ok tank is cycled I have a 36 gallon tank with 2 emerald corys and 3 zebra danios(they should be called little spazzes!!) Can I put one pearl scale or an oranda with them??? will they be good together??? I was eyeing a gorgeous apple snail helpp!!!

I personally don't think mixing tropical fish with goldfish is ever a good idea. Besides, a 36 gallon is ample space for your tropicals, but goldfish produce a LOT more waste and that would be pushing it. If I were you I'd go with the apple snail

Chrissy

I agree, personally I wouldn't mix them as they have different needs. Although, I'm sure I have heard of some members on here successfully keeping Danios with Goldies before as they do OK in cooler water. However, do not mix goldies and corys though - there have been some real horror stories about goldies getting them stuck in their mouths. Best to keep tropical and goldie setups seperate really

I agree to keeping it tropicals only. Although the tropicals you've picked out (and the apple snail) can tolerate lower temperatures than most others, my main concern would be the goldfish trying to eat them when they get bigger. Your danios and cories would appreciate larger numbers of their own kind, so why don't you get more of them and then some more tropical fish? Tropicals are very pretty fish

now which means anotherhtank fo rthe goldieslol yeagfor me!! im an aquarium aholic!!! thnx for the info

Haha, yep that's how it goes You can never stop with just one tank!

Chrissy

personaly i think it comes down to the size of the fish because the argument that the goldies will eat them is present with popular tropical fish as well.

I have corys, dannios, minnows and a bushynose plec with my goldies and i havent had a problem they have been together for over a month and the minnows have been there since august and i havent lost one i think its because the goldies started with them so they dont see them as food. Also i have a heater in there and keep it at a steady 24 which keeps both happy and i also have 20x filtration and two bubble wands for extra airation in the warmer water. and a UV steriliser which helps a lot as well

i know people dont like the idea of mixing goldfish with others because of the waste problems but i think that there is an extent with how they can mix. if you have the right filtration the heater and also a congintency plan if anything happens (i have a friend willing to take the dannios etc if any go missing).

i know its a touchy area but thats my oppinion and thoughts i just cant get my head around how you can get so many tropical fish in a 55 gallon tank but only 5 fancy goldfish when they are messy but at the same time a lot of other fish that are deemed suitable for community aquariums.

Good point, but I just don't think it's fair to put any fish at risk. A small baby goldfish would probably be okay in there temporarilly since they don't produce too much waste and are too small to fit the danios in their mouths, but goldfish grow quickly. The same compatibility issues arise with an all tropical tank. Even though angelfish aren't normally agressive toward other fish, you shouldn't put a full grown angel in a tank with neon tetras in it. Their instinct is to eat them since they are pescavores.

5 Goldfish in a 55 gallon have the capabilities to get 8=10 inches,or bigger---depending on the type of fish. I had a problem twice with a goldfish getting a cory stuck in it's mouth.On the other hand,I've had a tank of Goldfish that have lived with Cories for 3 years and have never had a problem.The thing is,that it's a chance that you take,because you can never say Never.As long as something is capable of fitting into your goldfish's mouth,your fish are at risk. We do hear of people "mixing" their tanks though---some do well,some do not,but as we get alot of Newbies coming here for answers to their questions,and help becoming good fish keeper's,we will continue to say that it's really not a good idea to mix Tropicals and Goldies. Why wait until something "goes missing"?

Well my gf was separated from the other tropical fish in my tank with a divider but he was always looking at them and wanted to check them out. So, when I got my new 20 gal tank set up last weekend I put KC the gf in the tank first by himself. After a day or 2 I put in some tetras (not sure what kind) I got at Petco on sale 5 for $5.00. Actually, I think it's doing KC some good! He just wanted to hide in the plants quite a bit until I put the other little guys in and they chased him out. Now he swims all over the tank and seems much happier. So far he hasn't shown any aggression towards them but they still chase him sometimes!

Just wanted to add that KC is only about 4 in. long and the tetras are 1-2 in. long.

I've kept SMALL goldfish in with cories before, but by the time they got to 3" I moved them to larger goldfish-only housing. I think the same would go for the danios, when the golds are smaller they shouldn't be a problem (we've had larger golds in with little rosey reds that were about 1" and no one got eaten) but for both it'd only be a temporary situation. If you have the room and means for another tank for just goldies you'd be ahead to just do that so you won't have to move anyone around later.