# Goldfish Scuds Ecosystem



## ZeeDeveel (May 11, 2015)

Halp!


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## Eutexian (Mar 11, 2015)

Goldfish of any type can go for weeks without being fed. so providing a food supply for just a 'few days' is unnecessary. The fish are far more likely to feast on the plants... so many goldfish keepers need to be very careful about plant choice. some plants will be decimated. some wont be touched at all. choice is key.

you may have problems growing a carpet.. mainly due to the sheer volume of waste goldfish produce. Ive yet to see a goldfish tank with carpet plants mainly because the amount of substrate vacuuming required to prevent the water becoming a toxic mess is quite high. Seems fairly likely to me that any carpet will soon be killed off by the waste or 'drowned' by algae that will be only too happy to take advantage.

As well as stringent housekeeping any goldfish aquarium requires exemplary filtration and frequent large water changes. I'm not really sure that level of direct intervention could ever be described as 'low maintenance'.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

What size aquarium are you working with? I've been a fancy goldfish keeper for more than 8 years and I imagine you'll need an extremely large tank, with very low fish stocking, for anything like this to work. A balance would be difficult to achieve. 

Also, different goldfish have different tastes, as some won't touch a type of plant, while others will devour it. It's always a game of trial and error.

It would be very interesting to see this happen. I am not trying to discourage you, but I am just trying to point out a few things that you'd have to work out, in order to make this a success.


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## brooksie321 (Jul 19, 2014)

Goldfish are going to eat any plants they like the taste of,.I'm guessing dhg is on the menu..


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## ZeeDeveel (May 11, 2015)

Filtration shouldn't be an issue. I'm using the tank for aquaponics, so the water from the tank will be continually pumped through a media bed used for growing vegetables. Hopefully the scuds will help clean up the goldfish poop.

The DHG is planted with DIY CO2, I'm hoping if I can get a decent carpet of it before the fish arrive it might just survive. Plus they'll have duckweed, marimo balls, a sword to chew on and scuds to hunt. Fingers crossed.

It might all go to pot but hey it'll be fun and I can adapt as I go.

Tank isn't huge, it's 25g but it's about a meter long, so I'll likely just be getting 2 fantails, or possibly more with the intention of upgrading when they fish grow.


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## ZeeDeveel (May 11, 2015)

Apparently the tank is 29 US gallons.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

That sized tank is far to small for what you would like to achieve. I struggle to keep my tank low maintenance with a 55g and two 7 year old goldfish. 

I do weekly water changes, but often find myself doing more. 

My automatic feeder, doser and timers all make my tank less work intensive but I would ideally like to have 100g for my two goldfish. 

Goldfish are not easy fish to keep. They require lots of water changes, room and healthy food. 

They are also best kept as the only species in the tank. 

I'd try some other fish if that's the tank your limited too. I personally would love to try white cloud minnows in a setup like this =]


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## ZeeDeveel (May 11, 2015)

xjasminex said:


> That sized tank is far to small for what you would like to achieve. I struggle to keep my tank low maintenance with a 55g and two 7 year old goldfish.
> 
> I do weekly water changes, but often find myself doing more.
> 
> ...


Thanks Jasmine, I may upgrade the tank after the fish have grown.

What would be the biggest problem with a 29g tank? Filtration shouldn't be an issue with the aquaponics system.

Or is it that the fish will devour everything super quickly? The duckweed will provide them with a rapidly replenishing source of plant material.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

I started my fish out in a 29, that's when I was a newbie and was a bad goldfish keeper. Be prepared to upgrade sooner rather than later...possibly before a year is up. 

If your aquaponics system provides enough bio filtration to remove the fish waste then your fish will grow big fast....

My male goldfish weighs a half a pound and is a foot long from nose to end of tail. If I was able to provide excellent water quality in the beginning I'm sure he would be much larger. 

If your aquaponics system isn't adequate enough to handle the high bio load goldfish produce then your fish will suffer. Having a larger amount of water volume will help to lessen the amount of water changes and keep your fish healthy. 

Believe me if your a true die hard goldfish fan then that 29 gallon will not be big enough, and you will occasionally get the urge to buy another goldfish....

The fish might eat some of your plants, they might leave them alone....or they might eat everything in one night. I try to keep duckweed and frogbit it in my tank. I can fill half of the 55 with them from other tanks and it will slowly be eaten and gone within a week or two. If you provide a healthy balanced diet to them they are less likely to indulge on the plants. 

I feed three different kinds of pellets, fresh veggies (usually kale) and repashy gel food to my fish. If I slack, which I do often. I see an increase i(n my normal) torn/ beaten up plant leaves.

Oh and I have a upflow bio filter with houseplants in it. They are slowly taking over my room...and I still do weekly water changes because it's not enough to match the bioload of my fish and snails in the tank.


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## ZeeDeveel (May 11, 2015)

Well, when I was 5 I had a goldfish in a bowl and he did fine, so maybe you're just bad at fish.

... 

You've persuaded me to increase the size of my aquaponics system... and maybe buy some kale.  Love your tank by the way, it's very similar to what I had in my mind. I look forward to seeing updates on it!


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

ZeeDeveel said:


> Well, when I was 5 I had a goldfish in a bowl and he did fine, so maybe you're just bad at fish.


 I know you were kidding with xjasminex, but that was rather rude. If you had said that to me, I'd no longer help you out. But anyway . . . 


Goldfish can live 8 to 15 years. I doubt your bowl goldfish lived that long.


I'd suggest you join Kokos Goldfish Forum. There are a lot of nice and extremely intelligent people there who will assist you. And possibly help make your experiment work. 

Good Luck, you might need it.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Thanks for backing me up Acro! It's hard to educate people about goldfish on this forum, no one really wants to believe how high maitenence these fish really are. 

I was just about to suggest kokos too! 
I have been a paying member there for about two years and really believe in what they do. You get concise accurate information and you never get two people telling you different things. It is one of the best forums I'm a member of. They have personally saved the lives of my fish more than once!


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

xjasminex said:


> Thanks for backing me up Acro! It's hard to educate people about goldfish on this forum, no one really wants to believe how high maitenence these fish really are.
> 
> I was just about to suggest kokos too!
> I have been a paying member there for about two years and really believe in what they do. You get concise accurate information and you never get two people telling you different things. It is one of the best forums I'm a member of. They have personally saved the lives of my fish more than once!


Yeah, Kokos is the best!
I've been there for about 7 years. Drop me a PM over there when you get the chance xjasminex! The user name is the same.


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## ZeeDeveel (May 11, 2015)

Hey I'm convinced, don't worry! Though the point of goldfish in an aquaponics system is to make use of that vast amount of dung. 

Jasmine... or someone... can you ID this plant please?

http://prntscr.com/7hxb7l also is there any chance Twisted Vallis would survive?


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## kuro (May 21, 2010)

Just leave the tank bare and feed them pellet everyday which in turn will feed your plant in your aquaponic. When you not around just set a simple auto feeder.


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## ZeeDeveel (May 11, 2015)

kuro said:


> Just leave the tank bare and feed them pellet everyday which in turn will feed your plant in your aquaponic. When you not around just set a simple auto feeder.


Lols I'll just keep 'em in a bucket and smack them with tiny whips if they're not pooing enough. I'll goosestep around my room yelling at them dressed in my SS uniform.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Well I know exactly what plant that is because that's my tank....

It's an onion plant.


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## ZeeDeveel (May 11, 2015)

xjasminex said:


> Well I know exactly what plant that is because that's my tank....
> 
> It's an onion plant.


I hope you know I know you you know what plant it is. That's why I was asking you. Cause I knew you'd know but I hope you know that.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Ok, it's a pretty decent plant and my goldfish do not eat it at all. I would like to have more of them all along the back. It was already large in size when I received it from aquatic jungles. I find that my plants fair better if I buy them large already instead of trying to be cheap and grow them out myself. It grows at a decent speed too.


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