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Planted Goldfish Tank (was: a few questions)



I looked into stocking a planted tank with goldfish and came to the
conclusion that it wasn't feasible for two reasons:

1. Goldfish are considered a cold water fish. Most sources I read
recommended a high temperature of 72 degrees, no more than 74 degrees in the
summer, with a temperature as low as 65 degrees recommended in the winter.
Some larger goldfish reportedly die at about 80 degrees. Most of the plants
we keep are tropical plants, used to higher temperatures. My tank runs at
75 - 80 degrees, so it seemed risky to subject the fish to the high
temperatures.

2. Most of the sources I read recommended a pH of 7.4 or higher for
goldfish. My tank always runs at 6.8 or so, and the plants never do well
above 7.0. It seems that there is an inherent incompatibility between the
needs of the fish and the best situation for the plants.

Also, goldfish are messy eaters and will contribute a lot of waste that will
show up as N and P, which in turn must be compensated for with more lights
(heat) and CO2 (low pH) to avert algae, which seems to me to be the setting
for a disaster for the fish. Correct me if I am wrong, but it doesn't look
feasible to me unless you are dealing with very low stocking levels and are
satisfied with less than optimal plant conditions/growth.

Tom