# Goldfish and CO2



## Telperion (Jun 12, 2006)

I found this article on a goldfish site. http://thegab.org/Articles/GoldfishPlantsLowTech.html

I currently am planting a 55 gallon goldfish tank (as some of you may remember  ). I am confused now about CO2. I have a regular store-bought CO2 dispenser that I am in the process of setting up. I read in another thread that Tom Barr suggests using pressurized CO2 in 55 gallon tanks. I also am setting up a smaller discus tank (discus to be added much later) and so far only have the one CO2 dispenser. I do not know whether to go ahead and get the pressurized system for the 55 goldfish tank or to get another smaller canister CO2 dispenser or do without one entirely as the article suggests. Any ideas?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Goldfish tend to eat lots of plants, so you either want to put them in another tank, or not get pressure CO2 for that tank.

However, pressure CO2 is definitely a better idea than DIY for a 55g and other such large tanks.


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## abnormalsanon (Jun 6, 2006)

I've been trying to deal with the same problem--55gal goldfish tank, which is currently unplanted, except for some moss. I got this tank (and the fish) before I got into plants, and looking back I would have done something else. I tried to add hornwort, anubias, and java fern to the tank about 6 months ago. The goldies nibbled the hornwort, ate ALL the new growth on the java ferns, but mostly ignored the anubias. 

I'm ready to try again in the next few months, now that I have more knowledge about growing plants. I know it's possible to plant up a goldfish tank as I've seen it done. Goldfish are so filthy, and all that waste is great for the plants! You basically need a ton of (cheap) plants, so if they take a bite out of one type, the overall scape will remain unharmed. Also feed them plenty of green veggies to keep their mouths off the plants.

But my other concern is that goldfish need LOTS of O2, so if I do decide to go with pressurized CO2, I will definitely be turning on air bubblers overnight.

I'm going to keep up with this thread and see how your experiment goes


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Pressurized CO2 won't be necessary if you do decided to get the super thick skin plants and leaves like Anubias, and possibly even crypts. I'm surprise the gold fish ate the Java ferns. When I kept gold fish and plants they never touched Java Ferns, Alternanthera reineckii, swords, and a couple of other plants I had in there. They loved to much on the finer leaf plants, and it was hard to keep down a foreground of glosso.

Depending on your plant selection as described above, lots of hard leaf plants can survive with minimal CO2. Adding some DIY CO2 will be perfectly fine for this selection. But if you want more of a variety of plants, then pressurized CO2 is the way to go to get the most lush and rapid growth out of everything.

-John N.


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## Telperion (Jun 12, 2006)

http://www.azgardens.com/habitats_goldfish.php

Here is a link to the plants I ordered for the 55 goldie tank. Of course they shipped the plants Fed Ex Air but the substrate Fed Ex Ground because Murphy works for them and its his law. So now the plants are mostly "planted" or floating (um if they were planted, the orandas and moors have unplanted them most likely) awaiting a tear down and aquascaping.

So far, the fish are nibbling on some roots, but they are leaving the java fern completely alone. :-# Let's hope that continues. The anacharis seems to be doing okay although one section is being nibbled currently...

Its a lot of plants and planted driftwood is also going to be added - so I'm hoping they won't do too much damage. Of course I started with a fish-only tank by accident (such a softy at the LFS) so now I have to take out the 2 lemon comets and give them their own tank, leaving 4 fancy goldies in the 55 (2 Orandas and 2 Moors). This will be good because it is the comets who are inciting the bad behavior in the tank lol - we want the troublemakers quarantined in their own tank. They will only have java fern and a couple swords in their tank - since they seem to leave those plants alone.

On a related issue -- I see that at least one person has an Eheim canister filter. The 55 tank came with a whisper power filter. The new tank for the comets (http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...<>ast_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1153346916643) will not have a filter so I will have to buy one. I am thinking Eheim canister. But I don't know a whole lot about what accessories I should purchase with it -- (see site http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3614&rel=1 ) are any of these necessary??? If it goes well with that tank I may go with a canister filter on the 55 since I have read that it is a better method of filtration.

As far as media filters -- what replacements should be made to the filters in the Eheim canister, if any?

With any luck my onyx sand will arrive tonight and I can get these guys planted "permanently" (ha ha) soon.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

The plant selection is good for your goldfish. The anacharis may take a beating, but it grows relatively quickly under high light.

The Eheim 2217 or the Eheim 2026 will be perfect filters for your tank. The 2217 will give you medium flow, and the 2026 will give you too much flow, but you can toggle it back.

The Rena XP3 will suit your needs for a 55 gallon aquarium - $99 (try to pricematch it at petsmart to save on shipping, print it out and bring the filter and printout to the register and say "pricematch this item please")

You do not need those accessories that you linked for the Eheim. All the filters listed above come with all the media you need. You do need to get some filterfloss that you will change out when you clean the filter every month or so. Poly fill (pillow stuffing) from walmart is the same as any of the other filter floss materials out there and serves to polish and clean the water of finer debris.

Oh and fancy tank for those Comet Goldfish. 

-John N.


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

I've come to beleive that keeping a nicely planted tank with goldfish is not so hard as some people would have you beleive.

In my tank my goldfish do not eat my plants. They DO taste everything new I try to add, but with normal feeding they're really not interested beyond that.

They do like to uproot new plantings, but that's what plant weights and other methods are for.

Some care does have to be given to plant selection as there are a few that GF find rather tasty, but for the most part it's more important to plant heavily enough that any potential damage is offset by plant mass.

I run pressurized CO2 in my tank with no problems - goes off at night with the lights. I've considered using an airstone at night but really haven't seen any ill effects with my fish thus no need for the extra equipment.

You can see the most recent pic of my tank here:










I haven't done any trimming lately so growth is even more robust than what's pictured here.


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## Telperion (Jun 12, 2006)

Yes, my plants seem to be coming back now even with goldies. They love the anacharis but it seems to be coming back. i decided to go with the pressurized CO2 so now I am looking at an airstone to provide 02 to the goldies at night. 

My solution to the digging up the plants issue was to plant the large swords etc. in small pots and use lots of gravel over a substrate. so far I have to replant about 4 little plants a night which is a far cry from the replant everything situation that was happening earlier.

My levels are fine with 6 goldies in a planted 55. I may just leave them all in there for a bit and take the 2 comets out when they get a little larger. So far the plants seem to like the amount of fish in the tank.


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## Rich M (Mar 6, 2004)

I've used pressurized CO2 in my 55g planted goldfish tank for a few years now. I've never needed an airstone but this could be because I use a controller rather than a timer or nothing at all. I also use a reactor rather than a diffuser or ladder which also helps with consistency. As long as the tank is heavily planted with healthy growing plants there should be plenty of O2. 

I've found any plant that roots well is a good bet with goldfish. Some floaters that they can self feed on (anacharis, duck weed, etc.) will help keep them occupied and off the other plants not to mention they are good for their diet.


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