Goldfish - New Tank?

[shimmerysilverglitter]

MIL "won" a goldfish at the fair 2 years ago and gave it to DS, with the statement "don't worry he'll be dead in a couple of days" to me. Thankfully this did not turn out to be the case and he is still going strong.

Anyway bought a swanky new tank for him today, loads of places to hide and plants etc but I am worried about putting him in it as I know fish can go into shock in new tanks.

Any info on how to minimise this and how long I should wait before putting him in? When changing his water I always leave the fresh water 24 hours before adding to his tank and use a chemical solution to minimise chemicals in the water, is this enough? This is a whole new much larger tank. Would adding water from his old tank help?

Many thanks.

You need to move over as much water as possible from the old tank, along with the filter (try not to have it switched off for too long). It's not shock that's a problem with the new tank, it's ammonia. If you have a read of this it will explain more- New tank syndrome

It normally takes around 6 weeks to prepare a new tank but if you have a filter already then you don't need to wait this long. If he is currently in an unfiltered tank then you shouldn't wait either. A lot depends on what the new tank is like and what the old tank is like! I can give you less vague directions if you give me some more info

Old tank is unfiltered - it broke, hence new tank with working equipment. New tank has a pump and filter.

New tank is 35 litres, old tank was 25.

Otherwise, the same. Have put an ornament and some gravel from old tank into new tank to kick start the cycling as recommended on another site.

Oh and tanks for replying .

that was supposed to be "thanks"!!!! Though not incorrect on this particular thread .

Take a seat because what I'm going to say might be a bit of a shock but your new tank is way, way to small to house a goldfish. Common goldfish need a minimum of 10 gallons/40 litres each with and absolute minimum tank size of 100 litres.

Common goldfish can reach about 12" and grow to about 8" on average. Hold up a tape measure to your tank and you will see just how inadequate it is.

It is sadly true that goldfish grow to the size of their tank but its at the expense of their internal organs which won't develop properly - it stunts the fish more than anything. Goldfish treated properly can live for 10 years and it is much better that they not only live but thrive.

Goldfish are also notorious for producing large amounts of waste and need a large tank to make sure that they don't choke on their own waste.

Here are some links so that you can read more about it. The Practical Fishkeeping website and forum is a goldmine of information.
Practical Fishkeeping - What do I need for goldfish?
Fishkeeping.co.uk - How to keep goldfish the right way
Badmanstropicalfish.com - MYTH: Fish will grow to the size of tank

I just want to say in case you misread the tone of my post that I'm not having a pop at you because you are obviously trying treat your goldfish well.

Thank, I have read about that before, and am increasing the tank size each year, he has had three tanks so far. He is currently 2 inches long.

The assistant in the shop told me I would actually be able to keep 2 x gold fish in this tank! Even I knew enough to not do that.

Ant3nna is right I'm afraid he should be much larger than that at his age (take a look at this chart )

It's hard to tell when fish are becoming stunted so it's best to keep them in a big enough tank to start with rather than upgrading them as you go. 35 litres is a very small tank and it would be difficult even for an expert to keep the water in good condition. I know small tanks are often sold as beginner tanks but they are actually a nightmare to look after.

Can't believe the assistant in the shop told you that!! At least now you know to ignore everything they say.