the type of fish you have, the numbers that you have with the tall tank vs the smaller long tank. The two fish you have would certainly benefit from the extra 8 gallons or so, but on a small enough scale that it is probably not worth doing unless you really want to. If you had 3-4 fish, or your fish were both 6-8 inchers, you might want to consider it more.

That is neat - each child gets a fish! I wish my kids had settled for only one.

DARYL--

Thanks for the explanation. My kids are only 3 1/2 and 2. We got my 3 1/2 yr old her goldfish when she was 9 months old. Then we got her a brother. And our latest addition was a goldfish for him. They haven't thought to ask for more than 1 each and for now I don't mind sticking with just 2 fish!!