Jleem's 29 Gallon Build

I set up another tank three days ago.

A while back, I got a super good deal on a bunch of stuff. For $125 on Facebook Marketplace I got....

29 gallon tank
Stand
Preset heater
Lid
Large decoration
Beamswork FSPEC 24"
Fluval 306 canister filter




I took some time trying to decide what to stock it with. I finally decided what to pull the trigger on a couple weeks ago. I got a lot of suggestions on another community tank, but I've already got two of those. So I decided to go more simple. Especially when I saw this little one at the store.




I've really been wanting goldies for a while for some reason. Just something different I guess. I went ahead and purchased it and kept it in a 10 gallon temporary holding tank for the past couple of weeks until I could set up the 29. know 29 gallons isn't the best size for this. I'm hoping to upgrade this project within 1-2 years. Once we get a bigger place (if we ever finally do), I've thought about a 75 gallon goldie tank. Or upgrade my 40 Breeder community to a 75 and put goldies in the 40. I've got plenty of time to figure it out though I think.

Anyway, I used the tank with the stand. I pulled the Penn Plax Cascade 700 canister (185 gph) off my 40 and used here since goldies need heavy filtration. Then I put the Fluval 306 (303 gph) onto my 40 to achieve much better filtration there. I couldn't bring myself to do a bare bottom tank like many do with goldfish, so I went with my tried and true BDBS (Black Diamond Blasting Sand) for substrate. I replaced the oldshool lid with a glass top and paired it with my old 30 inch Beamswork EA LED. I also used an Aqueon Submersible Heater instead of the preset one because I wanted a cooler constant temp. I know a lot of people don't use a heater at all with goldfish, but I wanted to avoid the fluctuations I was having in the 10 gallon holding tank. Originally I planned on a constant temp of about 72 Fahrenheit, but my heater has other plans of 74 apparently. That one has always ran pretty warm though. Goldfish people, should I just stay at 74 (from my research this isn't a problematic temp at all) or try a different heater and go for 72 again?

I also am trying some sturdy plants in this tank. I pulled an amazon sword mother plant from my 40, and picked up an anubias congensis for it. I didn't want to take up too much room though, so I decided that was enough. Especially with the large decor. Oh, and I did toss in a couple floating stems of anacharis. Strangely, Smudge (what I've been calling the fish; not sure on gender; apparently that's hard to tell) doesn't seem at all interested in eating plants as of yet. Not even the anacharis.

Now finally, picture time. Please excuse the clutter. I was doing a LOT of work with my tanks that day.

Lights on and off. Couldn't decide which to use.




Upclose of the tank. It looks like it could use a little something else. What though is the question.



Unfortunately, those two short weeks were enough time to start some minor problems for Smudge. You can see what I'm talking about here, but it's still active and eating a ton. So hopefully it'll clear up.



The same day I set this up, of course I had to go to the pet store for small unforseen needed items. I had a major moment of weakness since it was the day after fish shipment. I picked up another oranda. This one is fairly larger and solid black. It also looks like it may have breeding stars on it's gill plates. That's it though. This was supposed to be a simple and easy tank, and after quarantine with this one I'll be stocked to the brI'm with two fish. No more until upgrade. I should have known I would have problems with that if I went ahead and got my first goldie.

While writing this I went and got a quick and simple snap of the new one. Not very detailed or anything, but still a picture. About to upgrade it to a 20 long quarantine tank I had open up.

 

Great job! Pretty!

74 degrees is perfectly fine for the goldfish. I keep mine between 72 - 75F.

People will yell at you for keeping two goldfish in a 29 gallon tank, but I won't. It's perfectly fine but you will be doing A LOT of water changes to keep nitrates down. If you're down with that - Goldfish are too. They love large water changes. Come up with a streamlined way to do them ... and they shouldn't be too much of a hassle. I would estimate that once they're mature though, you will probably be doing them at least every other day.

I have two Veil Tails in a 72 gallon, bare bottom tank. I have to change water about every 5 days.

 

Great job! Pretty!

74 degrees is perfectly fine for the goldfish. I keep mine between 72 - 75F.

People will yell at you for keeping two goldfish in a 29 gallon tank, but I won't. It's perfectly fine but you will be doing A LOT of water changes to keep nitrates down. If you're down with that - Goldfish are too. They love large water changes. Come up with a streamlined way to do them ... and they shouldn't be too much of a hassle. I would estimate that once they're mature though, you will probably be doing them at least every other day.

I have two Veil Tails in a 72 gallon, bare bottom tank. I have to change water about every 5 days.

Holy cow....so the whole "20 gallons for one add 10 for each additional" sounds a little off. Being that you have 2 in a 72 gallon. Hopefully my canister helps out a bit too. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind water changes at all. Life has a way of preventing things sometimes though.

 

Beware of internet ... "RULES".

For instance, if you had a perpetual water change system you could probably keep 3 or more fancy goldfish in a 30 gallon tank. I'm probably actually underestimating that by quite a bit.

I don't know where all these "rules" came from.

I really hate "rules" anyway. Don't you?

 

Beware of internet ... "RULES".

For instance, if you had a perpetual water change system you could probably keep 3 or more fancy goldfish in a 30 gallon tank. I'm probably actually underestimating that by quite a bit.

I don't know where all these "rules" came from.

I really hate "rules" anyway. Don't you?

I was just going by what a lot of people on here suggest. But yeah, rules aren't very fun sometimes. I try to follow them though or I'll go crazy. Lol.

What exactly do you mean by "perpetual water change system"?

 

Alright, I got my new one upgraded to a 20 long quarantine with 2 HOB filters running that equal the same gph that's on the actual 29 gallon display canister. He's going to be in an actual quarantine much longer than the first one was in temp holding so I thought this was best.




I also got a pretty decent picture of the little guy. It is most definitely male too. Look at those breeding stars, fresh out of the pet store too. Also, the white blur on the leading ray of the pectoral fin are stars also.

 

So..... I have an interesting problem. I think one of my goldfish is backed up. I tried giving it the inside of a couple peas earlier, and it completely ignored it. It saw it falling, zoomed up to it, pecked at it, and looked disappointed swimming away. Everything I have read makes it seem like goldies eat peas, veggies, and stuff no problem. So of course mine isn't. So what gives? How do I train my goldfish to eat a pea?

 

The amazon sword in this tank is really throwing some baby plants. You can see what it looked like on post number 1 of this thread.

Now it looks like this. I should be able to harvest some and plant them in different tanks soon hopefully.




You may have noticed that I am having a new problem with the mother though. What causes this? DarkOne I see a lot of talk about swords from you. What's your opinion? Could it just be melt of older stems or the ones starting to break the water surface?



Also, obligatory picture of Smudge. I wishwish (thinking it's female; that's what we're going with for now) would have cooperated a little more. She really likes that spot behind the sword though. If you'll notice, she's developing more black on her face, and little black flecks on the sides. The black edging on her fins is intensifying too.

 

Looks like the plant was grown emersed? The emersed leaves will die off underwater. You'll want to pick them off at the base so nutrients don't go to dying leaves. The plants on the runner looks to be mature enough to cut off and plant. You usually want to wait for the roots to grow ~2" or longer.

Swords will tend to throw runners when it's in complete darkness for a few days (like when shipped). I had 15 swords shipped and only 1 threw a runner with 6 plants within a few weeks so I don't know how accurate that is.

 

Looks like the plant was grown emersed? The emersed leaves will die off underwater. You'll want to pick them off at the base so nutrients don't go to dying leaves. The plants on the runner looks to be mature enough to cut off and plant. You usually want to wait for the roots to grow ~2" or longer.

Swords will tend to throw runners when it's in complete darkness for a few days (like when shipped). I had 15 swords shipped and only 1 threw a runner with 6 plants within a few weeks so I don't know how accurate that is.

So just remove the bad looking leaves? I'm not sure how the guy I ordered them from grew them. I know he said he tricked them into throwing runners by lowering the water level for a while to make them feel like it was a draught period. I received them with these runners. The ones in my 40 with brighter light are definitely filling in more thick, but not as impressive plants on the runners.

 

The rounder, lollypop-looking leaves are usually emersed leaves and will die off when submersed so just pluck them off as close to the base as you can. It will take 2-6 weeks for swords to acclimate to a tank usually. Even when I move swords between my tanks, it can take 2-6 weeks to settle in.

From what I've read, swords LOVE light. It doesn't have to be bright but longer periods work too but then you can get into algae issues.

 

Guys! Have to share real quick.

My girlfriend's little sister is coming from out of state for a visit soon. She remembered that I'm into the aquarium hobby, and asked if I would like for her to bring a 20 AND a 55 gallon tank for me to have. A 55 for free! Looks like my goldies may be getting an upgrade of some kind a lot sooner than I thought they would. Also means I can get another one or two goldies. Haha.

 

So I moved the black male out of quarantine late last night into the 29 with Smudge. I assumed this would be an easy transition because they're goldfish. Supposed to be gentle, social, all that. I don't think Smudge is very happy with this development.

"He" (still don't know Smudge's gender) is constantly chasing after the larger black oranda that I know is male. Or at least strongly suspect is male. There's also been a lot of half hearted nipping at tail fins. Smudge is also ramming his head into the black one's vent area. For the most part, the black is letting this happen and just swims away. Every now and then, he may sweep around and dart at Smudge before retreating away.

So what gives? Is there any chance this behavior can calm down and subside? Could I have two males in a territorial dispute? Could it be spawning behavior (strange being that the male isn't the one chasing though)? I'm kind of at a loss here. I can record a video if need be to show this in action.

Skavatar Rtessy GoldFiska what do you think?

 

First of all, the aggression, or whatever it was, has definitely let up between the two orandas.

Second, I could kick myself guys. I've been thinking about removing the large artificial driftwood decor for a while now. Mostly because it's so big, and because I was worried about my orandas getting hurt since their wens are starting to rapidly develop. Well, I pushed the envelope too far today. My black oranda got stuck in a hole in the ornament. I found him on my lunch break. So I have no idea how long he was stuck.

Good news first, he's still alive, swimming okay, and eating like a pig. Bad news, his sides are just about completely descaled. Also, one part of his tail is shredded, his left gill plate is ripped open, leading dorsal ray is damaged, and pectoral fins are reddish colored (right one much worse). So, basically a LOT of damage. Obviously, a VERY strict water change schedule is going to have to go into effect for a while. What else can I do to help the little guy heal?

Here's pictures. Or at least the best I could get showing all the damage. Oh and yes, that decoration is out of there now.

 

Man I’m sorry to hear about your oranda. I had the same exact thing happen to me years ago with my goldfish. The only thing I can think of right now is daily to every other day water changes. If things get worse, then medicate as needed

 

You can also dose lightly with aquarium salt and for the bloating if it’s not resolved you can dip the peas in garlic

 

Man I’m sorry to hear about your oranda. I had the same exact thing happen to me years ago with my goldfish. The only thing I can think of right now is daily to every other day water changes. If things get worse, then medicate as needed

What would you medicate with if it comes to that?

 

That I’m not too sure of. I rarely have to medicate unless it’s QT, never for something specific

 

That I’m not too sure of. I rarely have to medicate unless it’s QT, never for something specific

Gotcha. Water changes should go a long way though.

 

Happy to say that my injured oranda has done a lot of healing. Much more than I expected in this amount of time. Especially with the less than ideal conditions I have been able to provide. Yes, that's intended as a slap on my own hand.

Anyway, quick recap, this was the original injuries. I was especially concerned about the torn gill plate on the left side.





This is him now. He wasn't being super cooperative for pictures. I swear, these things never stop moving. I think his sides we're not as deep of injuries as it looked like thank goodness. His gill plate and dorsal are greatly improved as well. His tail still has a ways to go, but showing great progress. The worst is probably his right pectoral fin. While no longer red, it still has shown the least regrowth. He's still getting around great though.




While I'm at it, here's a new picture of my original oranda, that I'm still referring to as Smudge. Still don't know the gender. HUGE wen growth though. You should be able to tell at least a little. One side is getting pretty close to the eye, but not covering it yet. Hopefully it stays that way, and never needs a trim.