Da_Crinkly

Hi all! I'm Dani. Although personally new to keeping fish, my dad kept fish for years when I was a teen so I'm not super new to the whole idea.

Currently we have a goldfish bowl housing a betta given to my daughter a couple of weeks ago by her math tutor. However, we also have 2 20 gallon tanks and a monster tank, that we have no idea of the size on, awaiting setup. We just brought up one of the 20 gallon tanks, washed it out and plan to go Friday to pick up the fish for it. The Betta will be moving into the larger tank as it will be heated and we can't seem to keep the bowl he is currently in warm enough for him. He doesn't zoom around much at the moment like he does when we clean his bowl and add slightly warmer water.

So, here's the list of fish I had planned for the new tank. Would love to know if I will be accidentally over-stocking it with the new fish and if we should wait to get the much much larger tank setup. (I can't give measurements on the big tank as it is currently buried behind the Christmas decorations and is holding a baby car seat at the moment, but basically we are devoting a 6 foot pass-through to it and it will fill the space with maybe 6 inches on either side.)

Planned Fish for the first 20 gallon tank and amounts:
Pike The Betta (of course only one)
3 Zebra Danios
2 Cory Cats
7 Neon Tetras
3 Glass Cats (my personal faves)
1 red tail shark
Most everything I read recommends 1" of fish per gallon of water and I know the Danios and Tetras wont get too huge. And these are also the most common fish listed to community with Bettas.

Also have plans for 2 caves, a shipwreck and a bridge for hiding spots as well as 3 large-ish plants, 2 pieces of driftwood. Also will have for equipment: heater, filter, aerator, hood with light and non-reflective background.
Is all of this too much for the 20 gallon tank?

The second 20 gallon tank is planned for guppies and mollies since my partner seems to think he needs to have guppies (i'm so not a fan personally and think they make great food for carnivorous fish but he likes them so what can i do?)

Any advice on our current plans would be greatly appreciated.

Also, at my job we currently have 2 goldfish in a bowl. They started out with 3 small live plants and I added a cave and an aerator for a minnow bucket to the bowl (the bubbler is hidden under the rocks behind the cave so as not to cause too big a disturbance in the bowl and works really well that way.) I usually clean the tank once a week at which time I put them in a 32oz glass filled with water from their bowl and then thoroughly clean the bowl, rocks (river stones not gravel) and sides before putting them back in and adding more water.

Is there anything else we should do to keep them happy and healthy? I seem to recall our goldfish enjoying sucking up and then spitting out the smaller pieces of gravel but the rocks in these guys' bowl are too large for that.
On the whole, they seem to be growing well and are always very playful once the bowl is changed and back to their normal spot. They do seem to be getting bigger though and it looks like we may need to upgrade them to a tank soon. They are only fed 4 flakes of food at 6am and 6pm so am wondering if this will keep them from getting too big for their bowl.

Amanda

Welcome to fishlore!
As for your 20, I wouldn't add the betta of RTS. That's a recipe for disaster. Bettas need their own heated, filtered tanks.
As for your goldies, please get them a large tank. They need at least 40 gal. for the 2. But a 55 or small pond would be better. Check out Gremlin's threads on her Goldfish. They get HUGE!

EDIT:
Here's the link:
goldfish bowl

click

Welcome to Fishlore Da_Crinkly!

You came to the right place. As a fish-keeper beginner myself, I can tell you first hand you will find here a lot of nice people who will gladly share their experience.

I don't know a hole lot about fish keeping but I noticed you plan to buy fish on Friday. I just want to ask if you're aware of the nitrogen cycle. I would recommend having a fish less nitrogen cycle, since it's healthier for the fish and easier for you. Also, what other equipment do you have (pumps, heaters, light, water quality testers etc).

I'm pretty sure more experienced members will come along with fish compatibility advices and more tips on setting up your tanks.

Good luck!

Tropical Aquarist

I agree with all the other members.

Off the bat, I would say that it's not the best idea to get that red tail shark, or RTS. They get about 6 inches long and he will be the agressor in your tank. Personaly get a few large glass shrimp or a small clown pleco. Either of these will take care of the algae.

Find some dwarf corys and get more then two a school of three or more helps them from being bullied. I would also consider switching out the danios for redfin tetras. They are white with red fins and they are way more actractive then danios.

A future fish that you could look to as well is the Ram Cichlid. Look these guys up. They don't get huge, and they looked really good. But be careful. They require soft water with a low pH. Establish your tank for at least 3 months before you put these guys in. And you might have to cut back on the neons and the other tetras.

Basically your plan looks good, but I wouldn't advise the RTS.
Good luck and send us an update!

Meenu

Welcome to fishlore!

MaddieLynn

You could have the goldfish in your huge tank if you cycled it and it has a good filter.

To figure out the size of your huge tank, go to this link:

http://www.fishlore.com/ConversionCalculator.htm

Scroll down to the bottom of the page. You will see a place that says "Calculate Fish Tank Volume in Gallons Based on Tank Size". Enter your tank's dimensions and it will tell you how many gallons it is.

jana

Welcome to fishlore. Pike will be happy if you house him in a 5G tank instead of putting him together with other fishes.

Da_Crinkly

a 40 gallon tank for 2 gold fish? I know we don't have anywhere at my job for a tank that big. The boss says the fishbowl is fine but we can't get bigger than that. So will they die if we dont get them into a bigger tank? What if I just bring them home and stick them in the 20 gallon with the tetras and cats for now? will they be okay then? (this idea will have to be discussed with the boyfriend as he isnt into goldfish and calls them "bait" which interestingly enough is my exact sentiment about the guppies lol) Anyway, it's going to be a while before we have the monster tank set up as the BF has to build a shelf and supports for it on the pass-through so that the top of the chest we plan to set underneath doesn't get all messed up.

Will Pike need anything other than a heater for his new home? Like a bubbler (or will the spider plant starts I just stuck in with him be okay? He likes hanging around in the root ball.) and filter? We have only had him a couple of weeks now but I used to work for a lady that had a Betta in one of those gigantic novelty brandy snifters with a few plants stuck on top and the roots dangling in the water. She had him for 5 years (which I hear is unusual for Bettas) and never really did anything with him other than that.
"I just want to ask if you're aware of the nitrogen cycle. I would recommend having a fish less nitrogen cycle, since it's healthier for the fish and easier for you."
I know about needing proper nitrogen levels but not sure what that means exactly or how i go about testing for that just yet. I'm not exactly that far into my research although I am reading as fast as I can lol. I figured I would fill the tank this afternoon and let it set until we were ready to shop for our new fish. Is that what you meant by a "fish less cycle"? I am pretty sure that's all my dad ever did with his tanks. Then whenever he got a new fish he would set the bag in the tank with the top of the bag open and the hood on the tank for a few hours. He had 3 tanks for several years and most of the fish made it through 6 moves. The goldfish died off fairly easily though and I know he eventually gave up on them altogether.

Amanda

The goldfish will have very short & painful lives in a bowl. They need a huge tank - as they get HUGE.
Your betta really just needs a heater & filter to be happy. The thing that makes him happiest is interection with you.

jana

I think you'll find what you need to know 'bout betta tank setup here: http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummaga...tank-setup.htm

Da_Crinkly

As far as the goldfish go i will find out if I can bring them home and put them in the bigger tank. I'd hate to see them die. Any ideas for some fish we can put in the bowl instead that will be interesting, fun, and wont out grow the bowl?

Amanda

Nothing can live in a bowl. It would be like locking a child in a closet.
Fish need room to grow & thrive - and a filter & heater. Without a filter, they are constantly swimming in their own filth.
A bowl could be used to grow some aquatic plants, but that's about it.

Jaysee

A betta.

Amanda

A betta most definently cannot be kept in a bowl.

Da_Crinkly

Well then instead of getting new fish for the 20 gallon tank I'll do what I can to lobby for the lives of the goldfish and they can live in it for a while and we will pick up a 5 gallon tank and all the doo-dads for Pike. I've never locked my kids in a closet so I won't do it to fish either! The only reason the goldfish are in a bowl is because someone at work had the brilliant idea to use a former beef jerky container for a goldfish bowl (not me). And the only reason Pike is in a bowl is because that's what he came with. We are doing our best to get him out of it which is what my original post was about with the larger aquarium and list of fish I had found worked alright with Bettas. 1.) we don't like him being confined to such a small space. 2.) We have been wanting more fish just havent had the time or inclination to set up the tanks for them. 3.) We didn't want Pike to be in a huge tank all alone.
Now of course with lives at stake we have the impetus to get everyone safe and sound as quickly as possible.

jana

My friend kept a betta in his bowl and it was not very active as in a tank. I personally recommend a 5G tank.

MaddieLynn

Here are a few good articles that will really help you out:

http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

http://www.fishlore.com/Articles/TheNitrogenCycle.htm

http://www.fishlore.com/Articles/Cru...uIgnorance.htm

And here's a thread showing a normal sized adult common goldfish in a regular sized goldfish bowl.

goldfish bowl

That's how big they can get!

Shawnie

I have moved out the "bettas in bowl" threads and moved it to their own
bettas in bowls

Please do not hijack threads
Thank you