shih-tzu mom

Could anyone recommend good info site for orando goldfish? i have decided i want to keep 2-of them and i'm getting a good deal on a 32-gallon and a 35-gallon tank. i know my posts get confusing as i have lots of betta's but this is all seperate and i need some good info. thanks in advance. bella

zeebo

Hi shih-tzu mom,

I believe its called oranda gold fish.

here's a list of sites.
http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=e...ldfish&spell=1

I don't know which is a good site as I don't have gold fish. Hope the above helps.

All ze Best! ta!

shih-tzu mom

Thank-You, Zeebo, yes the spelling is oranda, which i just learned and there are so many conflickting sites. but again thank-you for the link. bella

sirdarksol

Oranda care shouldn't be much different from any other goldfish care.
They like temperate water (which means no heater, which means less expense. Hooray!)
They have a pretty veggie-heavy diet (which is part of why they are considered such messy fish). Goldfish-specific food is best for this (I use Hikari floating bits and OmegaOne sinking granules).
They will destroy many plants, particularly ones with delicate leaves. They'll also uproot unprotected plants to nibble on the roots.
They like zucchini and cucumber.
They're very intelligent, and like having an aquarium that they can interact in (lots of hiding places to explore).
They're pretty hardy once they're in a cycled tank.

shih-tzu mom

sirdarksol, i read on one site that due to the fact they are prone to swim bladder disease, that they should be fed sinking pellett's, as they gulp floating flake food.i would like to get i-oranda and 1-lion head lol ugly, but so cute.thanks for info bella.

sirdarksol

Flakes are believed to increase the chances of swim bladder problems. I actually feed mine floating pellets (I couldn't think of the word "pellets" when I wrote it) and sinking granules.

shih-tzu mom

Yes, i will be new to all this goldfish thingy, as i never had one as a kid and it is all a learning, so i'm trying to get as much info as possable before buying lol. and i have 2-big tanks coming and will cycle and then purchase. thanks bella ps. i for each goldfish. they say 2-in 35-gallons but they grow big and do you know anything about bacteria on their wen's lol ? thanks bella

Iron waffle

I've fed mine floating pellets every day for 6 months. no problems. What kind of oranda would you like?

sirdarksol

Frankly, it's better that you never kept goldfish as a kid. Most kids, when they get goldfish, get a little bowl and lose their goldfish relatively quickly (even a couple of years is a short time to a goldie, which can live to 20+ years). Better to be learning now, when you're doing your own research.

2 in a 35 should be fine. Bigger is, of course, better, but I'd be willing to keep two goldfish in a 35 gallon tank.

Lastly, I know very little about infection of the wens, but I have seen that it can be a problem. In my opinion, keeping the tank healthy, using a water conditioner like Prime or Ultimate, which both support the slime coating, and keeping the fish well-fed on a nutritional diet (don't forget that they like fresh veggies) will go far in preventing such problems. If one does get infected, I noticed that the wen can be trimmed, which would open it up and expose the anaerobic bacteria (which is what seems to infect the wen) to oxygen. You would probably want to have a vet do that, and may want to find a vet that deals with koi beforehand, just so you've got options if anything happens.

shih-tzu mom

Yes, i am finding it is not so easy to keep these type of goldies. but i'm sure i'll learn and just love their looks. thus far i have learned a good clean tank-ie; water changes every 2-days, a big tank and good food and it was also mentioned a big substrate as the are bottom eaters and can get it stuck in their mouths lol how am i doing so far? bella

Gibert- i like the oranda, what type i have not decided and the lion head lol bella

Gilbert, there are a few choices at Big Ale's on the oranda and i like the blake or grey ones as well but, i will have to see when i select one. i plan on a red speckled a black and a lion head all colour's not know yet till i get there lol bella

sirdarksol

Sounds like you're doing great. From what I've read since you asked your question, it appears that orandas are actually pretty hardy goldfish. All of the issues still seem pretty uncommon, they're just things that can be avoided with little effort.

As far as the substrate goes, I'd almost suggest getting really small gravel. The problem comes in when the gravel is just big enough that the fish can barely get a piece in its mouth. These are the ones that the fish can't spit out. If it's smaller, they suck the gravel up, scrape the algae/microbes off of it, then spit it out. I have never had a problem with my small gravel, and I've had a koi and a goldfish for well over a year. If you're going with the bigger gravel, make sure it's uniformly large. Any little bits have the potential of getting caught.

Iron waffle

Lionheads are interesting fish, do you plan on getting just lionheads?

shih-tzu mom

Gilbert, no not just lionheads lol some oranda's as well. bella

shih-tzu mom

Yes, Sirdarksol, they have said even some marbles or sand as the marbles are to big for them to suck in. and i wouldn't want to pick gravel out of their mouths that got stuck lol a lot to learn about them but interesting. and on somes sites they say not a good beginner fish and other's say yes, very conflicting info. so that is why i asked here. bella

shih-tzu mom

Sirdarksol, thank-you for all your help and i will update you at a later date when all has been set up. bella

fishlover78

don't forget to cycle the tank this time! and read the nitrogen cycle article on fishlore, just mentioning this to you because your aquarium info says you don't know what the nitrogen cycle is(maybe its outdated). just making sure for the welfare of you future fish friends you cycled!

Iron waffle

I also found out that they like peas, you have to peel them first, my oranda likes them extra.

gremlin

Also for the bottom of the tank - you could use river pebbles - the kind you can get to go in vases. They are large enough and heavy enough that the goldfish don't usually move them around too much and can't get them stuck in their mouths. In my pond, I have nothing on the bottom. My lillies are in netted bags with a couple of rocks to weight them down. The goldfish scoot them all over the pond.