hooxeii

My mother owns two goldfish, both "feeder" comets, the oldest of which is 5 years old. Both have lived in seperate bowls their entire lives, and while both have done well somehow despite not having adequate filtration and space, kinda feel bad for them, especially since my babies are so spoiled.

Make no mistake--my mom treats these fish well and they've been healthy save for the odd swim-bladder issue here and there. How this happened I don't know, since all that I've ever read says the setup they're in means death

However, mum has recently decided that Gromit (the younger, smaller one) needs a bigger home, and I've been using this to try and get her to purchase a nice, 10 gal+ tank with filtration for them. She's reluctant despite my saying I'd buy it for them, mostly because she's worried that Gus (the older one) will harm Gromit. Now, goldies are social fish, and they are very similarly sized fish, but they HAVE lived alone for their entire lives.

Would fish-harming-fish be a concern? Obviously they'd try to establish a pecking order, but would it continue beyond this?

joy1125

I don't know, as I've never had that situation. But it is well worth the try !! And by introducing both of them to the new tank together (once the tank is cycled of course!) there won't be any territorial issues, as neither has lived in that tank before.
I think they will be fine.

I also want to comment on how great it is that you are offering to buy the new tank for your mum. If she does allow you to (and I hope she does) I suggest (if you possibly can) spending just a few extra dollars and going for the 20 gallon long; since it will be housing the two of them. Explain to her that larger tanks are easier to cycle and maintain, and of course, it will be better for the fish !


once she gets the new tank and for the month or so that it is cycling..... maybe she can begin slowly introducing the two fish.... maybe by placing the two goldfish bowls together, so the two fish can see each other....

I hope it all goes well. Please keep us posted on what Mum decides !

Tony G.

Great info from Joy!! hope it all goes well! Aso, i would check craigslist.com or Fiji or Frecycle for tanks as they can be found for really cheap and it would be a great permanent home for the goldies

Shawnie

+2 great advice joy...
those babies would love a 20g...and awesome advice from tony also....check www.craigs.list.org in your area..theres a ton of ppl selling full setups very cheap ...

gremlin

They should do fine together. I agree a 20 gallon long would be better than a 10 gallon. Larger is always better with goldies. My goldies were "feeder" fish from WalMart/PetsMart. They can barely fit in a 2 1/2 gallon tank for pics anymore. I can't imagine keeping them in a 10 gallon tank with how big mine are. Yours may start growing again once they get in a larger tank, but that would be a good thing.

hooxeii

Indeed. Thanks for the advice, will try to locate an inexpensive setup for them