Hello
- Thread starter micronut
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Welcome to the community. Looking forward to seeing and hearing about what you are getting up to.
What fish do you keep or are thinking about keeping?
What fish do you keep or are thinking about keeping?
Hiya,
I currently have a 200l tank. I'm not sure if I have too many fish in it , hence joing a forum for advice
Here is the list...
2 goldfish (common kind , they came from a pond of a relative many years ago) they are about 3-4 inches long.
4 hillstream loaches
12 rosy barbs
I also have 5 zebra danios but I'm thinking of moving them to a smaller tank.
I do have a small 5g red cherry shrimp tank too with hundreds of shrimp, they reproduce A LOT!
I currently have a 200l tank. I'm not sure if I have too many fish in it , hence joing a forum for advice
Here is the list...2 goldfish (common kind , they came from a pond of a relative many years ago) they are about 3-4 inches long.
4 hillstream loaches
12 rosy barbs
I also have 5 zebra danios but I'm thinking of moving them to a smaller tank.
I do have a small 5g red cherry shrimp tank too with hundreds of shrimp, they reproduce A LOT!
Think that’s only 54 gallons. The Goldfish will get huge & someday be better off in a much larger tank or pond. I keep mine in a 225 gallon & wonder if they could use more space . I am thinking about resurrecting the old koi pond out front.
I’m not sure how big those loaches get. I’d check.
I’m not sure how big those loaches get. I’d check.
Yes the goldfish may eventually have to go back to the original pond. They were for my daughter and i felt it cruel to keep them in a small tank so I kept upgrading tank size as they grew but that's as big as I can get tank wise. Will have to wait and see on those two.
The hillstream loach get to about 2.5inch in length.
Do you think I should keep the danios or move them out. They seems happy enough but I won't be getting more. Have lost 3 now in the past year so I don't plan on replacing. I opted to increase the barbs instead as they are more active and fun to watch.
The hillstream loach get to about 2.5inch in length.
Do you think I should keep the danios or move them out. They seems happy enough but I won't be getting more. Have lost 3 now in the past year so I don't plan on replacing. I opted to increase the barbs instead as they are more active and fun to watch.
Oh, little guys, those loaches. They will be fine & wonderful you have a great alternative placement for the Goldies! 
I’ve never owned danios, but aren’t they on the small side?
Good that your barbs are getting along! Mine were aggressive in a community tank, so now I have a small barb only tank.
I’ve never owned danios, but aren’t they on the small side?
Good that your barbs are getting along! Mine were aggressive in a community tank, so now I have a small barb only tank.
Yes I hope we can keep them for another while yet. We got them during lockdown and they have been very slow to grow. Not sure if that was due to the tank conditions or not but we have upgraded the tank twice now.
I love the loach, they are so interesting looking. They do tend to hide tho and stick to the filter eating algae off it. It's nice when the come into view
Yes the danios are very small. About an inch long max. Unfortunately we lost a few of those and the small group of 5 thats left just hang out at the top of the water.
I love the loach, they are so interesting looking. They do tend to hide tho and stick to the filter eating algae off it. It's nice when the come into view
Yes the danios are very small. About an inch long max. Unfortunately we lost a few of those and the small group of 5 thats left just hang out at the top of the water.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi and welcome to the group. 
For what it's worth, your goldfish are not growing most likely because they are not being fed a proper diet. All your other fish can eat/ require a diet higher in protein while goldfish do poorly on a high protein diet. They are mainly herbivores and need a high vegetable diet with limited meat protein. Another issue with goldfish is that they do not have a stomach per say like your other fish have so they need to be fed multiple times per day because they are constantly digesting what they ate which unfortunately means they become " Poop Machines" when maintained properly which means your tank will require more frequent water changes and better filtration. This is why mixing goldfish and other species not requiring a high vegetable diet is not a good idea.
Also, Zebra Danios are good " Canary in the gold mine" fish because they do not do well in poor water quality which may be why you lost the ones that you did and the ones left are hanging at the surface. ( There's more oxygen in the upper levels of the water column.) They should be at the bottom or lower middle levels of the tank when they are happy.
So I'd start by explaining to your Daughter that the goldfish will be better off back in your relative's pond and start doing regular water changes to bring the water quality up to a level that is best for the other fish you have. If these Danios do not return to the bottom level, the Rosies may be intimidating them so placing them in the other tank should solve that issue. I'm not sure how small the " smaller " tank is but Danios should be active swimmers when healthy so there is such a thing as a tank too small for them as well. Just sayin'
Hope this all helps.
For what it's worth, your goldfish are not growing most likely because they are not being fed a proper diet. All your other fish can eat/ require a diet higher in protein while goldfish do poorly on a high protein diet. They are mainly herbivores and need a high vegetable diet with limited meat protein. Another issue with goldfish is that they do not have a stomach per say like your other fish have so they need to be fed multiple times per day because they are constantly digesting what they ate which unfortunately means they become " Poop Machines" when maintained properly which means your tank will require more frequent water changes and better filtration. This is why mixing goldfish and other species not requiring a high vegetable diet is not a good idea.
Also, Zebra Danios are good " Canary in the gold mine" fish because they do not do well in poor water quality which may be why you lost the ones that you did and the ones left are hanging at the surface. ( There's more oxygen in the upper levels of the water column.) They should be at the bottom or lower middle levels of the tank when they are happy. So I'd start by explaining to your Daughter that the goldfish will be better off back in your relative's pond and start doing regular water changes to bring the water quality up to a level that is best for the other fish you have. If these Danios do not return to the bottom level, the Rosies may be intimidating them so placing them in the other tank should solve that issue. I'm not sure how small the " smaller " tank is but Danios should be active swimmers when healthy so there is such a thing as a tank too small for them as well. Just sayin'
Hope this all helps.
Thank you for your reply. Yes the goldfish were definitely not in the best tank for the first 2 years. We moved them to a 60l and now 200l and they have grown since but I get what your saying about being more maintenance than other fish.
The danios have settled back again and do swim more in the middle and top of the tank. It was in the 60l that we lost some unfortunately. The filter wasn't the best and I was having lots of issues with BBA on the plants.
I'm thinking would it be worth getting a canister filter as I have the fluval u4 atm in the 200l ? I've recently had to do an antiparasite with the new barbs as there was some flashing. That's why the tank is cloudy in the picture. Hopefully this week now I can do my water change and get some new filter media for it.
I do struggle with keeping fish and plants and water balanced , which is why I was thinking it might be overstocked.
I do really enjoy watching my fish so I really want to get everything right for them. Thanks for the advice.
The danios have settled back again and do swim more in the middle and top of the tank. It was in the 60l that we lost some unfortunately. The filter wasn't the best and I was having lots of issues with BBA on the plants.
I'm thinking would it be worth getting a canister filter as I have the fluval u4 atm in the 200l ? I've recently had to do an antiparasite with the new barbs as there was some flashing. That's why the tank is cloudy in the picture. Hopefully this week now I can do my water change and get some new filter media for it.
I do struggle with keeping fish and plants and water balanced , which is why I was thinking it might be overstocked.
I do really enjoy watching my fish so I really want to get everything right for them. Thanks for the advice.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
Just keep in mind that just because you get a larger filter does not mean you can extend the time to clean it when you have goldfish involved.
