Alright, here's the situation...


I work at a summer camp (well, 2 summer camps, same campground). the 6 week camp just ended, and one of the parents, knowing I was a fish lover, gave me a fantail. he's a wee little thing, but he's really active, so I'd assume he's pretty healthy. This past weekend, another parent gave me a comet goldfish.

Now, I keep tropical fish, and really didn't want goldfish, but they've stolen my heart. for the next week, I live in a cabin and don't have any space, so I bought a 5 gallon tank and an adjustable 75 gph power filter. I know, it's tiny. I'm doing 50% water changes on it daily until I can get home. Both fish are about 2", and the parameters seem almost perfect. I have a 29G for my tropicals that I'm probably going to have to leave at home this year (I'm a college kid) and I"ll take the g/f with me. I've got a spare 29G, but it's just the glass tank. So, I can start from scratch. I'm looking at at least 400 gph from a power filter. The plants will be silk and plastic. My biggest question is - what kind of rock should I use as a substrate? I use sand for my tropicals, but I know that I shouldn't use that or small rocks. How big should I go without reducing the bioload?

Also...lighting. I can get a glass lid and steal an incandescent hood from one of my 10 G's. since there isn't going to be any live plants (at the moment at least), will this be enough illumination?

Thanks again guys.

Ummm... first things first. It's very nice of you to take the goldfish, however you shouldn't mix comets with fancies. Comets are streamlined and fast, fancies are roundbodied and slow. I think you will discover that the fantail will begin to suffer from "failure to thrive syndrome". They simply cannot compete for food with comets.

Get rid of the comet. A 29g is WAY too small for it anyway. They reach 12 inches. It would not even be able to turn around in a 29g. I wouldn't keep a comet in anything less then a 75g, and that would be with NO other fish.
Why don't you see if someone has a pond in your area? Garden centers often have ponds. If not you could always get a rubbermaid bin in at least a 55g capacity. That would do for a year or 2. But I would definatley recommend you seperate them.

As for substrate. I use 1 inch river rock. Too large for a goldies yap, but still provides enough surface area for your bio-bed. The problem with larger rocks is that it becomes nearly impossible to vacuum under them. They don't go up the syphon to get cleaned. 1 inch is still small enough to get cleaned properly.

As for lighting, without live plants lightscaping is entirely up to you. Incandescent lends itself very well to growing algae though...But if you keep your nitrAtes down below 20ppm(preferably 10ppm), it shouldn't be a problem.
I like to cover the ends of my lights with tin-foil.
This gives the tank a "spotlight" in the center. It still receives light at the ends, just not as much. Very effective when the fish swim from dark to light to dark. Good luck.

yeah, I'm well aware of the growth capabilities of the comet, and also that it shouldn't be in with the fancy (I *do* try to research things like this...), but it's a temporary thing. a friend in Indy (where I go to college) wants him anyway, so I'll give the comet to him. Thanks for the other info though. any thoughts on my filtration? should that be okay, or should I add a reverse-flow UGF? I've had good experience with the R-F UGF, but with the added waste of a goldie (or 2) I'm not sure if it's a great idea or not...

Sorry. I didn't mean imply that you don't know what you are doing. I was just passing along info in case you didn't know.
I'm a member on another fish board and a lot of the people who ask questions there do not do any research at all! It's amazing how many people think:

fish + water + tank = healthy aquarium. Oh...if only it were that simple eh?

Anyway.... uhhh, where wa I? oh yeah.
I think that you will be alright for filtration. You can add an ugf if you want, but I have had nothing but trouble with them when used for goldfish.The goldies dig too much.
I've never had a reverse-flow so I'm not much help there.

I would just keep a close eye on your parameters. Maybe test every other day for a week to see how often you'll have to change them. I'm also not sure if the larger rocks are any good with ugf.

Again didn't mean to sound harsh. Good luck.

p.s. If there area lot of mistakes in this post, it's because my green cheek conure keeps walking across the keyboard. Dang parrots.

you didn't sound harsh, and I understand what you meant, because on some of the other fish boards that I haunt, the same thing happens. Ya know, like "oh, I've got an arowana in a 10 gallon tank. is that okay?" So no harm done. thanks for the info about hte filters, I may just go with 2 or 3 150 gph instead of the big honkin' power filter with a ugf. thanks!

First, comets and fancy goldfish CAN be kept togther if you keep an eye on them the first week to make sure they are getting along. I have a three inch comet and a two inch oranda in the 55 gallon and they do just fine. I think you have everything else under control, tank wise.

Those fish are very lucky to have found you.

I'm not talking about when they are babies. I mean when they are 6-8 inches and that fantail is going at 2km and the comet is going at 20km...no way is that fantail gonna get any food.
I didn't say it COULDN'T be done, I just don't recommend it. If it works for you great.
Besides a 55g isn't big enough for a comet.
While it is alright for the number of gallons(50-60g PER comet) it is not large enough in inches.
A 55g tank is 48 inches long but only 12 inches wide. Not wide enough for a comet to even turn around at full size. Not to mention if a comet needs 50-60 gallons alone that doesn't leave any room for the Oranda which will also reach 10-12 inches. Comets shouldn't be kept in anything smaller then a 75g tank or better yet the ponds they are meant for.

Again don't take this post the wrong way!
I'm not saying it can't be done. BUT...I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable with ANY 12 inch fish (be it goldfish, oscar, green terror etc...) in less then 75-100 gallons. Large fish = large tanks. I wouldn't have those 2 fish in less then 100g together.

Good luck. Hope it works out for both of you.

woah some one actaully said that they had an arwana in a 10?
i was surprised because an arowana need about 200 gallons per fish

it was a baby... about 4" long.

I compleatly understand, Ravenlock. I am just pointing out that the fish CAN be kept together, if only while they are little. I have a comet in my 55 gallon, but I rescued him from the feeder tank so I guess this is at least a little better.

I know its horrible. I was on another forum and I saw this post: "I have three goldfish in a 1/2 gallon bowl and feed them a teaspoon of flakes twice a day. Why do they keep dying?" uhh...

And I also have a friend with two 10 inch oscars in a 10 gallon, but she is upgrading them to a 250 in a month. Lucky fishies.

I hope those oscars are getting a bigger home! My goodness! 250g is VERY good for 2 oscars. Just hope she doesn't try to "fill it" with more oscars.

Yup a 55g is better then a feeder tank.
It's hard to know the context of replies on the internet. I always re-read my post and think "they're gonna think I'm yelling at them."
Not my intention. I just want to help people understand the needs of large fish. I guess part of it comes from the fact that my ex-boyfriend and I used to run a local chapter if "the goldfish sanctuary". The number of goldfish that needed larger tanks, and more water, and better care was just astronomical! We had to give it up. I just couldn't keep up with the need with our well water changing. The fish were given to a local garden center that has a 56,000 gallon pond.

Now I work in homecare and at a parrot rescue. It breaks my heart the number of people who buy a baby bird, promise to love it and treasure it for the rest of it's life, then turn around and abandon them when the going gets tough.

Anyway. Just thought I'd explain myself a bit. Good luck. I'm sure you take good care of your finbies.