Won A Carnival Goldfish

HI I won a carnival goldfish I have a little experience with tropical fish as I have an established tank. I put the goldfish in a 5 gallon right next to my other tank I put a 55 gallon sponge filter in there with him. From what I have read this tank is way to small any thoughts?

 

HI I won a carnival goldfish I have a little experience with tropical fish as I have an established tank. I put the goldfish in a 5 gallon right next to my other tank I put a 55 gallon sponge filter in there with him. From what I have read this tank is way to small any thoughts?

Well for now since its a carnival goldfish itll probably be fine for about a month but what you should do is just by a 20 gallon and that's the minimum in my opinion. and just take the sponge filter and put it in there.

 

Well for now since its a carnival goldfish itll probably be fine for about a month but what you should do is just by a 20 gallon and that's the minimum in my opinion. and just take the sponge filter and put it in there.

Carnival goldfish are usually common or comet goldfish.
They require at least a 100 gallon or a pond and are not tropical fish.

 

1. Keep the goldfish alive. Thankfully, carnival goldies have proven themselves extremely hardy, as they were able to survive the carnival. Just keep up the (daily) water changes.
2. Either set up a backyard pond for the goldie or find someone else with one, that "little" goldie, if they live, will grow too large for most home aquariums!

 

Yikes my girl isn't gonna like that lol maybe I'll try to give it to someone who has a large tank. Yeah there's no way I could convince my girl to let me get a 20 gallon lol

 

You will eventually need a tank in the hundreds of gallons or a pond. Personally I find carnival goldfish irresponsible and one should not try to win a fish they can't adequately provide for. Not knocking you personally OP, it's just commonly accepted that goldfish are meant to be put in a bowl and don't live long...

 

Going to be honest, I'd see if you can find another home for it in a pond. These guys can get 12+ inches long. One of these guys full grown wouldn't be able to even turn around in a 20 gallon.

 

Should I just give it to the pet store it's the only other thing I can think to do

 

Should I just give it to the pet store it's the only other thing I can think to do

If they'll take the fish then it would probably be for the best, if you don't have anyone with a pond or big tank that can take it.

 

The pet store will probably just sell it to someone else who doesn't have enough water

 

The pet store will probably just sell it to someone else who doesn't have enough water

There is at least a chance that the new owner will give it enough water, as opposed to the goldfish having no chance of getting enough water.

 

If you give/sell it to a pet store, there's a chance it'll just be sold as a feeder fish. That's not always a terrible thing, fish eating fish is just nature, but come to terms with the fact that he may become fish food, or ask if the store won't put him in the feeder tank.

Just something to keep in mind!

 

Just post it on the trade section here, or on craigslist. There's almost always someone with a pond willing to take a goldfish. You saved it, I don't think you need to condemn it as a feeder fish yet. It can't hurt to try at least

 

I got a comet goldfish place in a 55 gallon tank. The growth rate is slow and I have him nearly 3 years now. He's 5 inches now. It would be 8 to 10 years for him to grow a foot long!

 

I got a comet goldfish place in a 55 gallon tank. The growth rate is slow and I have him nearly 3 years now. He's 5 inches now. It would be 8 to 10 years for him to grow a foot long!

It would usually take 2-3 years for a goldfish to grow to full size. Your goldfish's growth is stunted.

 

Only feed him once a day maybe not enough food to grow rapidly?

 

I got a carnival goldfish 9 years ago. It is still living happily in a pond.
They do not have to have short lives if you care for them properly. They need 200 gallons minimum but are so much happier in a much larger pond. I keep mine in a 1600 gallon pond.
I rescued 2 goldfish yesterday. One was 11" long, imagine trying to keep that in a 5 gallon!

 

I also recommend rehoming the fish. I won a comet goldfish last summer and I learned first-hand that small tanks are not appropriate. The largest I was able to give him was 20 gallons, and he was still not growing and didn't seem very happy. Just today I sent him off to live in a pond with other goldfish, where I know he will be much happier and will be able to grow and live to his full potential!

 

If you give/sell it to a pet store, there's a chance it'll just be sold as a feeder fish. That's not always a terrible thing, fish eating fish is just nature, but come to terms with the fact that he may become fish food, or ask if the store won't put him in the feeder tank.

Just something to keep in mind!

I disagree , it isn't at all nature in the situation your putting them in.

in the wild sure it's normal , but predator and prey have equal chance of survival.

Putting a small Goldie in a tank with a 10+" flowerhorn with no where to go and no chance of survival, who is always going to win? obviously the flowerhorn. so how is that nature?


but for the OP I would diffenetly try rehoming for all the reason stated above I also have a big outdoor pond , and my goldfish are now 10-12" and they grew that size in a year.

 

I disagree , it isn't at all nature in the situation your putting them in.

in the wild sure it's normal , but predator and prey have equal chance of survival.

Putting a small Goldie in a tank with a 10+" flowerhorn with no where to go and no chance of survival, who is always going to win? obviously the flowerhorn. so how is that nature?


but for the OP I would diffenetly try rehoming for all the reason stated above I also have a big outdoor pond , and my goldfish are now 10-12" and they grew that size in a year.

That's actually a good point. I'm not a huge fan of feeder fish, but I've always tried to convince myself that it's fine because it's natural. When you put it that way, though, it's actually a solid argument against it; that we're not recreating nature but playing God by deciding which fish get to eat and which fish get eaten.

That's a topic for another thread though lol

 

Wanna do natural? Put the goldfish in a pond, where they (naturally) should belong

 

Wanna do natural? Put the goldfish in a pond, where they (naturally) should belong

And by pond, a private pond in your backyard, not some random pond in your community.