Which filter?

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

Hi,

We have a goldfish (won on a fair two years ago!) and he was originally living on a bowl, until I read on here that I was killing the poor thing. So, for Christmas, a friend bought us a 12L tank with gravel and a pump/filter. Fish thriving, I am water changing correctly, cleaning correctly, bacteria levels great etc.

But my pump has died and I need a new one.

As it is only a small tank I only need a small pump but I have no idea which sort to buy. They all have their own specific amount of air they create per hour. If someone could point me in the right direction of which to get I would be so grateful.

TIA

Hello.

Right, I am going to have to give you some bad news, for which I am very very sorry. 12 litres is really far too small for goldfish. It's often said that they grow to the size of their tank but this is a myth- they actually grow very large and live a very long time. Have a read of this and it will explain a bit more.

Long-term your choices are rehome the fish or get a bigger tank. Tanks that are too small can cause stunting, resulting in premature death. Too many goldfish meet this fate :(

Short-term, it is really important to get them into a filtered tank, whether that's by getting a filter for the tank you have or by moving them into a larger one (temporary or permanent). Meanwhile you'll need to be doing near enough 100% water changes every day to prevent ammonia poisoning. Don't forget to keep dechlorinating the water, even though you don't have a filter, because chlorine doesn't do fish any good.

If you need helping choosing a filter when you get a larger tank, or if you want some ideas for rehoming then let me know and I'll be happy to point you in the right direction :)

Sorry for the bad news.

what size should one goldfish be in?

when they bought the tank from the aquatic place, they said 12l is perfect for one goldfish and to be fair what i have for him is a darn sight better than that awful bowl.

Depends on the goldfish. For a fancy goldfish (the fat, round ones with double fins), 140 litres (30 gallons); for common goldfish (the normal shaped ones) a pond is best but a tank of 180 litres (40 gallons) would be the minimum.

Aquatic centres often give out inaccurate advice, there's no legal requirement for them to train their staff or to sell products that are actually suitable for fish. The RSPCA doesn't recommend that any fish are kept in a tank of less than 45 litres, but there's no law that prevents tanks smaller than this being sold.

Here is a fully grown goldfish next to a bowl so you can get an idea of how big they get.

If i was you i would put the goldfish into a pond , he will have a much happier life and it will save you spending a fortune on bigger tanks etc.

Common goldfish do really well in ponds but fancy goldfish are too fat slow to get away from predators and can't cope with lower temps in the winter- do you know what you've got?

I can see both points of the discussion. Yes, the bigger the tank the better it is for the fish. But realistically, would anyone really get a 40 gallon tank for one goldfish? I don't think so, unless you are a mega-enthusiast. People wouldn't have the space for those huge tanks, and it seems like a waste for one fish. And not everyone has a garden and can have a pond. Ok, those people could then in theory stay away from fish, but I think it is better if those fish are given a good chance at living in a home environment rather than being in petshops because nobody would buy them anymore and then be euthanized.

Coconuts, I am sure you are looking after your goldfish well and you asking here is already showing that you care. If you can, try and upgrade to at least a 2ft tank for now (60l). Have a look on gumtree or ebay, there are always tanks that size. Filter - have you looked at the Stingray selection at Pets at Home? Or maybe, if you get a used tank a filter would come with it.

A lot of people do get the correct size tank for their goldfish. If you can't or won't provide the right environment for your pet then the best thing to do is rehome it and then give the aquatic store a massive bollocking for lying to you.

Nothing will change if people keep housing fish in too-small tanks. The reason the titchy death-traps are sold is because there is a demand and there is no law to stop the manufacturers slapping a picture of goldfish on the box.

If you can put it in the right size tank then please rehome it (into a pond if a common goldfish). i'm finding it much easier keeping freshwater fish (guppies) as they don't grow and grow like a goldfish so maybe if you want to keep fish look into something smaller.

I agree that the tank is too small. But see it from coconut's point. She was mislead by the fish shop and there are no laws against those small tanks. When I got my first fish, I was told to 'cycle' it for a week and then chuck some fish in, which I did. Needless to say within a few weeks all bar one were dead. I am still angry at that stupid advice I was given back then, it's just ridiculous. But I have learnt since then and won't go back to that pet shop.

Back to coconut: The goldfish is probably part of the family and a much loved pet. I don't think it would be that easy for her to rehome him / give him up. So now we have to try and help her get a more suitable solution. She might not have a garden and can't have a pond. And if she does she needs to get that sorted first, probably this spring. In the meantime a 60l tank is not the ideal, but it would give her fish a better home for now.

I am fully with you, pets should be kept in adequate homes, but the advice given out there in pet shops is wrong and people get pets and have inadequate accommodation. Unless we start a petition or something it won't stop. So for now, let's help coconut sort this out in a way that she can hopefully keep her fish.

My local tip always has fish tanks (for around £5), some dont have lids but this is fine as long as you havn't got a cat , i bought my 60ltr tank on e-bay, it came with a stand a new heater and new filter and cost £50 but you can often get tanks for next to nothing.

The best thing for the goldfish would be a bigger tank or a pond, i think if you cant provide a bigger tank then the kind thing to do is put it in a friends pond.

We had a lot of gold fish (in small tanks) when we were kids, as soon as they got bigger they would go into my grandads pond and where then repaced with another tiny goldfish. In those days there were no guidlines and you could win a gold fish at the fair and keep it in a bowl with no filter or pump.

I got my 25 gallon for a tenner on ebay

I think it is really a misconception that they can be kept in a bowl and old school people will say "it never did my fish any harm in the olden days" but hopefully coconut can at least upgrade for now and then find a long-term solution.

Thanks for all the advice.

• i have no garden for a pond
• I have no space for a larger tank - no space for a stand to stand one on. The size we have (eventhough you all say I'm wrong) is perfect for us.

Mamapizza - thank you, it isn't my fault that the one we got is wrong. we have made substantial improvements from how it was before, swimming in that filthy bowl. It is also not my fault the pump/filter I had (that was working perfectly last week) has now broken.

A suggestion of a pump was what I asked for. I would still like a suggestion for a pump. Perhaps when we move house later in the year we will have space for a larger tank then. In the meantime, I need to keep my fish alive with a pump.

If nobody will help me here I will have to go back to the crap shop we went to in the first place and get more crap advice.

We have this but have only had it a few weeks, so far it has been ok and is easy to clean. If you have it up the top of the tank to ripple the water you wont need a seperate pump and filter.

The filter Marne is linking is the stingray one I pointed out in my first post. We have it in our small tank and it works fine.

As I said (when defending you), we don't know your circumstances and it seems like you can't do much about it at the moment apart from getting a new filter. I just hope that in the future you can provide a bigger tank for your goldfish so he is even happier with you :) Advice in shops really sucks, but quite a few of us have fallen into the trap and you are not alone.

I fell for the 'small tank' thing too from our local aquatic shop, i trusted their advice and was told i could keep 5 guppies in a tiny cube tank and was told the water would be fine after 24 hours to put the fish in, i bought 4 guppies and one soon died, the water was hard to keep clear and the built in filter was useless, luckily i managed to get a big tank on e-bay and saved the last 3 guppies, the bigger tank is easier to look after and the 2nd hand tank cost me less than my original tiny tank.

Thank you all, sorry I was a little defensive earlier. It is hard to be told what you have is rubbish and will not suffice when there are no other options for us. That filter looks great and I will genuinely look into getting a bigger tank in the future.

Mamapizza - I know you were defending me, thank you, I must have missed your recommendation for the stingray selection.

Marne - thank you also for your help and your links. Gratefully received.

Thats ok, i was angry when i found out the same a few weeks ago, i spent around £50 on a small tank set up for dd's birthday so she was very disapointed when one of the fish died and the water quality would not improve (so i had no choice but to get a bigger tank), we now have happy fish (and some friends for them). People asume (or are told) that goldfish are easy but they need a lot more room than small freshwater/tropical fish as they grow and grow.