Aquarium Advice on how to improve tank?

Hey I have a 10gal tank with 2 goldfish (1 common, 1 comet) with 6 rosy red minnows. I also have 1 amazon sword with 4 tape grass (3 bought, 1 reproduced). I have 18W lighting running for over 12 hours a day, with new lights coming in soon. The tank has only been running for a month now, so i'm just asking for some advice on how to improve it. I also took some pictures and a video, so make sure to check those out.

 

Are you aware that those kind of goldfish are supposed to get a foot long and belong in ponds just like koi? Not everyone knows that.

I would say the first way to improve the tank would be to rehome those goldfish unfortunately....

 

You have to realize that those 2 goldfish can grow up to 12 inches so I would recommend either giving them back to your lfs or getting a bigger tank
As far as plants the 12 hour lighting is a lot imo but if your plants are doing well then stick with it. Just realize that you may run into algae problems when having your lights on for 12+ hours a day. Since it looks like you have plain gravel substrate I suggest getting plants that require low nutrients like anubias and Java fern which should Do well in your tank as they are beginner plants some other easy aquarium plants you could grow are: dwarf aquarium Lilly's, Java moss, jungle Val, hornwort, anacharis, as well as a few others

 

Yes I am very aware of these things and I plan to get a larger tank as soon as those goldfish grow a couple inches longer. I might give back the common as it's not the prettiest thing in the tank, though I had it since the beginning of the hobby for me and I don't want the comet to be lonely. But I am certainly NOT giving back the comet, because it's hard to find ones like it. Also, the only reason I run the lights for 12+ a day is because amazon swords and tape grass need high lighting, and I don't have any more lights to put in at the moment. I might also add some more plants like java moss as soon as everything else is taken care of.

 

Yes I am very aware of these things and I plan to get a larger tank as soon as those goldfish grow a couple inches longer.

Just so you know, they may not even be able to grow a couple more inches in that tank.....That is the problem. People say they will upgrade when the goldfish needs it...but they will be stunted in a 10 gallon and will APPEAR to never need it....

How much larger of a tank do you plan to get? And if you plan to get one, why not get it NOW? I don't understand waiting. Your goldfish will be miserable and possibly die of stress before you even get a chance to upgrade.

If you insist on keeping them in there, plan on doing daily water changes to keep their environment clean and healthy. That will be their only hope of growing AT ALL in there. And they are VERY messy fish.

Again, if you care about these fish and already plan to upgrade....for their sake, do it now rather than waiting for them to grow a couple more inches that they may never even grow in there! There is absolutely no reason to wait.

Edit, regarding the lighting....amazon swords are not high light plants....not in my experience anyway. I would call them medium light. I'm not familiar with tape grass though.

 

Just so you know, they may not even be able to grow a couple more inches in that tank.....That is the problem. People say they will upgrade when the goldfish needs it...but they will be stunted in a 10 gallon and will APPEAR to never need it....

How much larger of a tank do you plan to get? And if you plan to get one, why not get it NOW? I don't understand waiting. Your goldfish will be miserable and possibly die of stress before you even get a chance to upgrade.

If you insist on keeping them in there, plan on doing daily water changes to keep their environment clean and healthy. That will be their only hope of growing AT ALL in there. And they are VERY messy fish.

Again, if you care about these fish and already plan to upgrade....for their sake, do it now rather than waiting for them to grow a couple more inches that they may never even grow in there! There is absolutely no reason to wait.

Edit, regarding the lighting....amazon swords are not high light plants....not in my experience anyway. I would call them medium light. I'm not familiar with tape grass though.

- bizaliz3 Tape grass is another name for vals I believe.
-Amazon swords are fine with medium light
-Many many years ago as a kid who didn't know any better, I had tried to keep goldfish in a ten gallon telling myself I'd upgrade when they needed it, and I ended up losing all of them. Not saying that it will definitely happen this way for you but I did regret waiting on getting a bigger tank for them and should have rehomed them to someone with a pond if I couldn't provide them what they needed in that moment. It's hard to hear people tell you that you can't keep your fish but I would have rather done the right thing had I known than lose them.

 

I am planning to get this aquarium -->

with two aquaclear 70 filters in 3 months, which is when I have the time and money to set it up. And yes, tape grass is Vallisneria Spiralis. Oh and btw, I didn't but the 10 gal, I got it for my birthday and wouldn't have gotten it if it was my choice.

 

Hello and welcome to Fishlore. I hate to say it, but even that 55 gallon may still be too small for them. Bizaliz3 and Lchi87 gave you sound advice. Please think about rehoming.

 

I'd rehome the comets, even if you got the 55 you would be in the situation you are now in 1-2 years. If you really do like keeping goldfish maybe try to get some smaller fancy goldfish for that 55 gallon. I'd say 3 would be the absolute maximum for a 55 assuming that fish don't grow larger than 6 inches or so

 

Alright then, I'll try to save up for a fish pond by July.