I have a question about fish, to help prevent me from bighting off more than i can swallow! lol

Question

OK, well i curently have a 5g tnak with a single male betta. nothing else. it has a tad of an algae problem but ive gtten it under control and im waiting to see if its gonna stay that way=]

i also have a 10g tnak with a lonely Dwarf Wag Platy. today i completely tore it down and now washed it in hot water because i have a serious snail problem and i was either attempt a 3rd time to tear i down or add chemicals- i figured since i only have one fish tearing it down wold be less stressfull than chemicals for my fish.

OK, so obviously im having a few minor problems with my tanks, but im working on it=]

OK, so i want to get a goldfish tank, but on the same hand i want to get a larger tropical tank. i know goldies are actally prety hard to take care of, but i think im up for the challenge. i want to know what you think i shold do in terms of ungrading/adding so i dont bite off more than i can swallow with my tanks. as much as i want a 30g tropical tank AND a 55g goldfish tank (yeas, i would get a 55g tank for like 2 or 3 fancys ^^) i think boh would be too much for me to handle. im only 13 lol. i know lots about fish care so thats not the probem.

IF i were to get a 30g tropical tnak, i would stock it with emperor tetras, dwarf wag platys, and some regular platys. i would also take the heater out of my 10g and use it for Rosy Red Minnows (coldwater fish, look like mini goldies^^) or White Cloud Mountain Minnows. so then id be up to 3 tanks (30g tropical, 10g minnow, 5g betta)

on the other hand, if i were to get the 55g goldfish tank, i would keep the 10g my tropical and only put in a couple more platys to keep my current one company. so then id again have 3 tnaks... a 55g goldie tnak, a 5g betta and a 10g tropical.

i know this has been confusing and i thank you for reading this far. now, what i want to know is would getting the 55g and keeping the other tnaks the way they are be less to handle, or would the 30g tropical, 5g betta and 10g minnow be less to handle?

keep in mind, this isnt a rushed decision im not gonna start to get it till after Xmas and your answer is not gonna set it in stone for me, i just want yor opinions to help guide me=]

if you need any more info just ask here and ill add dets to the question asap... i could also email them to u if you want, just ask=]TY!

Answer 1

It really depends on what you want more!

Goldfish and Koi (of every type) should really be kept in a pond. (I'm not one to preach though because I have a 75 gallon Goldfish/Koi tank. But that's besides the point...)

So, instead of getting a 30 gallon tropical or a 55 gallon Goldfish why not combine the two ideas? Why not do a 55 Gallon Freshwater Tropical? The possibilities are endless as to what you can do then... instead of just stocking with tetras and platies.

Goldfish are HEAVY waste producers, even just 3 Fancy's in a seemingly large tank will quickly overwhelm your system.

I, in fact, would encourage you to go with a 55 gallon freshwater tropical. The case is usually that the larger the tank is easier to take care of. Because of the volume of water in the tank, problems in nitrate and nitrate levels are easier to fix because it takes longer to affect the larger volume of water.

I would also encourage you to browse the freshwater fish section of this site:

http://liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-...

To give you an idea of what else is out there fish wise. And to please also browse the pond fish section and notice that the only types of fish there are Goldfish and Koi.

EDIT: I forgot something! About your algae problem in your betta tank... try getting a pleco. they're on that freshwater fish page too. 6 rows down, the first one.