What filter?

[Songbird]

Haven't had much luck with filters - 3 in 4 years! Got a biggish tank with two fantail types (though may get one or two more). So... what filter would people recommend? Want it to be quiet and fairly unobstrusive.

Cheers (loving fishnet!)

[EauRouge]

How big is the tank? For a goldfish tank (30 gallons plus) then I would get an Eheim Classic, they are really reliable and easy to clean. 2213 is the smallest model (I think) and that should be fine for 30 gallons. Don't forget to transfer over all your mature media when you switch filters!

[Songbird]

er... what's mature media? The tank is about 40 litres, so 8+ gallons. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check it out.

[EauRouge]

Oh sorry, I went a bit jargon-y when filter media (sponges, bioballs etc) has sufficient bacteria to process fish waste then it's considered mature. It takes up to 6 weeks to become mature. More info on this here

Unfortunately, 40 litres is far too small for a pair of goldfish. They grow very, very large and create a lot of waste so they need lots of room. Fantails and other fancy goldfish are prone to illness because of inbreeding so extra care needs to be taken. Here's some info on the tank sizes needed for goldfish. You might want to sit down!

[Songbird]

Good god!! I'm amazed - when we bought them we got 5 fish and they said that tank was fine!! What now? I can't get a bigger tank!

[EauRouge]

Best to rehome them then I'm afraid :( keeping them in a tank that's too small will massively shorten their lifespan. One thing that you need to take into account when keeping fish is that pet shop staff very rarely know the head end from the tail end. It sucks but I can't see it changing any time soon :(

40 litres isn't much good for any fish really, smaller bodies of water are so hard to keep stable. Even another 10 litres would make a difference if you still wanted to keep fish (goldfish would be right out though).

You could probably keep some insects or something in a 40 litre tank if you or your DCs are not too squeamish about them.

[Songbird]

Thanks so much, will discuss with dh. I've always fancied stick insects!!