hi! this site is so informative! i love this site!... i have noticed that most of the tank set-up posted here doesn't have gravels or sand. my question is which is best for my goldfish with gravel or without? ... i have 2 lion heads, 1 oranda and 1 ranchu all together in my 20G tank.... thanks

Unless aesthetics is your primary objective, best is without sand or gravel.

My advice is without sand ang gravel too,
Why? - because for a 20 gallon tank its too small for your fish and can get easily polluted if you don't have a powerful filter, so by the presence of the sand and gravel it will add the dirt in the water which came from the fish's waste ex. poop and amonia, so better to keep your tank clean and neat for the health of your babies..


Rico

yah, i' noticed that, specially at the bottom part of the gravel... I'm planning to buy 50gal rectangular aquarium this christmas so this littles cuties will have a bigger home... thanks guys...

another question to you guys, i am now interested in aquascaping, is it okay for goldfish? i noticed that most of the aquascaping website uses small fish such as tetra's & barbs maybe just to emphasized the plants. is it okay to do aquascaping with golfishes? thanks again...


http://www.rafflesgold.com/forums/images/4...-1228377520.jpg

check this out guys: http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2008...ory=0&vol=2

this guys are awesome!!!

I would say "No" to your question because goldfish are one of the most messy fish ever, thats why aquascaping fishes are mostly tetra and guppies because they are less messy.





Rico

if u plan on adding plants u might want to go for fake plants cos your goldies will eat the real ones and it will get messy with parts of the plants stuck in the filter

Hi, I am new to this site but have been in fish keeping for awhile now. I recently started on Ranchus and have setup a 100G tank for 6 f them. However, I am still uncertain about the comments made on the use or lack of use of sand/substrate for a goldfish tank. Whilst it makes sense from maintenance standpoint not to have substrate, however it seems that a goldfish with a more natural environment seem to live longer as well. If anyone can shed more light on this, it would be most appreciated.

Some think that that the build-up of organic anaerobic debris in the tank bottom causes a proliferation of certain pathogenic bacteria, such as Aeromonas and Psuedomonas.

-steve