Hi everyone,

I'm not just new to the site -- I'm also new to fish. I've had my aquarium for a little over a year, and made the mistake of overstocking a small tank with goldfish. So now I'm researching like crazy and becoming more and more enamored by how fascinating aquatic animals are.

I have four goldfish -- common, calico oranda (yours truly), a black moor and a little carassius. They are accompanied by a golden apple snail that has entered into a phenomenal growth spurt last week of more than 1cm!

They are awesome.

And I'm finding tons of useful information on this site, and am extremely grateful to all the contributors!

Have a good one!

Hello Suzie, welcome to FWM.

I just replied to your question on setting up and transferring your fish to your newly acquired tank. I tend to be bass-ackwards at times.... Please consider this info in addition to the info in that thread.

Goldfish are messy, messy fish. They are messy eaters and produce a lot of waste. And they get fairly large. Three of your four little babies are going to get between 6" and 12" (12-30 cm) or so (fancy varieties such as the oranda and black moor) often do not reach the sizes of less domesticated varieties, such as the common goldfish). Eventually you will want to look at a tank with a minimum of 55 gallons for all them, and rather than the minimum flow rate for flirtation I mentioned in my other post, I would consider 7 or 8 times the volume of the tank in gph.

All goldfish varieties belong to the species Carassius auratus, so I'm wondering what you have that yer callin' "a little carassius". Worst case scenario is that it's actually a Crucian carp Carassius carassius. These fish are usually sold as pond fish. Though the care is pretty much the same as goldfish and there should be no issues initially, the Crucian carp can reach 2 feet (60 cm). Eventually it will need much larger quarters. Let me stress that I don't know that this IS a Crucian carp. It is just a bit odd to see a goldfish referred to as "a little carassius" and on that note I thought I'd give you a heads up on what the future may hold...

WYite

Hi WYite,

Thanks for all the info! It's a big help. I've been trying to find more information on my mystery goldfish. From what I've gathered, he's a fantail. Thank you for catching that!

As I said in my other post, I over stocked my tank. They are right now in a 5gal. I bought a 20gal to put them in for the moment, but I know within the next year or so I'll have to go larger.

Suzie

Welcome to FWM!

Hey welcome to the forum! I don't have much to add right now but I hope you have fun with the hobby! Don't get too overwhelmed with the ins and outs but absorb as much advise as you can, and again have fun!

Hello, Black eyed Suzie, welcome!

Thank you so much!

It can be pretty overwhelming at times-- I never suspected fish to be so sensitive. I am, however, thoroughly enjoying the process.

Welcome fellow Canadian!

Thanks!