Plants For Goldfish

So I have three Goldfish and I know they eat well, almost whatever plant you put in the tank so I need some help on what to get for the Goldfish that they will not eat. I also need plants that do not require any special care, like fertilizer, or a special light, or real light because I only have the light on top that is the full spectrum but not real sunlight. Whatever else that plants need for special or difficult care are not for me. I need simple and easy ones. If there is no plants that they will not eat then, that's okay, just let me know.
If you need to know my tank temperature and PH let me know please because I know plants have needs to. I really want to make the tank look nice since all I have is fake things.
I'm so sorry if this isn't the right place to put this thread or I am not supposed to talk about Goldfish on this forum because I haven't seen anything about Goldfish so I'm so sorry if I'm doing wrong. Thank you anyway!

-Orange Oreo

 

Realistic fake plants are the best option. Sorry goldfish like to eat most and most plants need something.... So yeah

 

Is bamboo an option? Some I've seen they don't have leaves.

 

Bamboo is an option

 

Hiya Orange! I also have goldfish, I put several Marimo Balls in my tank. They are a special type of globe-shaped algae that look furry or mossy. So far my goldies leave them alone. They don't require any special care except to be rolled around now and again; and they don't mind low light. You can get some really good ones at ! I just ordered a whole pile for gifts for my wedding guests

I occasionally put some leafy greens in the tank which my fish love to destroy throughout the day, that can be sort of a 'replacement' for real plants in your tank that they can eat/play with (it's fun for the fish)

 

Thank you! I will definitely try those out. About leafy greens for the Goldfish....what greens should I give them? Thanks you again for awesome help.

 

Anubias...? Dunno. Or Hornwort? Both are pretty tough and very hardy...

 

I feed my goldfish skinned grapes (diced), boiled spinach, boiled and skinned peas, (Diced), garlic (Diced) and lettuce.

 

I'll be sure to try those. Thank you! You don't boil the lettuce? Just give it to them?

 

I'll be sure to try those. Thank you! You don't boil the lettuce? Just give it to them?

Yep, just wash it very well.

 

I personally keep common goldfish with jungle val and hornwort. I grow absolutely tons of healthy jungle val and the goldfish do not touch it. Keep in mind that these are also 5"-6" common goldfish. They also do not touch my hornwort either.

Both my hornwort and jungle val are grown outdoors without CO2 or fertilizers or nutrient dosing. Just goldfish poop is what it takes to grow them.

To those who have suggested fake plants, I don't recommend it because goldfish are quite clumsy and can easily cut themselves on fake plants with sharp edges. However if the artificial plants are soft, those are okay too.

 

Thanks, I’ll definitely keep that in mind.

How often should I feed them the veggies/fruits/invertibrates to the Goldfish?

 

Thank you! I will definitely try those out. About leafy greens for the Goldfish....what greens should I give them? Thanks you again for awesome help.

So far, I've given my little guys both spinach and cilantro. I have heard of them eating all sorts of vegetables! Kale, romaine lettuce, even fresh basil! I'm looking forward to trying more stuff. (I always have cilantro around cuz I feed it to my rabbit, haha) My guys are small so it took them a little bit to figure out how to tear pieces off. I tore the edges on a few of the cilantro leaves and they seemed to 'get' it after that. The spinach I cut little slits all around the edge and then soaked it for just a few minutes in some boiled water to soften it up. They picked up on that right away!

As for how often, I've heard a couple of different takes, I plan on giving them a leaf of something pretty much every day (and take it out at night or the next day when it starts getting waterlogged/gross... don't let the stems or large pieces rot). Other folks just do once or twice a week. I figure in nature or a pond they have free access to all sorts of plants 24/7... as long as you are also giving them a staple diet with protein, like a good pellet food/gel, it should all be fine. I personally doubt I'll give much in the way of fruit because of all the sugar. Something as proteinaceous as invertebrate? Maybe once a week, more like as a treat or for training. It's so easy to overfeed. I've decided to do a 'fasting day' once a week where they just pick at whatever is in the tank and I don't feed them for one day. Now, keep in mind I've only actually been at this for 2 weeks but I have read a billion posts and articles.... XD

 

Thanks, you have helped me a whole lot. I will definitely try to do that. Thank you! Also what type of lettuce do I use? I know there is many different types, or does it not matter?

 

Thanks, you have helped me a whole lot. I will definitely try to do that. Thank you! Also what type of lettuce do I use? I know there is many different types, or does it not matter?

At the National Aquarium in Baltimore, they fed romaine lettuce. (it was very funny to see weighted whole heads of lettuce in a coral reef) I figure anything but iceberg lettuce is fine, that stuff is bred for light flavor and is basically water (which is why it's so sweet and juicy). The darker green/colored part of the leaf has the most good stuff in it.

Here's a stem of cilantro in my tank right now, I just have it hooked around an aquarium decoration. There is no way they're going to eat this whole thing before it goes bad, but I figure they'll have fun playing with it anyway!

At the National Aquarium in Baltimore, they fed romaine lettuce. (it was very funny to see weighted whole heads of lettuce in a coral reef) I figure anything but iceberg lettuce is fine, that stuff is bred for light flavor and is basically water (which is why it's so sweet and juicy). The darker green/colored part of the leaf has the most good stuff in it.

Here's a stem of cilantro in my tank right now, I just have it hooked around an aquarium decoration. There is no way they're going to eat this whole thing before it goes bad, but I figure they'll have fun playing with it anyway!

uh, here that is right side up

 

I feed my goldfish cucumbers, rams horn snails, and some flake food.

 

Okay, awesome! Thanks! By the way love your tank.

 

I feed my goldfish cucumbers, rams horn snails, and some flake food.

do you pluck the snail from the shell? (ramshorn) or just feed babies? how small do they have to be. I have miny ramshorn (fullgrown like the size of a paint drop) are those ok?

 

do you pluck the snail from the shell? (ramshorn) or just feed babies? how small do they have to be. I have miny ramshorn (fullgrown like the size of a paint drop) are those ok?

I pluck the whole snail from the shell, any size works.

 

and then just drop it in hah? interesting

 

here's a quick vid I made to show feeding spinach to my guys:
Thee Lady G on Instagram: “Just a short vid to show how I'm feeding leaf spinach to my little guys! First I cut the edge of the leaf up with a pair of scissors just…”

 

So I have three Goldfish and I know they eat well, almost whatever plant you put in the tank so I need some help on what to get for the Goldfish that they will not eat. I also need plants that do not require any special care, like fertilizer, or a special light, or real light because I only have the light on top that is the full spectrum but not real sunlight. Whatever else that plants need for special or difficult care are not for me. I need simple and easy ones. If there is no plants that they will not eat then, that's okay, just let me know.
If you need to know my tank temperature and PH let me know please because I know plants have needs to. I really want to make the tank look nice since all I have is fake things.
I'm so sorry if this isn't the right place to put this thread or I am not supposed to talk about Goldfish on this forum because I haven't seen anything about Goldfish so I'm so sorry if I'm doing wrong. Thank you anyway!

-Orange Oreo

I have 2 goldfish and 3 loaches. I have 2 anubias plants that they will not touch. I also got a few malasian red java ferns which survive, but the goldfish do love to chomp on. I have heard that anacharis plants are fast growing enough that they will also survive the goldfishes hungry bellies.

 

I love the video and you have Instagram I’m going to follow you! If that’s okay with you. Thank you guys so much! I got a Marmio Moss Ball and Bamboo for the tank and they haven’t done anything to it. It adds so much more beauty to the tank and I’ll be sure to try the other plants listed. Thank you so very much!

 

I love the video and you have Instagram I’m going to follow you! If that’s okay with you. Thank you guys so much! I got a Marmio Moss Ball and Bamboo for the tank and they haven’t done anything to it. It adds so much more beauty to the tank and I’ll be sure to try the other plants listed. Thank you so very much!

heck yeah! I posted the vid for you pretty much anyway lol

 

I'll be getting a 75 gallon setup for my four fancy goldfish. I plan to get maybe a couple more goldfish for the tank.

I want to have a large wood centerpiece and have plants that compliment it. I'm wondering what I can do for plants that are compatible with goldfish and are easy to care for and don't require CO2 supplements. Planning on doing fluval stratum, also wondering if goldfish can't have that substrate since it's small like gravel? Is it okay to keep with them?

Also wondering what wood would look best. Post some pictures of your favourite kinds? Since goldfish fins are delicate I would like a smooth type of wood. Also, how to prepare wood for the tank!

 

I have Malaysian driftwood in some of my tanks and I boiled it for an hour or so and scrubbed it with a new toothbrush then let it soak in a bucket for a few weeks to clean it and get the extra tannins out. I don’t have any in my goldfish tank anymore because my ranchu isn’t smart at all and is really clumsy even for a goldfish and I don’t want to risk it even with a really safe piece haha. You should be fine though just sand any really rough or pointy spots. Driftwood gets softer after it’s wet too so if you can rub your hand across it when it’s dry it should be fine underwater. As for plants I’ve had amazon swords, Java moss, various anubias, marimo moss balls and El Niño ferns with no problem but my fish will uproot or eat anything else. I’m sure there’s tons of better plants out there but I try to only speak from my own experience and I don’t have many plants available at my lfs.

 

My goldfish ate several of my plants: Hornwort, wisteria, and they shredded my moss balls and banana plant even. I do get that other goldfish keepers have done it successfully.

I have kept anubias most coffeefolia without issues those for some reason they didn't eat em, they taste tested them a bit here and there.

 

from what I've gathered, *it depends on the fish.* Some shred plants and some don't. They get bored so fast and are so active... even if they don't eat them sometimes they pull them apart for fun. (my poor marimos, haha... I take the bits I vacuum up and make new ones)

 

I agree that it definitely depends on the fish. My goldie shredded both of my marimo balls and is always uprooting my java ferns, though he doesn't eat them. He nibbled at amazon swords for a while but gave up and ignores them, and he tries to uproot the anubias as well, but I think the roots have stretched far enough now that he can't pull it up. I have something else in there too that looks similar to amazon swords but has a white stripe down the middle (might just be a different breed, I don't remember), and he leaves that alone too. I just let the java ferns float between water changes and stick them back into the gravel while the water is low. They're pulled back up within a couple days. I tried some floating plants to so I could see if they work, but he slowly ate them all. They didn't even get a chance to try multiplying.

 

Yeah like everyone said it depends on the fish if you’ll have success with certain plants

 

Thanks for all the replies! I'm definitely putting the Malaysian driftwood as an option because I've seen it before in a lot of tanks and love how it looks! Not sure how I could boil mine, though, or soak it since it would be a huge piece. Since it will be the only decoration (besides plants) I want to be able to have the fish swim through pieces that are big enough for them and it be big enough to put some space between any aggression/chasing, since my males do tend to chase my female (poor girl is with 3 dudes) - they don't do it often, thankfully.

Also still wondering about fluval stratum! I'm thinking that it's okay since sand it okay with goldfish, but I'm not sure if it being in small spheres could cause any issues if ingested?

 

I have a small planted goldfish tank with low maintenance plants. Hornwort- they chew on occasionally but mostly just the dead leaves. Also Wisteria.. java moss, java fern.. dwarf lily.. the goldfish love exploring the plants. The mts snails keep the plants clear of algae pretty well. Hornwort out grows it.. If you tie java ferns to rocks they can’t uproot them and they grow better. Hornwort would be my #1 suggestion. Used in temperate ponds as well.

 

I don't know the species, but one of the trees in an old house had this really rough bark, which may or may not hazve spines, and if you scraped away the bark gently, you would find this green intermediate layer which was bright green and soft, but wouldn't break away unless you used a rock or bricks. If ypu scraped the intermediate stuff away, you'd fijd bone white wood. I'm not sure if this was just the branches that had this feature, but I reckon if it is all throughout the tree it would make dor nice driftwood

 

another advantage of hornwort is that when it is healthy it actually releases chemicals that inhibit algal growth. As for driftwood I don't boil mine but I cure it in a bucket for a month so that it starts growing beneficial bacteria instead of the mold and sulfur releasing bacteria that can stink up your tank. soaking for a while also helps reduce the tannins. Most people aren't that patient though. if you are going to go planted I also suggest amano shrimp wiht some hiding spots to keep both your driftwood and plants clean. There are several folks on here that keep them with goldfish. You just need some good hiding spots.

 

I would really love shrimp! I would personally like to have a variety of shrimp (within the same care requirements), and would definitely get lots of hiding spots! I know of the small driftwood pieces people get that has lots of small holes in it for their shrimp, so that is probably what I would get along with rocks and such. I was considering a bristlenose pleco pair, but shrimp seem more appealing to me.

Hornwort was definitely on my list because I do want a tall plant that is able to add some decoration to the upper area of the tank, so it isn't just open water. I think I'll be doing anubias, and maybe I'll try to make some kind of weight to hold down plants that will go into a substrate just in case my goldfish get naughty. I have a feeling they will be bad with rooted plants since they tore up the marimo balls I got them within an hour - at least they had fun.

 

I doubt you will be able to keep shrimp with goldfish. After all they are a fish and most fish will eat anything they can fit in their mouth. You could try but I don't see them lasting long.

As for plants anubias and Java are two plants my sister has kept with most her gold fish. She still has a anubias that has been around for years. None of her goldies have ever hurt it.

 

Yes, I'm not sure how well my goldfish would do with something small. Maybe when they get into their new tank I'll get a couple shrimp to test it out. If that fails then I'll know to avoid it. I'm also planning to turn their current 36 gallon into a community tank, so if the timing is good, I can move them into that tank if the goldfish seem hungry for the shrimp.

I think anubias is too tough for goldfish to chew, (and to even get a hold of the leaves in some species). I put live plants into my betta's tank a few months ago and all of the plants I got (java fern, amazon sword and vallisneria) ended up dying off except for my anubias barteri, which has been doing really well and I love how anubias looks so I'm kind of glad to hear it goes good with goldfish.

 

Yes, I'm not sure how well my goldfish would do with something small. Maybe when they get into their new tank I'll get a couple shrimp to test it out. If that fails then I'll know to avoid it. I'm also planning to turn their current 36 gallon into a community tank, so if the timing is good, I can move them into that tank if the goldfish seem hungry for the shrimp.

I think anubias is too tough for goldfish to chew, (and to even get a hold of the leaves in some species). I put live plants into my betta's tank a few months ago and all of the plants I got (java fern, amazon sword and vallisneria) ended up dying off except for my anubias barteri, which has been doing really well and I love how anubias looks so I'm kind of glad to hear it goes good with goldfish.

Amanos are quite large become nocturnal around more aggressive fish and can do cooler water temps. Most Small shrimp species need different water parameters and will get eaten. I don’t know how big your fish are.

 

My goldfish are around 7 inches right now! I have a feeling they'll have another growth spurt once they're in the 75 because the 36 is so small for them now.

I honestly was only considering adding a couple more goldfish to the tank and nothing else, but I know on my betta tank my anubias has small algae growth on the leaves, so I'm thinking I may need some kind of cleaner for my plants. The amano shrimp would probably be best because a bristlenose pleco would probably only be good for the driftwood and glass, and not really the smaller leaves of plants.

 

Yeah that’s big! I think snails are the best cleaners for betta tanks. But people have mixed success with shrimp and bettas.