Some basic goldfish advice needed, please

[tacal]

Hello, I have recently added a red oranda to my aquarium. I now have two fish - one red oranda and one common goldfish in a 63 litre tank. I have had the common gold fish for one year and the oranda for two weeks.

How long do you think these should be in a 63 litre tank? Can I wait a year or should I be looking to get a new tank now? The man in the pet shop said I will need a 120 litre tank for them in 3 or 4 years time. Is this good advice or will 120 be too small? When I bought my goldfish a year ago I had no idea they needed such a big space. The pet shop sold me two goldfish and a 14 litre tank. They said 14 litres was fine for 2 goldfish! They also did not tell me anything about cycling. One fish died (sad) .

What do you recommend for feeding them. I mostly give them pellets, with peas or bloodworms being a once a week treat. I am careful to not feed too much but worry I dont give them enough.

I test the water regularly and it is always ok, I think. But I worry because the Oranda is often at the surface of the water for air. Should I be worrying about this? They both sleep at the bottom of the tank. Is that ok? The common goldfish has always slept at the bottom. They both look healthy.

I have been changing 25% of the water every two weeks but now I have two fish will do it weekly. Is this ok? Should it be more than 25%.

I got the Oranda because my goldfish was looking so bored and lonely on his own. He is a lot more active now he has a friend. I hope I have done the right thing.

I would be grateful for any advice you can give me. Thank you

The sooner you can move them, the better it will be. There's no need to wait. They will need more space for sure, and they will become stunted in a small tank. It's hard to say exactly how long they will be OK in there- by the time you notice the signs of stunting, there will already be some damage done.

It will also be much easier on you because the water quality will be more stable so you won't need to do as many water changes or constant testing.

For a fully grown goldfish and oranda, I'd be looking at 200+ litres rather than 120. Common goldfish and orandas both get pretty big.

Your oranda may be at the surface due to a water quality issue, or it may be due to something else- what are the results of the last test? Their diet sounds fine. You can get special pellets for fancy goldfish that help prevent constipation but the peas would help with that anyway.

Your goldfish are lucky to have you as an owner! Most people don't really care about them.

Thank you Eau! I will start looking at 200 + tanks and will get one as soon as I can afford to.

It is good to know you think their diet is fine.

The test kit I use is the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. I dont really like it because I am slightly colour blind. For ph the result was 7.6. For Nitrite 0ppm.

What else should I be testing for? I dont have a thermometer, I will buy one so I can check the water temp.

I havent noticed the oranda at the surface since he did a big poo. Could it be connected to that? Some of the poo was clear in colour some of it green.

Thank you for your advice. I am very grateful.

No problem :) You also need to be able test for ammonia (that should be zero) and nitrAte, which won't be zero but you need to keep it under 40 ish by doing water changes. It's a good idea to check you tap water nitrAte too because sometimes it can be higher than 40ppm.