Mike P.

I am new (2 weeks in) to the fish world. I have a 10 gallon freshwater tank with 2 goldfish that seem to be doing well. I have everything done except the heater. I have had it in the water from the beginning so it acclimated to the water temp. I have no idea what the water temp should be once I turn it on. I would like to get some different species of fish and am open to any suggestions.



Thanks

Mike

susitna-flower

HI MIKE P. , WELCOME TO FISHLORE.

I think the first thing I am going to suggest is that you go to the "ARTICLES" up at the top of the page. Read everything on setting up a beginning freshwater tank, the nitrogen cycle, and then look under fish profiles.

You will see that goldfish need to be in a much bigger tank than you have, so you may wish to re-think the kind of tank you keep.

Tropical fish and gold fish have to be kept at different temperatures, so really aren't suited to be kept together. There is a lot of reading there, but it is a good place to start..

sirdarksol

Excellent advice above, particularly regarding the tank size. A 30g tank would work well with a couple of goldfish.

Plus side is that goldfish don't need a heater. They can live in pretty much any temperature as long as it fluctuates and as long as the water doesn't freeze or get too warm. Most houses never get warm enough over the summer to kill off a goldfish tank. (You can insure this by putting the tank in a well-shaded room, which is usually a good idea anyway)

As far as different species, White Cloud Mountain Minnows would go well with goldfish, and there are a couple of inverts (snails and shrimp, Amano Shrimp in particular) that can live in temperate water.

Mike P.

The place I bought the fish from said they would be fine. Do I need to take them back? Also right now a larger tank is not an option. My kids really want some fish they weren't to hip on the snails and shrimp. They just want to see some prettyy fish swimming.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will keep those in mind in the future.

sirdarksol

Sadly, many pet stores are more interested in making a quick sale than selling you something that would work.
I would suggest bringing the goldfish back. They produce far more waste than a normal fish their size, and are also quite a bit more intelligent than many fish their size, and get pretty stressed if they're in a too-small aquarium.

A couple of ideas for a 10g tank would be:
A betta (probably number one choice around here). Never mind what the pet store tells you, the betta will need a heater. I would suggest staying away from the really fancy long-tailed ones to begin with. It seems that they are more susceptible to fin rot than the shorter tailed ones.
A few zebra danios. These guys might as well be made of iron. They're not terribly colorful, but they're really easy to keep.
A small school of neons. Regular neon tetras and black neons will often school together (in my experience, at least), so you could have some variety. You could do a proper school of 6 in a 10g.
White Cloud Mountain Minnows (between three and five) would fit in the tank. They're not terribly colorful, but they can be active, and have the advantage of not needing a heater.
You could get a few male guppies. These guys are pretty hardy, and really colorful. I say males because if you add females, they will reproduce and have the chance of overpopulating your tank.

These are just some of the easier ideas to keep in a 10g tank. Since this is for your kids, I was looking more at potential longevity and color than at unique nature.
Good luck with everything and if you have any questions, feel free to ask them.

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

Yea, unfortunately 2 goldies would need a 30g tank, minimum. They can get pretty big, put out a lot of waste and need swimming room.