3.5 inch goldfish in a 28g tank

Hi! I have 1 goldfish, and he/she is currently living in a 28g tank (i beleive he/she is mal3, but i am not sure). he is about 2.5 yrs old and stunted. He is 3.5 inches, but when i first met him he was not even 1 inch. I cared for him for about 3 months, but he was not mine. He was living in a 12gal tank with 4other goldie tankmates, but sadly his tankmates all died. I then was finally allowed to take him in, and now he has been living in my home, in his 28g tank for 2 months now. When he transitioned to my tank he was about 1.3 inches, he has been growing steadily and is now 3.5 . I want to transition him into a 55g, but i cannot yet. At what size should i move him into a 55g tank? I have been doing 25% water changes every week.

Now here are my questions:
1. How do i help him grow bigger?
2. At what size will he be to big for his 28g tank?

 

1. Don't worry about growth. I have 4 goldfish, from 12" to 3" and they're all healthy. Important thing is it's healthy, active, and eating well.

2. Who knows? Might not grow much bigger, if at all, and that's okay.

 

I would just transfer him when you get the 55. Theres not really a size thing, because imo its not very likely that he will even grow too big for a 28. Ime if you really want to grow goldfish, feeding them more(make sure the temperature is high enough so they can digest it easily) and doing lots of water changes works. Water changes help because they dilute some hormones(or pheromones, forgot) that they produce that stunts them. Nitrates also stunt them, so again water changes will be good(well they are good anyway even if you don't want to get him to grow bigger). However, like scarface said it doesn't really matter how big he is.

 

Hi! I have 1 goldfish, and he/she is currently living in a 28g tank (i beleive he/she is mal3, but i am not sure). he is about 2.5 yrs old and stunted. He is 3.5 inches, but when i first met him he was not even 1 inch. I cared for him for about 3 months, but he was not mine. He was living in a 12gal tank with 4other goldie tankmates, but sadly his tankmates all died. I then was finally allowed to take him in, and now he has been living in my home, in his 28g tank for 2 months now. When he transitioned to my tank he was about 1.3 inches, he has been growing steadily and is now 3.5 . I want to transition him into a 55g, but i cannot yet. At what size should i move him into a 55g tank? I have been doing 25% water changes every week.

Now here are my questions:
1. How do i help him grow bigger?
2. At what size will he be to big for his 28g tank?

Some goldfish are genetically stunted. But to help them grow you can :
1: Make sure the tank is big, and do plenty of water changes.
2: Feed high protein foods in small quantities several times a day.
3: Raise the temperature a bit.
Hope this helps, but as Scarface said, it doesn't really matter the size, as long as he's healthy.

 

Ok, thanks guys! Earlier one of you mentioned high protein foods, do you guys have any preferences?

 

Ok, thanks guys! Earlier one of you mentioned high protein foods, do you guys have any preferences?

I think you should mainly stick with goldfish food. Has plenty of protein and everything your fish will need. You could feed frozen bloodworms on occasion, but be careful not too feed too much nor too often. Goldfish, especially mature goldfish shouldn't eat rich foods. Goldfish are evolved to forage on algae, detritus, and plant matter; generally foods with low-nutritional value, but they compensate for it by eating constantly. This adaptation doesn't work well in an aquarium environment, where well-intentioned keepers tend to overfeed and give inappropriate foods. Best to keep it simple with a quality goldfish food.

 

Goldfish don't need too much protein. I prefer brine shrimp over bloodworms since i've heard its better nutritionally, although I don't feed either lol. If you have any on hand imo it should only be fed as a treat, a little once a week is enough. As long as you have a good quality goldfish food though it'll be fine. I like to feed egg yolk but it is pretty messy.

 

I expected to come in to this thread and have to defend OP from tank police. Let me just say, kudos to you fishlore! Good posts.

 

I expected to come in to this thread and have to defend OP from tank police. Let me just say, kudos to you fishlore! Good posts.

I see that kind of thing all the time though. Honestly it can be hard sometimes to defend someone in this kind of thing because then everyone attacks you(seen it a few times on reddit).

 

Thanks!! I have been feeding my goldfish
Goldfish Granules. Should i upgrade?

 

I use omega one goldfish pellets, they are easy on the wallet, and good quality. Repashy Super gold is also a great goldfish food, but takes a little prep. And I also feed the softened spinach. It's easy on their digestive systems, and of course, healthy.