Goldfish what temp?

[Roxy's_MA]

My friend offered me some goldfish on the weekend.

Her mom bought them for the pond, and now that summer is over she needs to find a place for them. I am not sure what she thought was going to happen to the fish at the end of summer, but don't get me started on that one. (I personally don't believe these people should own any animals)

I have a single betta living in a ten gallon tank, I think the temp in the water is about 79 degrees. Can I put the goldfish in with the betta or will the water be to warm.

I have a bowl, but it is only 4 litres. There are three goldfish so I think that it will be to small for the gold fish.

[Lucky Rescue]

Goldfish are coldwater fish, so you needn't heat their tank.

You cannot put them in with your betta.

3 goldfish will need at least 25 gallons to spend the winter in. They are heavy feeders and make big messes, so make sure you have good filtration.

[StaceyB]

A betta will kill goldfish or any fish with long fins. Goldfish should have 5 gal of water for every inch of fish. They don't need a heater but you will require a good filter system. Goldfish produce amonia in everything they do. It causes levels in the water to become toxic which will kill them.

[Sneaky]

Hi There,
Goldfish are very tolerant fish, they can live in water from 42F to 84F.
They should not be kept in a 10g tank.
A Single Goldfish needs a 55g tank to live in, add 15 gallons per additional fish.
Your best bet to keep them inside for the winter would be to get either
a large rubbermaid tote bin or a large garbage can. Rinse well, fill with
water treated with water conditioner such as Prime to remove chlorine, chloramine and other toxins.
Add an air stone and voila!
Do water changes of about 40% once a week.
This should suffice for the fish for the winter.
I wonder however, why would you bring the goldfish in for the winter?
If the pond is deep enough to avoid freezing solid, they should be fine for the winter outside.
You can also buy a heater for ponds that just keeps it from freezing. They are relatively inaffordable compared to buying a large tank to keep these fish in. Check all purpose country stores and pond supply stores.

[Roxy's_MA]

Thanks for your responses, I found the information most useful.

I guess I won't be able to take the fish until I figure something out. The pond is not mine, I would like to find a solution for these fish. I could put them in a rubbermaid container, but that would only be a temporary solution. Possibly I could find a used tank to keep the goldfish in, I can not afford to buy another new fish tank.

I have two tanks, and I use the under gravel filteration system in both tanks. I have a 30 gallon, but I have a red tailed shark in there and he doesn't put up with any tankmates.


I do clean the gravel in my tanks, about once a month with one of those syphon hoses, as the shark is a bottom feeder and can make a mess of his gravel.

The fish are still living in the pond, but it is starting to get pretty cold here at night, so I need to get something pretty quik here.

[StaceyB]

All new fish tanks need to go through an initial cycle. A new tank can be a brand new set up but it can also be when you clean out your tank and start fresh(should never be done). The cycle starts when the first living animal is added. During this cycle the levels of everything(nytrates, amonia, etc) are spiking up and down until they balance out. This usually takes just over 1 month. The more fish you add during this time the higher everything spikes, many times to toxic levels. This is the biggest mistake people make when starting a tank. They fill the tank with fish and end up losing most or all of them. Don't do any water changes during this cycle and afterwards change no more than 30% of the water, don't top off the tank. You will need to remove and replace the water every 1-2 weeks. The only additives you want to add during the first cycle is bacteria starter and a water conditioner. Goldfish need to have a good filter system.