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May 3rd, 2009
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| Little Fish In A Big Pond?
Hi there,
I've got a small (1.5inch) goldfish swimming around in my 10 gallon tank and am wondering if it's a bad idea to put it in a pond with a whole bunch of much larger goldfish (1ft) and a very large Koi (1.5ft).
Can they live peacefully, or will the little guy become fish food? | 
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May 3rd, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Hi rhenders
I'm afraid his his size, he'd likely get eaten. | |
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May 3rd, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Yeah, I wouldn't recomend putting him in now. Maybe after he gets a little bigger. But you can't keep him in that small a tank for a very long time. Good luck whatever you decide to do! | |
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May 3rd, 2009
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| I'd rather not keep him in my 10g tank. How big a tank should I have to allow him to comfortably grow to a size where he can eventually swim with the big fish?
Will his growth be stunted in the 10g? or is that a myth? | |
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May 3rd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| his growth could definitely be stunted in a 10 gallon, i'd consider a 20 gallon minimum, but preferably a 29 or 55 depending on the type of goldfish. | |
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May 3rd, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| hi rhenders, what kind of goldie do you have? Not all can go into a pond. I know the comet and shubunkins can, but the fancy varietes should not.
As a general rule, minimum aquarium tank size for one goldie, is 20 gallons. So if you were to keep him all alone, you'll need a 20 (but you don't want him to be lonely, so I'd suggest getting a 30 gallon, and keep two together) | |
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May 3rd, 2009
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| Not sure what kind of goldfish it is. I seem to be a magnet for orphan fish. I moved into a new office in January. The last employee left a 10g tank with a Zebra Danio and Peppered Cory. No filter or equipment.
I started changing the water regularly and they seem to be happy. The tank is always clean with and has no algae problems.
A couple weeks ago I came across a goldfish in a cereal bowl!! - It was part of a Persian new year display. I 'rescued it'. Thinking I could donate it to a neighbours pond eventually.
Now I'm stuck with a less-than-ideal 10g tank with 3 fish that I'm certain shouldn't be living together. | |
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May 3rd, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| no good deed goes unpunished, huh ? 
just kidding.... You've done a great thing rescuing these fish. They surely would have died without your intervention  .
but now I'm going to have to add to your problem with some more bad news...
As a rule, goldfish and tropicals can't be homed together. (sorry!) Goldies prefer a cooler water temp, plus they are big waste producers and need very good filtration. But at this stage, if the 3 fish are all young and small, I don't think it's the end of the world. No need to worry while deciding what you're going to do.... but either way, you will need a filter and a larger tank. The goldie can't go in the pond this small, regardless of what type it turns out to be.
Back to identifying the goldie... Does it have long flowy fins? a straight slender body, or more oval/egg shaped? If you google goldfish images, I'm sure you'll be able to find a pic that identifies what you have.
How would you feel about 2 goldies in a 30 gallon ? They make great pets, I think you will absolutely fall in love with them. (but I'm so biased I'm a goldie-lover, can't ya tell!) | |
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May 3rd, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Does the goldie look like this? 3.jpg 250px-Common_goldfish.jpg image2.jpg
If yes, than it's a common goldfish, not the fancy variety.
And these goldfish can go into a pond ! (when he gets bigger, or you'll risk the larger koi eating him!) | |
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May 4th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Good job on rescuing the fish, that was wonderful of you! What I would suggest is getting a minimum of a 20 gallon tank for your goldie. Then in your ten you could get two more peppered cories, and maybe three more danios? I think that would work if you had over filtration, and once the goldie is big enough to go into the pond, you could put them into the 20 and increase their school sizes. | |
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May 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| This is the best picture I could get of the Gold Fish. The small Danio has taken to chasing him around the tank in endless circles. I really need to get him out of there.
Is it a fancy gold fish? or a common one? More importantly will he live in a pond?
How big should he be? The Koi is probably 18 inches long. While this little guy is perhaps 1.5 to 2 inches. Is that bite size? | |
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May 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| it's a comet goldfish, and yes it can live in the pond. Comets can grow to 14 inches,
so a pond is the best place for him, as they are strong swimmers and need a lot of space. | |
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May 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Even before he can go in your pond, he is still going to need a larger grow-out tank. A comet can't be kept long-term in a 20g, so unless you're willing to go 50g or above, he probably should go to the pond once he won't fit into anyone's mouth (literally, nom nom nom.. He is definitely bite size right now)
Stunting is an unfortunate and harmful issue. Make sure you do super water changes while he is in your tank. Comets should grow something like 5-8" in their first year if properly taken care of (no stunting), so watch out! | |
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May 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| Thanks everyone for all the info. You've all been very helpful. As soon as he gets bigger, I'll put him in the pond. | |
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May 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Quote:
Originally Posted by rhenders  This is the best picture I could get of the Gold Fish. The small Danio has taken to chasing him around the tank in endless circles. I really need to get him out of there.
Is it a fancy gold fish? or a common one? More importantly will he live in a pond?
How big should he be? The Koi is probably 18 inches long. While this little guy is perhaps 1.5 to 2 inches. Is that bite size? | That would be a beautiful male comet goldfish. He will do just fine in your pond. Depending on how much plant cover is in your pond, he could go in now. You may not see much of him for the first little bit - anywhere from 1 minute to 2 weeks before he feels comfortable to show himself. Late spring to early summer is the best time to put him out in the pond. He will have a wonderful growth spurt with plenty of food (moss and algae in the pond as well as supplemental feedings) and plenty of room to swim and grow. Just an idea of how big he can get - here are pics of three of my boys. They are in a 2.5 gallon tank for the pictures. Oh, and just so you know, they all started out as feeder goldfish from Walmart. | 
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May 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Gremlin, the concern is the small one being eaten by the 12" and 18"+ fish. But your fish are beautiful | |
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May 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Quote:
Originally Posted by serissime Gremlin, the concern is the small one being eaten by the 12" and 18"+ fish. But your fish are beautiful | At 1 1/2 inches, it should be large enough to not get eaten. Koi are mostly vegetarian anyway, and if there is enough plant cover, the smaller fish can hide if needed. I recently added two goldfish to my pond. They were a gift to a three year old child. The child's mother brought them to me in their original container - a martinelli's apple juice bottle shaped like an apple - all of 8 ounces. It contained one small piece of plastic plant, 6 blue glass 'gems', and two 1/2 inch long goldfish  . Needless to say, the goldfish went right into the pond. My much larger goldfish completely ignored the newcomers. I think the biggest danger of them getting eaten is as eggs and as very young fry. Once they get their color, the adults seem to ignore them. | |
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May 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| that's good to know! | |
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