Housing Question

Anyone think I could squeeze another oranda into my 45gal tank? I have two orandas, one pearlscale, and a mystery snail. I want to grab a bigger tank in the future, but I saw an oranda at my LFS that took all of my willpower not to being home. He's was so pretty!

I'm running a fluval U4 along with a tetra whisper air pump and stone running all the way along the length of the tank. Sand substrate, plenty of hides, and live plants also. I do at least 30%-40% water changes each week. Tank is fully cycled. Anyone think this is doable, or should I just hold out for a bigger tank?

 

I would just hold out for a bigger tank seeing as your current one is fully stocked, if not a bit over. I totally understand the impulse buy though! I would also increase your water changes to at least 50%-60% per week because goldfish are so messy.

 

Probably shouldn't do 50-60% water changes because it might stress out the fish.... You should probably wait until you have a bigger tank too.

I know how much willpower it takes, Iv'e had to do that sometimes when I see cool guppies. lol

 

The minimum recommended WC per week is 50% (two 25% changes a week) I was increasing to make room for the mess goldfish make. I'm not meaning to do a 50% at one time.

 

Welcome to Fishlore

I agree that I wouldn't add any more to this tank. Your filter though only has a flow rate of 264gph and you would want at least 450gph. What do your parameters looks like - pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?

50-60% water changes would not stress out fish any more than a 25% will and doing a larger water change at one time is more effective than a couple of smaller ones. I do 60% weekly with no issues.

 

Large water changes are fine as long as the new water is similar in water parameters to the old one. With goldfish, you definitely want to be doing at least 50% weekly.

You're already overstocked with goldies, so I would not get another one until you upgrade.

 

pH is usually at 7.2, which is fine for fancy goldfish. Readings today are 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, and between 10 and 20 ppm nitrate. Hard to tell. I have a mesh lid instead of a hood for my lights, so a good bit of water evaporates on a weekly basis. Whenever I raise the level or water change my betta's 10gal tank, I usually use the conditioned water I don't use in the 10gal to replenish the evaporation from the 45gal. At first I was using pH down for the betta tank, in which I didn't use that water for my 45gal. He's pretty much accustomed to my tap now, so conditioned water is all the same.

 

I wouldn't use pH down at all for any of your tanks as most fish can adapt to a wide range. And using that additive could cause pH swings which would be more harmful.

 

I used it once, so I could acclimate the betta without such an abrupt change.

 

It's tempting to add another fish, but you're already fully stocked, & adding another would really up the risk of problems, plus eliminate any leeway on water changes (sickness, vacation, emergencies do happen).

Big (over 50%) water changes are definitely good for goldies, as long as the pH is matching within 0.5 tap/tank. I do know of people who successfully overstock goldfish in really large tanks (over 100 gal.), but they're locked into doing 90% water changes every 3 days, too....