Hello,
I have kept Goldfish for about 4 years now, but am new to this board! I have a 5" Oranda named Petey, and a 1" rescue fish named Lucky. ( I think he may be a ryukin, but he's still too small to tell!) They are both in a 29 gallon tank, with your average run-of-the-mill gravel and neon plastic plants. Truth is, I am bored by my set up. Not only is it relativly unattractive to viewers, I can't imagine my little guys getting too much enjoyment out of their habitat.

I've become a bit of a hippy recently, and would very much like to make my tank more "natural" for my fish. So, I guess this is a very open-ended question, and I hope I am posting in the right section! But i'm curious as to what tidbits of information anyone might know about creating a more interesting and natural looking tank, that would be pleasing to look at as well as provide more stimulation for the finned friends. I thought about adding a snail maybe? And adding all live plants too, is there a limit on the live plants in a tank? Thanks for any and all information! This is a awesome resource!!!

-Silmaril-

There isnt really a limit with how many plants you can have, but if its heavily planted you have to think about extra aeration at night, as the plants take up oxygen in the dark and levels can go dangerously low.
A lot of people keep snails in their goldfish tanks.. like apple snails etc. but they do take extra care and extra food.
There is a page about good goldfish-safe plants (they like to eat a lot of plants ) here http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/Plants.html

I recently got bored of mine too. I switched from a lot of color, like it sounds like you have, and went with a natural more tamed down Asian theme.
I added natural colored large pebbles(it's mostly barebottom) and just stuck fake bamboo in the corners and middle. Really opened it up the tank and made it look a lot bigger.
Beware if adding real plants because as Lucy said, goldies love to munch on some of them! Also I would think I snail would munch them too.
Good luck with your tank and we'd love to see pics!