Fish Keepers Circle

[LadyVictorian]

Well they aren't livestock unless you breed Salmon or Cod for meat but hey there are those of use out there who still love our fish and our nice tank setups. I myself am an ex betta fish breeder with the IBC and mostly had Thailand Imports with some Indonesian and Malaysian imports. Wild and show variety but breed mostly half moon plakat tails. I currently own a rescued 5* Thailand fighter I rescued after he lost a few fights and almost died. Also thinking of getting another female and a few more boys from Thailand at some point.

I also have a 150 gallon goldfish tank with 4 'feeder' goldfish who are about 8-9 years old now. My 10 gallon naturally planted tank has my retired 5* betta and 3 olive nerite snails. Last but not least I also have a 5 gallon guppy tank (I'm new to guppies) who are getting upgraded to a 10 gallon. Only have 3 guppies for now but will be getting more once I move them into the new 10 gallon naturally planted tanks. They also have two baby zebra nerite snails living with them.



My 4 goldfish in their tank.



My rescued 5* Thailand fighting betta.



Olive nerite snails.

No pictures of the guppies yet, just a sad half planted 5 gallon with a poor light.Going to upgrade that after Christmas.

 

[ChickenGrass]

Nice pictures and tanks.
Goodluck
Fionn.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My 125 gallon tank hold 11 goldfish in the winter months, most are about 14 years old.



The biggest is the white one. That's a 4 inch algae mag float for size comparison. I always have some smaller goldfish in a 75 gallon and a 55 gallon.

 

[LadyVictorian]

Yours are much bigger than mine. Do they live in a pond during the summer? I have been trying to grow out mine for pond life so nothing can carry them away. If they go out do you have any tips for moving them outside? I know my babies are starting to outgrow even their big tank and I think this summer is the summer for them to go enjoy their big Koi pond I have been sitting on.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have a few that haven't gone outside yet because my pond is only 250 gallons. Those have not grown very big in an aquarium, even in a large one. Those that go outside for a few months grow rapidly and can double in size over one summer. So the key I think is to get them outside to grow faster and bigger.

I just move mine out one day after my little pond has been running for a week or two, sometimes I float them if the temperature of the pond is colder than the tank. Goldfish are pretty good at handling sudden water changes as long as it isn't too severe.

Providing plenty of cover and hiding spot can help keep your fish safe outside, though there's always a risk. You must have a large pond? My parents put some in their pond and they have multiplied over the years. Some survive over winter and reproduce each year.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

,

 

[LadyVictorian]

My pond is about 500-650 gallons. It was actually a GIANT water trough for horses that we put into the ground. It's a lot of space but not horribly deep which was what worried me for many years. We set up a pump and fountain in it and we get water lilly's and water lettuce and duck weed in it but I am probably going to try putting some dirt in the bottom this year and plant some pond plants. We normally get a wild duck or two decide to take a splash in it too T.T even though I ask them nicely to stay out.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Wow! Those goldfish are really pretty! I would love a large goldfish tank some day.

I think a big part of getting fish to grow large is frequent water changes. from what I understand, most fish release a hormone that provides feedback inhibition for growth. This is kind of where the myth of "fish will grow to the size of the tank they are in" came from. In reality, it was really that the fish were not getting frequent enough water changes in smaller tanks causing the hormone to build up. However, a 125 gallon with just four goldfish should provide plenty of space and clean water for them! Sometimes as the other poster mentioned just putting them outside will give them a good jumpstart on growth as well!

 

[LadyVictorian]

I am looking forward to get them outside then, the bigger the goldfish the better in my mind. I want them to grow out to over a foot long so they can be as epic as Koi but without getting to cat eating size. FYI sad fact, I have seen a giant Koi eat actually eat ducklings before. It was creepy and sad.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I do 90% water changes on all my goldfish tanks every 7-10 days. The smaller ones go in the 125 during the summer and still they don't grow anything like those outside. I assume it has something to do with sunlight and algae. I also do water changes in my pond due to it smaller size, as well as seeding it in the spring with used aquarium stones which contain bacteria. I have a crystal clear pond from the start. Before I started doing that I was dealing with a lot of string algae and green water.

I am thinking about setting up a cow tank for the smaller fish this year to get them all out during the summer.