Proper size for amount of fish? Recommended bottom feeders?

Question

I am planning on buying a fish to own as a pet. I am often busy but i do have time to feed and clean if needed. I am planning on buying this aquarium-

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3635102

I want to buy one or two bubble eye (or possibly fantail) goldfish. Is 2.5 gallons appropriate?

Since there is a bottom gravel filter, would I be required to clean the tank/buy bottom feeders?

If so, what kind should I buy? (I have been considering ghost shrimp if needed)

What types of plants and gravel should I purchase?

Would another type of fish be more appropriate than goldfish?

It would be very much appreciated if additional information was supplied.

Thank you in Advance

Answer 1

PLEASE don't put goldfish in a tank that small.  If you want a goldfish, get a 10 gallon tank at least.

Your only choice for that tank is a betta fish.  They are very beautiful hardy fish that are readily available and cheap.  You don't need a bottom feeder, the tank is to small, and the filter should do a good job since youll only have one fish in there.

As for plants and gravel, just get whatever color you want, gravel doesn't really have any requirements, its just there mostly as decoration for you.

Answer 2

No goldfish. You need at least a 20 gallon tank to house a single one, and then you'll need to continually upgrade to larger and larger tanks.

And goldfish require heavily filtered water, something an undergravel filter can't do.

This tank would be fine for a single Betta, if you added a heater to it, since they are tropical fish.

You don't have to have a bottom feeder, with or without the undergravel filter, and there aren't any b.f. fish that can survive in such a small tank.

The thing to remember is that the larger the tank, the easier it is to maintain.  Chemical imbalances are better tolerated because of the dilution factor in a large volume of water.  A hang on tank filter is much better than an undergravel type.

If this 2.5 gallon tank is what you get, then forget about any goldfish, and get a heater and a Betta. Get about a 1/2" of gravel and whatever soft petaled plants that you like.

It would be much much better if you upgraded to the 5 or 6 gallon version of this set up.

Answer 3

For even one goldfish, you want at least 10-20 gallons of water. Goldfish get very big and are extremely messy fish. They p**p tons. For any fish other than a betta or maybe a couple guppies, really you should try for a 5 gallon. If you can't get a five gallon, there is a 3 gallon sold at walmart that is (assumably) very good. I have the 1.5 gallon version and it works very well. I think the line is called Aqua Wonder, something like that. The tanks are clear and squareish and the light is built like a lamp up over the tank.

Also, please avoid bubble eyes unless you really know what you're doing with cleaning and maintenance, they are very fragile. I would go with fantails or black moores if you want interesting looking goldfish. Also, avoid accidentally buying koi (you can tell goldfish from koi because koi have little barbells at their mouth kind of like catfish) because koi get HUGE.

If you are really set on that aquarium, I would get a Betta fish (just ONE, 2 males will kill each other, a male will kill a female, and two females may fight) or a couple guppies. Also, people think bettas do well in bowls or vases. They do much much better and are happier in real aquariums of a couple gallons or more.  A rule usually stated is one inch of fish per one gallon of water. This is not the best rule, but along with a good dose of common sense makes a decent rule of thumb. Obviously, you couldn't keep a 100 inch long fish (or two 50 inch long fish) in a 100 gallon tank. Its a really bad rule for big tanks, and an ok rule for smaller tanks. I have a 2 inch betta in a 1.5 gallon tank, and he's a happy fishy, so with lots of maintenance, a little pushing of the rule is possible.

Also, no matter what the filtration is, you will always have to clean the tank. Especially with undergravel filters, they are not very efficient.  With an aquarium that size you would have to change about 20-30% of the water weekly, and clean the whole thing once every 4 or five weeks, or when it starts appearing dirty. Small aquariums are a bit of a pain to keep clean and maintained because they get dirty really quickly. I have a one and a half gallon with a betta in it and I'm doing maintenance almost every day on it.  I would say if you can't find an hour a week to do a water change and clean the tank if necessary, you probably shouldn't try getting fish right now.

Bottom feeders are not necessary, though. If you got one that would be all that could fit in the tank! Lots of the 'catfishes' get HUGE. (If you really want one, you can get a ghost shrimp, its small and would help with the debris at the bottom of the tank).

Any gravel should be fine, as long as it is aquarium gravel and you rinse it VERY well before putting it in your tank.

As I said before, I don't think goldfish are a good idea, but if you got one small goldfish and kept it in the 2.5 it should be ok, for a little while, but the bigger the tank the happier you and your fish will be and the longer your fish will live. He will definitely outgrow that tank and will pollute it massively. A couple guppies would be good, but realize females are often pregnant when you buy them and if you have males and females you will soon have many guppies. So I would just get a couple males, they are more colorful anyways. However, guppies and bettas are tropical fish and need a heater. You can get heaters small enough for a 2.5 gallon aquarium, usually. Remember, if you find yourself pushing the inch rule, make sure to keep the tank very very clean.

Also of note, be sure to cycle the tank before you stock it. This means letting the tank run a week or so without fish. This is to let colonies of nitrite and ammonia destroying bacteria get established in the tank. You can get a supplement of these bacteria to get it started, but be sure to let it cycle first, or your fishies will likely be toast. Err... sushi?

As for plants, if you get goldfish, know that any live plant you put in will get eaten. Which makes a nice snack for your goldfish, but makes your tank look worse. Plastic plants are ok. However, since you already started the plugging of Walmart, and I already continued it, I might as well mention that i found a little pack of bulbs of aquarium plants there. It was like 2 dollars, and you just drop the bulb into the water and it grows in a couple weeks. Also, java moss reduces nitrates in water (see http://bettatalk.com/buy_supplies.htm for a demonstration/test of this nice little property of the plant).

Also, be sure to buy water conditioner, a pH test kit, pH up and down, a Nitrate/Nitrite/Ammonia testing kit (they have separate ones and ones that test for all. I personally get test strips that test for pH, hardness, nitrates, nitrite, and ammonia all in one. However, liquid tests are usually more accurate than strip tests.) You can get aquarium salt, in small amounts it can reduce stress on the fish and help their slime coat, but it is not necessary. The water conditioner I use is called Prime, it removes chlorine and chloramines, and also works to help neutralize ammonia and nitrites. The best way to keep ammonia and nitrates and nitrates down is to do regular water changes and keep the filter clean, though. And supplemental bacteria helps.

Well, thats all I can think of to directly answer your questions but feel free to email me with any other questions. I am a bit of a crazy fish lady, lol. send questions to [e-mail]

Answer 4

Good evening!

I am going to explain why goldfish aren't the best choices for tanks under 20 gallons.

The goldfish that are sold in stores today (all goldfish for that matter) are all goldfish that will quickly outgrow their aquariums.

However, the common aquarist cannot tell this because their "outsides" have stopped growing.

Well, to make a long story short goldfish' insides grow bigger than their outsides which results in an early death.

Perhaps you could consider a Betta (with you were already wondering about). These fish stay the same size they are bought; that is, if they are full grown when bought.

As for bottom feeders, Betta fish would eat the shrimp. I wouldn't suggest a "sucking" fish either for a tank of that size.

2 gallons just isn't the thing for more than 1 fish.

If I may suggest something, consider getting a 10 gallon aquarium.

The possibilities are seemingly endless with aquariums 10 gallons and up.

Please email me if you consider that at: [e-mail].

Please email me anything else you are wondering as well.

If you choose the 2 gallon kit, the gravel will come with it.

Also, try to stick with fake plants for an aquarium of that size.

Live plants are still an option though. Plants such as Moneywort, Java fern and Amazon sword would look incredible in that aquarium.

Have a great rest of the day!!

Best regards,

billcollins531