Goldfish?

[emma'smom]

We're having goldfish issues. Can you help?

If we put two small goldfish in a 1 gallon tank with a filter and conditioned water, will it kill them? All of the internet sites recommend a bigger tank for happy goldfish. However, I'm not interested in having two tanks and we have this one set up already.....and at this point, I just want them to live. I can entertain them later!

However, we have two fish (through a long series of events).

Will someone tell me that I can just put the two fish in the one gallon tank without having them go belly up?

 

[disneynuts777]

Long story short......they should be fine. Man you even have a filter for them
We have had 4 small goldfish and 6 snails living in a 2litre pop bottle(lid cut off) for 7 months now!!!!!!!!!!!! It was part of a grade 10 eco system science project. From what I understood it was supposed to be a failing project but DD built her eco system so well that everything lived
They really smell but she is so proud that they are still alive Thank goodness the spring is here and I can open the window and air out her room

 

[Manda]

Goldfish need a lot of water to be happy fish. They create a lot of waste and make their own water toxic pretty quickly. About the only fish you should keep in a tank that small is a Betta - and they'd even be happier in a bigger tank. Really, a gallon tank isn't a good environment for any fish. And goldfish also can theoretically grow pretty big and then have even bigger tank requirements. They really aren't the best choice is you want something easy.

The key to keeping any fish alive, however, is to have a tank with cycled water. You can't just fill up a tank with water and throw the fish in there. At best, the fish live, but you basically poison them with ammonia produced by their waste for weeks until enough good bacteria develops in the tank to take care of all that. If you google tank cycling, you'll read a lot about it. If you know someone who has an up and running and stable tank, you can take some used filter media from their tank and stick it in yours and it will cycle the tank almost immediately. Otherwise, it takes weeks.

 

[dizneechic]

I tried 3 fish in a 1 gallon filtered tank and 2 of them died within a week. We then got 2 more (thinking the 1st 2 were sick since they came from a diff tank than the 3rd) and those 2 died again within a week. We then upgraded to a 10 gallon and got 2 more (each kid wanted their own fish, hence the attempts) and 1 of the 2 new ones died after a few months, the 2nd one lasted about a year, and the 3rd one (who we left alone after all that) made it another 10 months. I've given up on fish at this point. My ecosphere though is going on 8 years and the shrimp are doing just fine.

 

[mom2meiko]

general rule of thumb is at least 1 gallon per inch of fish so unless they are really tiny fish, it's not optimal. will it kill them? maybe not - but you will need to be super frequent water changes and that could be a lot of work and eventually kill them. also - even if they survive, it doesn't mean that they are healthy and happy and really, isn't that our responsibility as pet owners?

 

[emma'smom]

"isn't that our responsibility as pet owners?[/QUOTE]

Probably....but at this point, I just want the stupid fish to not be belly up....


However, we went back and changed it for a 5 gallon tank..so the fish will be happy.....who knew goldfish were so sensitive? My kids aren't even that sensitive!

 

[aTasteOfHeaven]

They will be very happy in the 5 gallon. Goldfish are one of the dirtier fish, but your filter should help out a lot.

 

[GoinToDisney]

You'll be glad you went for the bigger tank. I bought both a 5 gallon and a 1.5 gallon for a betta and put it in the 1.5 while I was getting the 5 gallon together for it. I took too long to get the 5 gallon together and the fish ended up dying before I ever cycled the 5 gallon. I cried because I felt so guilty for having it in the smaller bowl after reading that it wasn't the best idea. No one else cried over that fish, but I did.