Help with fish breeds??

[Sadie_Sasha]

Hey guys, I have a cold water tank(46 gallons) and right now I have 4 Koi, a comet, a molly, and just some other random gold fish. I was wondering if anyone knows of any other types of fish that I could add into my tank bescides gold fish??

Id love to have a variety of fish but I have to also make sure they can live toghter.

Any help would be gretly apperciate.

[IRescue452]

Your tank is overstocked and you should not add more fish. Fancy goldfish should have 10 gallons per fish. Single-tailed goldfish should have 20. Koi, which grow to 3", need hundreds of gallons. This is not just because of the size, but because of the bioload they have on the cycle. Do you know the nitrogen cycle? Here's an article http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=21

Mollys are actually a brackish fish, they do best in warmer partially salted water. Platies can be kept in colder water, but they like to eat the slimecoat off koi and goldfish. Minnows can be kept in coldwater. No sucker fish should ever be kept with goldfish.

[critter crazy]

No sucker fish should ever be kept with goldfish.

May I ask why?? I have a plecostomus in my tank with my 8 goldfish, and they have been fine. They have lived in the same tank for almost 6 yrs!!

[My Peanuts]

May I ask why?? I have a plecostomus in my tank with my 8 goldfish, and they have been fine. They have lived in the same tank for almost 6 yrs!!

Goldfish are slow movers. The pleco COULD latch on and suck the stress coat off the goldfish. If your current tank is fine, that's good. Fish aren't black and white, just because it's not advised to do something doesn't mean it won't work out.

Also, I agree, you should not add anymore to that tank. There are too many fish already.

[My Peanuts]

BTW, I have african cichlids, very fast movers and I've seen my pleco get close to latching on to even them.

[IRescue452]

Exactly why. Once other fish discover the slimecoat of goldfish the problem usually escalates and the fish get eaten alive.

[Kalei]

May I ask why?? I have a plecostomus in my tank with my 8 goldfish, and they have been fine. They have lived in the same tank for almost 6 yrs!!

I agree with you, I have a comet/koi hybred that is a foot long and 3 other goldfish with it, and I also have a sucker. My sucker has been in there for ever and is also half a foot long, he's really big. I feed him algae discs whenever I feed my goldfish so that he has his food and the goldfish have theirs. The only time my sucker has ever attached itself to my goldfish is if they try to take his algae disc, and then the goldfish know to leave him alone.

I agree though about the Mollys and other tropical fish. They can live with goldfish usually, but in alot of cases tropical fish can't stand the amount of ammonia that goldfish produce and end up dying from it. But sometimes tropical fish manage to live just fine with goldfish too, its your decision!:) You should post some pics of your goldfish sometime!:D

[Genny]

Wow, you got a lot of nice fish. We'd love to see pics of them!

I, too, have a sucker fish with gold fish and he has never tried to bother any of them. They have been together for years.

[zippy-kat]

It's been years since I've had a "real" freshwater aquarium (right now I have a 3 gal that's home to Kyle, my betta -- my other tank is saltwater). I never had problems with my pleco and my goldfish; I did, however, have problems with my goldfish and ANY other tropical species -- the goldfish were aggressive towards them.

It's hard to resist the temptation to add "just one more fish" but, as mentioned, bioload is of concern. Is your tank planted? If not, how about adding some live plants? They can add decoration and be beneficial as well.

We'd love to see pics of your tank if you have any! :)

[Sadie_Sasha]

well I didnt think I had that many fish.. I have almost a 50 gallon tank with like 8 fish. I know my Koi will get as big as the tank will let them, and the other fish I have havent grown any since I got them last summer...

but here is a pic of my tank. It now has a background on it

http://sadie.zoto.com/img/640x480x1/68375978fb5454b6a6b94cd2867b9d9b-.jpg

http://sadie.zoto.com/img/640x480x1/68375978fb5454b6a6b94cd2867b9d9b-.jpg

and here is my fave Koi. Hes a nice size, probally 5 inches. and hes a nice gold color.

For some reason my water looks cloudy... I have no idea why that is, Its probally the chemicals that I treated my tank when I set it up.

Im still learning. THis is my first real tank, and I really love it and I am in love with fish . I want to hopefully set up a salt water tank one of these days.

http://sadie.zoto.com/img/640x480x1/20138adb97f49115a6ebc12b1299a2b9-.jpg

http://sadie.zoto.com/img/640x480x1/4a6b15bad3ff15e99693c7ab49827b60-.jpg

http://sadie.zoto.com/img/640x480x1/8ef2f1394689af6e8d434925c4afe007-.jpg

and here is a video I took of the tank one day when I was bored. :)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aYgnY5GSyeE

[Sadie_Sasha]

Oh about the live plants, I was really wanting to get some... maybe ill get some plants instead. :)

[TamanduaGirl]

My sucker fish will eat any little fish we add. We started giving her blood worms and shrimp to eat every couple days and throw in spinach and cellary ect she even like carrots but they need to be agged to be a bit soft first. Giving her extra helps algea waffers aren't enough. The last fish we had disapear was old and looking it. I think now she just eats them after they die. I made the mistake of putting one of those tinny frogs in there when she still wasn't so huge and it dissapear fairly quickly. So nothing real small in there with her.

[critter crazy]

Goldfish are slow movers. The pleco COULD latch on and suck the stress coat off the goldfish. If your current tank is fine, that's good. Fish aren't black and white, just because it's not advised to do something doesn't mean it won't work out.

Yeah they get along just fine, like I said they have been together for almost 6yrs. I also have two turtles in there two!! he he he he!! no one bothers anyone. The pleco will grab onto the turtles once in a while, but that is only to get them out of his hidey spot!! he he he he!! pretty funny to watch! The pleco i have is about 6-7 inches long, and 6yrs old. I got him when my son was about 6months old.

[Suki Wingy]

Sorry for getting a little off track but, I'm a little concerned for my betta now. At petsmart they gave us a "Soft lipped pleco" (dwarf) and some plants to add to our betta's 10 gallon. When we got home we figured out the pleco is also called bulldog pleco and prefers colder water. Will they be ok together? The pleco is the same color as the gravel so the betta doesn't do anything to it but could it harm the betta? We have a heater and spotlight on it. (the spotlight only durring the day) I don't live with this tank so I can't monitor it all the time either. My dad takes care of it but he (I think) killed my other 2 bettas with filters too strong even though I told him several times not to turn the filter on. :( :mad: :(

[My Peanuts]

I know my Koi will get as big as the tank will let them, and the other fish I have havent grown any since I got them last summer...

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Your tank is nice. I love freshwater fish! I should post pics of my cichlids soon. I have 2 frontosas that I’ve had for years. They are getting really big. I also have a Kenyi that I had to set up a separate tank for because he’s to aggressive for my Fronts. I also have a big big Pleco in with the Fronts. Then I have Typhoon, the wonder betta. He’s been sick and just bounced back so I think the Typhoon the wonder betta is his full name now! :)

I'm not trying to be mean with this, but that info is incorrect. Many people think that Koi and Goldfish grow to the tank size, but in reality they usually die before they would grow out of the tank because the living conditions are too small. Goldfish can live for 20-30 years or even A LOT more, but we only know them as lasting a few years and a 10 year old seems ancient. It's not your fault for thinking this, it a widely believed misconception.

[IRescue452]

You really should get drop tests for your water, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If the fish haven't grown in a year, its usually due to bad water quality. Young goldfish should grow 3 inches per year. The koi will not grow to the size of the tank. The reason fish get stunted is because of poor water quality in an overstocked tank. That poor water quality eventually kills the fish.

[zippy-kat]

Your fish are really pretty!

I know it doesn't "seem" like you have alot of fish since there's plenty of room for them but bioload is a delicate balance. I think I read somewhere that freshwater fish require a minimum of 1 gallon of water per 1 inch of fish. (When figuring it out rember to use the average adult-fish length.)

Some will quibble with this rule -- arguing for more gallons of water per inch of fish and I can definitely see the safety in that. (More water = bigger buffer to toxins, etc) That said, I think alot of it is up to the person and how dedicated they are on water changes - not to mention the maturity of the tank.

And here's a shameless nudge (DO IT! LOL) for your future plans of a saltwater tank! :D I absolutely love my little reef.

[Genny]

Your fish look really pretty! I love fish. I have a koi and he stays at my dad's house. He got too big for my 30 gallon tank. My dad has a 55 gallon and he has gotten HUGE! His name is Cheeko and he is as big as some fish that you'd catch in the river! He's white with orange splotches. I really like him, and it's fun to watch him grow.