Moving Day for Goldfish
I started out my career as a fish mommy with a one-gallon hex aquarium on the kitchen counter in September 2001. Since then I've had 2.5-gallon, 5.5-gallon, 10-gallon, 25-gallon and 37-gallon tanks. (Granted, the 2.5- and 5.5-gallon tank have only been long-term homes for bettas, not goldfish.) Now, at long last, I've graduated to the big leagues...55 GALLONS!
Benny and Minnie are just too big to thrive in a 37-gallon tank. In the past when I've gotten a pair of goldfish of this size, it's been a real struggle to maintain water quality, and looking back on it they haven't always lived as long as they should once they reach adult size. Benny and Minnie have been having red streaks in their fins, and keep running into each other, the plants, the filter, the tank walls, etc. It was a constant battle to keep the tank clean. Frequent large water changes are stressful for them and an inconvenience to me. They were getting by, but not thriving.
So, thanks in part to tax return money and in part to bigger paychecks in my desk clerk position, I finally saved up enough cash to upgrade their home. Their old 37-gallon will go in storage, and since I sold the old 25-gallon at the thrift sale (which paid for the new filter and air pump) there's room in the garage for it.
We had originally planned to put the big new tank in the corner behind the dining room table, but when we set up the stand there it just didn't look right. It was too close to two windows, making it hard to open/close the blinds, and it just looked stuck back in a random corner, not really a part of the house. I also worried about the proximity to one of dad's favorite smoking spots. Second-hand smoke isn't any better for fishies (and their airline tubing) than it is for people.
So Mom and I spent a long time yesterday trying to find another spot for the tank. We have a lot of furniture so there weren't many options. However, Mom's been wanting to get rid of the couch that nobody ever really sits on and replace it with either a small loveseat or a nice big recliner--probably the latter. We figured out that if we do that, the tank would fit perfectly between the bookcases and the couch/future recliner. For now the couch is just pushed down so it blocks part of the side window, but that's temporary. The tank looks gorgeous there! It's visible from the upstairs hallway, the dining room, the living room and part of the kitchen.
Because it's so much bigger than the other tanks I've had, it has two separate light hoods and filters. I got a new filter for one side, and I'm re-using their old filter on the other side. That brings along a lot of good bio-bugs to help the tank cycle, as well as saving me from buying another expensive filter. ;) (I brought over a small pail of gravel from the old tank for the same reason.)
I don't like the look of bare-bottom tanks and the goldfish are bored without gravel to root around in, but it's harder to keep gravel clean compared to bare glass. Since I have no live plants or invertebrates, and no undergravel filter, I compromised with putting in a fairly shallow gravel bed. I still ended up using 20 pounds of gravel, but it's not as deep as the old tank had.
And yes, I did test it to make sure my Python reaches from the kitchen sink to the new tank. >_< That would be awful if it didn't.
So I got everything up and running yesterday afternoon, let it sit overnight to make sure there weren't any leaks or other problems, and moved the fish today. I managed to scoop Minnie up in a blue bucket and pour her into the new tank, so no nets were involved. (Nets are more stressful for the fish and can actually injure them.) She wasn't happy to be cornered and scooped up in a bucket, but it was over quickly. Benny was confused and upset but when I came back with the bucket a second time I gently herded him into it with my hand. He's so big that he barely fit in the bucket; there wasn't room for him to turn around in there. Fortunately it was a short trip across the room to the new tank.
I scooped Shelley out of the quarantine tank with a smaller pail and plopped her into the big tank, too.
Then I stood back and watched.
Benny and Minnie stuck close together at first but it didn't take them long to get brave enough to explore. Within an hour or so they had made themselves at home and were pretty relaxed. It helps a lot that they have each other, and they actually seemed to calm down when my mom and I talked to them. They've definitely been more active today, since they have more room to swim.
Shelley stayed in the top-right corner for the first several hours, really. Those huge strangers were a little intimidating. Eventually she switched over to the left corner and she's been hanging out there for a few hours. She has been venturing out here and there, though.
The two big ones have pretty much been ignoring her. They've gotten close and looked at her a few times...Minnie more than Benny...but they haven't really interacted much. She's not really scared of them anymore but she doesn't get too close, either. I swear they don't realize that they're the same species. "That can't be a fish like me, she's so tiny!" "He can't be a fish like me, he's too big!" Heehee... At least once Benny's actually been startled by her. Seeing a foot-long carp scurrying away in fright from a two-inch baby carp is TOO funny! Bwahaha!
I'm sure they'll get used to each other eventually, and I'm not worried. Goldies are very social and non-territorial.
Food time will be interesting, though.
Benny says, "Step this way, welcome to our new home!"
Minnie says, "Why hello there!"
Benny says, "Let me give you the grand tour!"
Benny and Minnie
Minnie's a blur, Benny's huge, and Shelley's tiny
Benny swimming along, not noticing the itty-bitty white fish lurking above him in the shadows
Minnie being psycho, careening sideways around a corner into a plant
Minnie's butt, Benny, and Shelley
Benny says, "Thanks for coming to our open house!"
Benny and Minnie are just too big to thrive in a 37-gallon tank. In the past when I've gotten a pair of goldfish of this size, it's been a real struggle to maintain water quality, and looking back on it they haven't always lived as long as they should once they reach adult size. Benny and Minnie have been having red streaks in their fins, and keep running into each other, the plants, the filter, the tank walls, etc. It was a constant battle to keep the tank clean. Frequent large water changes are stressful for them and an inconvenience to me. They were getting by, but not thriving.
So, thanks in part to tax return money and in part to bigger paychecks in my desk clerk position, I finally saved up enough cash to upgrade their home. Their old 37-gallon will go in storage, and since I sold the old 25-gallon at the thrift sale (which paid for the new filter and air pump) there's room in the garage for it.
We had originally planned to put the big new tank in the corner behind the dining room table, but when we set up the stand there it just didn't look right. It was too close to two windows, making it hard to open/close the blinds, and it just looked stuck back in a random corner, not really a part of the house. I also worried about the proximity to one of dad's favorite smoking spots. Second-hand smoke isn't any better for fishies (and their airline tubing) than it is for people.
So Mom and I spent a long time yesterday trying to find another spot for the tank. We have a lot of furniture so there weren't many options. However, Mom's been wanting to get rid of the couch that nobody ever really sits on and replace it with either a small loveseat or a nice big recliner--probably the latter. We figured out that if we do that, the tank would fit perfectly between the bookcases and the couch/future recliner. For now the couch is just pushed down so it blocks part of the side window, but that's temporary. The tank looks gorgeous there! It's visible from the upstairs hallway, the dining room, the living room and part of the kitchen.
Because it's so much bigger than the other tanks I've had, it has two separate light hoods and filters. I got a new filter for one side, and I'm re-using their old filter on the other side. That brings along a lot of good bio-bugs to help the tank cycle, as well as saving me from buying another expensive filter. ;) (I brought over a small pail of gravel from the old tank for the same reason.)
I don't like the look of bare-bottom tanks and the goldfish are bored without gravel to root around in, but it's harder to keep gravel clean compared to bare glass. Since I have no live plants or invertebrates, and no undergravel filter, I compromised with putting in a fairly shallow gravel bed. I still ended up using 20 pounds of gravel, but it's not as deep as the old tank had.
And yes, I did test it to make sure my Python reaches from the kitchen sink to the new tank. >_< That would be awful if it didn't.
So I got everything up and running yesterday afternoon, let it sit overnight to make sure there weren't any leaks or other problems, and moved the fish today. I managed to scoop Minnie up in a blue bucket and pour her into the new tank, so no nets were involved. (Nets are more stressful for the fish and can actually injure them.) She wasn't happy to be cornered and scooped up in a bucket, but it was over quickly. Benny was confused and upset but when I came back with the bucket a second time I gently herded him into it with my hand. He's so big that he barely fit in the bucket; there wasn't room for him to turn around in there. Fortunately it was a short trip across the room to the new tank.
I scooped Shelley out of the quarantine tank with a smaller pail and plopped her into the big tank, too.
Then I stood back and watched.
Benny and Minnie stuck close together at first but it didn't take them long to get brave enough to explore. Within an hour or so they had made themselves at home and were pretty relaxed. It helps a lot that they have each other, and they actually seemed to calm down when my mom and I talked to them. They've definitely been more active today, since they have more room to swim.
Shelley stayed in the top-right corner for the first several hours, really. Those huge strangers were a little intimidating. Eventually she switched over to the left corner and she's been hanging out there for a few hours. She has been venturing out here and there, though.
The two big ones have pretty much been ignoring her. They've gotten close and looked at her a few times...Minnie more than Benny...but they haven't really interacted much. She's not really scared of them anymore but she doesn't get too close, either. I swear they don't realize that they're the same species. "That can't be a fish like me, she's so tiny!" "He can't be a fish like me, he's too big!" Heehee... At least once Benny's actually been startled by her. Seeing a foot-long carp scurrying away in fright from a two-inch baby carp is TOO funny! Bwahaha!
I'm sure they'll get used to each other eventually, and I'm not worried. Goldies are very social and non-territorial.
Food time will be interesting, though.
Benny says, "Step this way, welcome to our new home!"
Minnie says, "Why hello there!"
Benny says, "Let me give you the grand tour!"
Benny and Minnie
Minnie's a blur, Benny's huge, and Shelley's tiny
Benny swimming along, not noticing the itty-bitty white fish lurking above him in the shadows
Minnie being psycho, careening sideways around a corner into a plant
Minnie's butt, Benny, and Shelley
Benny says, "Thanks for coming to our open house!"