My budget is crying right now because i have to cancel my cable tv in order to get a phone line set up next month, which will suck but its what I've been hoping for awhile and I've just gotten bored of cable tv after only having it for a month. But a pet is a big investment so I'd have to get the tank and everything a month or two in advance of getting a fish, so that I spread out the expenses of buying fish, fish food, filters, proper care guides, etc...So this post is mainly to help me get ideas of what I can do, for the futur. I want to have a tank by at least September, and some fish before the deep Canadian winter flies, because I suspect trying to walk home from nnnnnn with a goldfish in the dead of winter would be a bad idea.

And before you harp on about nnnnnn, I checked mine out and they have a very good setup, and well cared for fish. Seperate species kept seperate, lots of room for everyone, clean tanks and everything. I've been going on different days to see how they are and I haven't seen a single dead fish there all month. So I don't feel too bad about going to that nnnnnn for my fish. Unless of course you don't recomment it.

Anyway, back on topic and the point of this rather wordy post. I'm wavering between a small setup in a 10 gallon tank with something like a betta, or a school of tetras, or a 20 gallon tank and some larger fish like a fantail. I wanted to understand the sort of fish that go well together. Just checking out the compatible fish chart thing right now.

I just, I'm drawn towards fantails and black moors and bettas. But bettas can't live with moors and fantails I'm guessing. Can a moor and fantail co-exist? Ah, they're all so neat.

I understand I have to cycle a tank before putting my fish in, OR I should cycle a tank with a couple fish in to help the bacteria grow...I don't understand it. But I plan on just having a bare bottom tank with maybe a couple rocks to help bacteria. I came to the realization while I was a tarantula owner that having to maintain proper gravel heights and buying the right brands and keeping the gravel clean and not getting gravel in the carpet, on the floor, in every inch of apartment space, is too much hassle. Besides, I want to maximize exploration space for my fish. Oh, maybe I'll put like a little plastic castle at the bottom or something. We'll see how creative I get with the tank. Whenver I get it.

General advice, links and pages that could help me make these decisions. I'm going to the library today to get some books, in order to fullfill my craving for fish pictures for a few weeks. Maybe I'll buy a book. Wow, if I buy a book about a subject it really means I'm hooked.

Thanks guys!

10 gallon tank with a betta would be really good indeed, and a 20 gal with 2 goldfish would be fine also.
Betta MUST live alone, btw.
Any goldfish should generally be fine with each other. Care must be taken if you mix fancies and single-tailed as the single-tailed might hog all the food.


Yes, you have to cycle the tank preferably before u purchase the fish. Cycling takes 4-6 weeks, and most of the bacteria lives in the filter media, not on the rocks, so if you put the rocks in order to help the bactera grow, then don't bother having them.


DON'T buy any books. Most of goldfish books are either very old or very inaccurate, and are misleading. The only definitive goldfish book is Fancy Goldfish by Hess & Johnson. If you can't find that book then don't buy anything.

Here are some links to help you get started
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/care.html
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/food.html
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/Filtration.html
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/tensteps.html

This page doesn't display correctly in Opera browser. I can't read all the text because its all pushed off to the side. :/ http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html

It displays in IE though. Just thought the site admin would like to know that. All those other links work properly so maybe its just an Opera thing. :/

Oh, I just figured out something else. I live in Canada so Canadian gallons are the same as UK gallons, which is different from US gallons. So how big is a 10 gallon (or 20 gallon) Canadian tank? Should I measure it and do the math once I have one to calculate precisely?

I'm definitely leaning towards a Black moor. What sort of little fish go well with a Black moor, that I can use to cycle the tank, or will a black moor be fine in a cycling tank?

Thanks

10 UK gallons is approx 45 litres, about 7 litres more than 10 US gallons.

Well, people usually use white cloud mountain minnows or zebra danio to cycle. It's better if u try not to use fish for cycling though...

You might look at trying to do a fishless cycle. There is a page here somewhere that explains how to do that. The only little fish I have found that have the same temperature preferences as goldfish are white cloud minnows. They are a schooling fish and do best in groups of 5 or more. However, when your black moor gets bigger he might eat the minnows. Goldfish will eat (or try to) just about anything they can fit in their mouths.

The other compatible fish I know of are dojo loaches (also knows as weather loaches), and bristlenose plecos. The dojos also need to be kept in groups of 3 or more or they might bother your other fish because they like a lot of physical contact. Mine will pile up in a corner to rest one on top of another.

The plecos are big waste producers and would need about the same amount of water as your goldie would. So you could have 2 fancy (double tailed) goldfish in a 20 gal, or one fancy goldfish and one bn pleco.

Maybe after the tank is cycled I could move the minnows to a smaller little desk tank with some of the cycled water. Then I'd have two aquariums.

I'm just addicted to fish now. I think I definitely want a black moor. How many other fish I'll end up with depends on how many tanks I can fit into a one bedroom apartment.

You're certainly not the only one who's having problems. There's a topic about it in progress here. It seems to be happening to a number of people (including me, and I use IE.) Here's hoping it'll be fixed soon! I can't view the forum at all from home. :/

Welcome to the fishy world--we totally understand your addiction! It is very hard to wait I'm sure. I have a bunch of fish now but still want more.

Another fish that likes the same conditions as goldies are rosy red minnows. Some people use them to cycle their tank because they're feeders and sell for about 12 cents apiece. I love them and and tried to get a small school for one of my tanks but only one survived. They aren't always raised in the best of conditions being only feeders and all so they aren't very strong. But I really enjoy the cute little personalities they have.

Here's a pic of my school--only the grey one is still alive.

i have some of those rosy reds they are really nice and they are really active

canadian gallons!?!?!?!? Then how many US gallons would my 29 gallon be? Its from canada ofcourse since I live there. I'll ask at the petstore wether they're measured in US or canadian gallons, if it is canadian gallons, could I add a 3rd fish??

About the betta, I have a black moore, 2 pearlscales, and two other fancies in a biiiiiiige tank and they (still young and about 1 and a half inches) are doing just fine with my white betta. No one picks and all are eating well. I don't think it is a problem, but you mus have only ONE male betta in a tank (if you have 2 or more, they will fight to the death) and don't mix females and males for extended periods of time.