World's Longest Goldfish

A recent article on PFK, http://www.PracticalFishKeeping.com, about a "Monster Goldfish Hooked By Angler" misled many folks into thinking that this 16" Common Goldfish was a "Monster" when in fact, 16" is a normal size that all properly kept Common Goldfish should reach... with many growing to 18", 20" or more. You can read my short comment and other comments at the bottom of the PFK article and then my much longer reply to the Gold-Fish Yahoo Group below.

This article led to a couple of posts on some of the fish and pond Yahoo Groups which then led to a discussion about the World's Longest Goldfish according to Guinness. Here is one of the emails and then my LONG reply.

-----Original Message-----
From: Gold-Fish@yahoogroups.com
On Behalf Of josepha48
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2010 10:44 PM
To: Gold-Fish@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Gold-Fish] Worlds Longest Goldfish

I found this link on the worlds longest goldfish. Over at Guinness Book of World Records. It's the longest. At 18 inches I'm guessing that 12 inches is probably about average.

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/natural_world/fantastic_pets/longest_goldfish.aspx


And now, my reply:


-----Original Message-----
From: Lenny V. aka GoldLenny
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 11:18 AM
To: 'Gold-Fish@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: [Gold-Fish] Worlds Longest Goldfish

That Guinness record is for a "pet" goldfish, since Guinness started up that category.

I would venture to say that 99.9% of goldfish kept as pets are stunted to some degree... a large percentage of them are grossly stunted due to being kept in undersized aquariums... or God-forbid, bowls and being underfed as so many stores tell people to only feed them once or twice a day and while that's OK for adults, baby goldfish have a much higher metabolism and should be fed many times a day... just like a human baby. This is why I so strongly recommend at least a 55G, 4' long tank for two fancy goldfish or a tank twice that length for long-bodied goldfish. Even those minimum recommendations will need weekly tank maintenance to keep the pollution levels down.

Try putting some baby common goldfish (leaving at least 100G per goldfish) in a pond (or big aquarium) and properly feed them from birth, meaning 5-6 times a day for the first few months, then cut back to 3-4 times a day for the next few months, then twice a day thereafter. Do proper filter maintenance, bottom cleaning and PWC's and they will be 12" long after a year and 16" by the two year mark.

Many people have these kinds of results even when buying 1" feeder goldfish at a pet store, even though those fish are partially stunted already but they are still young enough to recover if properly taken care of once removed from the overstocked feeder fish tanks.

http://www.Fishbase.org, which is THE best scientific resource that hobbyists have for information, says that goldfish grow to a maximum normal length of 59cm (23") in nature. http://fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=271

This 1992-1995 Alabama study (see below link or TinyURL if link breaks) of over 250,000 common goldfish measured their length and weight from 1.5cm (.59") to 40.6 cm (16") to come up with a calculator for determining the weight of a goldfish based on it's length. NOTE - There's likely a reason they studied goldfish up to 16" as that is a normally expected/attainable size. The reason that folks would want to know their fish's body weight is to determine the proper amount of food to feed each day... usually 1% to 3% a day, depending on the water temperatures with less food being fed at lower water temps, down in the 60'sF and then no food fed when the water temps get down into the low 50'sF.

http://fishbase.org/PopDyn/FishLWSummary.php?ID=271&id2=954&Genus=Carassius&Species=auratus+auratus&variable_Length=40&variable_Length_required=Edit+box+can+not+be+blank.

TinyURL - http://tinyurl.com/24fhpd6

You can enter your own fish's length (in cm) to find out it's likely weight (in gm).

You can't really use the word "average" when dealing with pet fish length's as the "average" would be severely below what the fish *should* grow to because there is STILL a severe overstocking problem in the hobby due to the bad info given by many pet stores and even many websites still give bad info about goldfish.

Just like with "average" lifespan versus how long a fish *should* live. The "average" lifespan of a pet goldfish is probably a year or two but they should live for 20+ years for long-bodied and 10+ years for fancy goldfish. Here's my "Lifespan" article/list that I've been working on for many years and the REAL *expected* lifespan of pet fish would shock many folks. So many of the most common BIG pet fish (goldfish, common pleco's, oscar cichlids, etc.) should live for a decade AND more, but so many don't make it that long due to being kept in undersized tanks or being overstocked so the stunting causes them many health issues and a much shorter lifespan.

http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-long-should-aquarium-fish-live.html

http://tinyurl.com/preview.php?num=Fish-Lifespans

HTH!

NOTE - Be careful of the 2.5 meter long goldfish *reported* out of Thailand, that is circulating the net.. it's an April Fool's blog. LOL Unfortunately, some legitimate sites are picking it up as a real story. http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/news/lib/687  I expect we'll be countering this story for years to come. Here's Guinness' report about the April Fool's blog. http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Were-you-April-Fooled/blog/2276498/7691.html

Lenny Vasbinder

----------

Please feel free to leave your comments below.

Hailey's 10 Gallon Tank Stocking List And Suggestions - Updated Several Times By GoldLenny

http://tinyurl.com/10-Gallon-Stocking

Last Edited - August 14, 2010

You want to stick to fish that stay under 3 inches and are slow moving or at least not terribly active (that rules out things like tiger barbs...almost all barbs in fact, danios, most rainbows, etc).

Schooling fish appropriate for a 10 gallon:
(remember to keep schooling fish in groups of 6 or more)
neon tetra
black neon tetra
gold neon tetra
green neon tetra
ember tetra
red eye tetra
glowlight tetra
silver tip tetra
pristella tetra
green fire tetra
black phantom tetra
red phantom tetra
cochu's blue tetra
blue emperor tetra (Inpaichthys kerri...not to be confused with the emperor tetra, Nematobrycon palmeri)
emerald eye rasbora
harlequin rasbora
black harlequin rasbora
golden harlequin rasbora
red axelrod rasbora
dwarf rasbora
celestial pear danio (formerly known as galaxy rasbora)
one-lined pencilfish
black winged hatchetfish
marbeled hatchetfish
threadfin (or featherfin) rainbowfish
blue-eye rainbowfish or forktail rainbowfish of the pseudomugil genus (many different kinds...all small schooling fish, but some are semi-aggressive, so research and choose carefully)

Semi-schooling fish:
(these fish prefer 6 or more, but can be kept with just 2+, though more is always better)
cherry barbs (not most other barbs)
emperor tetras (Nematobrycon amphiloxus, not the "blue emperor tetra", Inpaichthys kerri)
kuhli loaches
panda corydora catfish (good scavenger)
pygmy corydora catfish (smaller version of the same)
otocinclus catfish (good algae eater)

Non-schooling fish (so you can have just 1):
dwarf gourami (can also be kept one male and two or more females)
or
betta spelendens*(see asterisk section below)
or
betta imbellis*
or
betta smaragdina*
(never mix the above fish and never keep two males of any in one tank)
platy
guppy
endler
(the above three prefer more of their own kind but are alright alone...if you add more than one make sure they are all male or you will have tons of fry being born all the time)

Invertebrates and other non-fish tankmates:
(these would be good with anything that doesn't get big enough to eat them)
amano shrimp (great algae eater)
cherry shrimp (good algae eater)
blue shrimp (good algae eater)
redfronted shrimp (good algae eater)
tiger shrimp (good algae eater)
bumblebee shrimp (okay algae eater)
ghost shrimp (does not eat algae, but can be a help as a scavenger)
apple snail
mystery snail
malaysian trumpet snail (very helpful as a sand sifter to keep anaerobic pockets from developing in sand substrates)
ramshorn snail
[Note: all snails breed rapidly and can overpopulate a tank quickly if over fed. Keep feeding to just what the fish need...the snails will find enough that the fish miss during feedings to live on]
african dwarf frog (not to be confused with the african clawed frog, which will get far too large and aggressive for a 10 gallon tank)

Species tank fish (keep only them, with nothing else):
dwarf puffers (1 male only, 3-4 females)
german blue rams (male/female pair)
sparkling gouramis (one male and 1 or more females)
licorice gouramis (male/female pair)
(the gouramis can be kept in very sedate, peaceful community tanks but do best in species tanks because they are so shy)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') brevis (male/female pair)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') multifasciatus (1 male, 2 females)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') similis (1 male, 2 females)
(the three tanganyikan cichlids above must be provided with plenty of small shells that they can fit in, since they are shell dwellers)

Remember to try to keep schooling fish in groups of 6 or more...this makes it hard to stock a small tank, but if you get only one school of something you can do it, or if you stick to the tiniest schoolers like ember green neon, or neon tetras, and then add some non-schooling fish like a gourami, platy, betta, etc.

*Bettas can be particularly tricky to keep with other fish, so I thought it best to elaborate on the subject of proper tankmates for bettas. Some good tankmates for bettas include corydoras, otocinclus, small, peaceful tetras and rasboras like the ones on this list (some others may not be appropriate), kuhli loaches, pencilfish, snails, african dwarf frogs (only one in a 10 gallon), and occasionally shrimp, if the betta doesn’t eat them. Avoid fish of the same color or shape (especially with long fins), fast swimmers (which I didn't put on the list anyway because they don't do well in 10 gallon tanks), labyrinth fish, or fish which occupy the top of the tank like the betta. This rules out gouramis, guppies, hatchetfish, any species of long finned tetras, and various other fish depending on the color of the betta you choose.

Recently, a group of freshwater fish classified as nano-fish are becoming available to the hobby. Frank's Aquariums sells a good selection of nano-fish - http://www.franksaquarium.com/nanofish.htm

And here's an article in the works on http://www.plantedtank.net/, called Nanofish List http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/31095-nanofish-list-v1-0-a.html but it's more for stocking what would be considered a Nano Planted Tank (10G or less) and it doesn't really break things down into which fish can go into which tanks but there may be some more information to be gleemed from the entire thread. As I read more into the thread, the "list" in post number two is obsolete and you can find the latest list, updated as of 11/09, at the following link but you may want to read further into the multi-page thread for an even newer list that may come up after April 13, 2010, which is the date I updated this blog article.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/31095-nanofish-list-v1-0-a-7.html#post904496

Hope this helps with your 10G stocking ideas.

GoldLenny (with a BIG THANKS to Hailey for all of her work compiling the initial phase of this list)

A to Z of Fish Keeping: "How-To", Training and Information for New Fish Keepers and Experts alike!

http://tinyurl.com/A-To-Z-Of-Fish-Keeping

NOTICE - PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS IN FORUMS LISTED TO THE RIGHT WHERE YOU WILL FIND ME OR MANY OTHER EXPERIENCED FISH KEEPERS. YOU CAN ALSO POST COMMENTS AT THE BOTTOM AND I WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTION(S) HERE ON MY BLOG.

THE TOP TWO PROBLEMS FOR BEGINNERS - 1) OVERSTOCKING YOUR TANK and 2) THE NITROGEN CYCLE (Commonly called New Tank Syndrome). Scroll down a little for two free online fish keeping tutorials that will walk you through all of the basics and then there is also a free online beginner quiz to see how well you are doing.

Here are the answers to both of those problems:

DO NOT OVERSTOCK YOUR AQUARIUM: A BETTER SET OF GUIDELINES TO REPLACE THE FISH-KILLING 1" PER GALLON RULE THAT IS MISUSED AND MISUNDERSTOOD SO OFTEN - http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/02/new-rules-guidelines-to-replace-1-per.html

NEW TANK SYNDROME / THE NITROGEN CYCLE: WHILE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH BETTER FOR YOU AND YOUR FISH IF YOU WOULD HAVE DONE A "FISHLESS CYCLE" OR Dr. Tim's Comparison Article OR http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/startover/fishless.shtml ON YOUR TANK OR USE DR. TIM'S ONE AND ONLY, http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/productguide/H2O-PURE_Products/H2O-PURE_Products.html. DR. TIM WAS THE INVENTOR OF A PRODUCT FORMERLY KNOWN AS BIO-SPIRA WHICH IS NOT AVAILABLE IN IT'S ORIGINAL FORMULA. IF YOU ARE HAVING THIS PROBLEM, THEN YOU ARE "STUCK" WITH "CYCLING WITH FISH". GO TO ONE OF THE FORUMS I HAVE LISTED ON THE RIGHT TO GET MORE INFORMATION ON "CYCLING WITH FISH".

IF YOU ARE NOT HAVING THOSE PROBLEMS, GREAT!!! THEN START HERE:

BEGINNERS TUTORIAL - START HERE -http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-intro.html
This is one of my favorite places to send new fish keepers as they can learn about the various aspects of fish keeping by following all of the links in this tutorial. Pay particular attention to "The Nitrogen Cycle", "Fishless Cycling" (recommended), "Cycling With Fish"(not recommended but you may already be stuck with this) and Basic Water Chemistry but please read over all of the other links as well and feel free to ask lots of questions at the forums I have listed to the right, where you will usually find me or many other experienced fish keepers.

And if you want to learn even more, here is another tutorial site - http://badmanstropicalfish.com/basics/basics_aquariums.html

And if you feel you are doing well already, take this online quiz to see how you do.
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/quiz1.htm

If you have any questions, please feel free to look for me at the forums listed above.

TOP TEN REASONS TO FISHLESS CYCLE -
(A little humor to help emphasize this very serious matter)
http://board.fishchannel.com/Topic69655-5-1.aspx

The old link was http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/board/Topic69655-5-1.aspx  but when AF changed to FishChannel, the old links no longer work.

FISHLESS CYCLING TIP!!! - I know a common complaint is people not being able to find the 10% Ammonia Hydroxide (clear ammonia) at their local stores but I recently saw online that Ace Hardware sells their own brand for around $2.00 a quart. Here's their online link to buy it by the case... but the stores sell individual units. http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1307957&cp=&fbn=Brand%7CAce+Hardware&f=Brand%2F19262%2F&fbc=1&kw=ammonia&parentPage=search&searchId=18414252422

Another source of "ammonia", if you cannot find the plain ammonia at your local stores, is to look in the spice or baking section of your grocery store and get some Bicarbonate Of Ammonia or Powdered Baking Ammonia which can be used in place of the plain ammonia. This will also raise your alkalinity and KH but when you do your large water change after the fishless cycle is complete, you will get rid of the excess KH and nitrates at the same time.

THE NITROGEN CYCLE EXPLAINED - (In case you did not read the beginners tutorial above) http://fish.orbust.net/cycling.html


AMMONIA FURTHER EXPLAINED - (The beginning of "The Nitrogen Cycle") FAMA Article - Controlling Ammonia by Ben Helm http://www.animalnetwork.com/fama/detail.aspx?aid=26872&sts=all For further information and a good CHART to show ammonia toxicity as it relates to pH levels, go here... http://dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/AmmoniaTox.html


NITRITES FURTHER EXPLAINED - (The middle of "The Nitrogen Cycle")
http://www.vcnet.com/koi_net/H2Oquality.html#nitri

NITRATES FURTHER EXPLAINED - (The end product of "The Nitrogen Cycle")
http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/02/nitrates-long-explanation-thanks-to.html and
http://www.vcnet.com/koi_net/H2Oquality.html#nitra


FILTER MAINTENANCE AND CLEANING - (How to keep your tank from going into constant mini-cycles) http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/02/notice-this-article-is-very-important.html

MASTER TEST KITS ON SALE FOR $12.99 AND UP - (Everybody needs a decent Master Test Kit) http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/03/everyone-needs-decent-master-test-kit.html

WATER CHEMISTRY FURTHER EXPLAINED - This site is mostly about Pond Water Chemistry but it's just as applicable for aquariums and I believe it's well written and easy to understand. http://www.vcnet.com/koi_net/H2Oquality.html

FISH PROFILES AND COMPATIBILITY - (Mongabay has the best profiles and largest assortment. Very accurate and detailed species profiles for most fish so you can check out the type of fish you want while you are fishless cycling your new tank. Pay particular attention to the SC (Species Compatibility) section, which will help you in deciding suitable tank mates) MONGABAY - http://fish.mongabay.com/index.htm

Or GoldLenny's complete listing of Profile and Compatibility sites at: http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/02/fish-compatibility-charts-fish.html

HAILEY'S 10 GALLON STOCKING LIST - This is a list of suitable fish for a 10G tank and stocking/mixing recommendations. Updated to include Betta's in a 10G. (PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU CANNOT KEEP EVEN A SINGLE GOLDFISH IN A 10G TANK. SEE NEXT PARAGRAPH FOR GOLDFISH INFORMATION) http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/03/haileys-10-gallon-tank-stocking-list.html

A REALLY GOOD FOUR PAGE ARTICLE ON KEEPING GOLDFISH... ONE OF THE ONLY ONES THAT I'VE FOUND THAT HAS PROPER TANK SIZE INFORMATION: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/ponds/Wilkinson_1Goldfish.html

MORE FISH COMPATIBILITY CHARTS AND PROFILE SITES -

http://www.klsnet.com/files/Fishchrt.xls (Downloadable file)

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/fwcompatibility_chart.cfm

http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/freshwater_compatibility_chart.php


OR FOR MY COMPLETE LIST OF COMPATIBILITY & PROFILE SITES: http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/02/fish-compatibility-charts-fish.html

NOTICE: ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT COMPATIBILITY CHARTS ARE SUBJECT TO MANY VARIABLES AND MAY NOT BE AS ACCURATE AS YOU WOULD LIKE SINCE OTHER FACTORS IN YOUR TANK/SETUP MAY INFLUENCE FISH BEHAVIOR. WHEN A CHART SAYS TWO FISH ARE COMPATIBLE, IT MAY NOT BE CLEAR IN SAYING THEY NEED TO BE IN A HUGE TANK SO THEY EACH HAVE THEIR OWN TERRITORY. PLEASE CHECK YOUR TANK SETUP AND COMPATIBILITY AT ONE OF THE FORUMS LISTED ON THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS PAGE.


WHY YOU SHOULD NOT ADD SALT TO YOUR FRESHWATER AQUARIUM except for occasional treatment of disease, nitrite issues, etc. - (The Osmoregulatory System)

http://groups.msn.com/Breedingtropicalfish/osmoregulation.msnw

http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/water/osmoregulation.htm

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/salt.shtml

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article22.html

http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article5.html

http://www.goldfishinfo.com/salt.htm

http://thegab.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5427 - TheGab.org (Goldfish & Aquarium Board) forum thread on Calcium and the Osmoregulatory System. (GoldLenny)

http://www.koivet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15967 - KoiVet.com LONG forum thread on the use of Salt, Chloride and other minerals/chemicals related to Salt & Osmoregulation in Koi/Goldfish. (GoldLenny)





DISEASE & ILLNESS DIAGNOSIS SITES:
GoldLenny's Complete List of Fish-Health related sites: http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/02/disease-illness-diagnosis-treatment.html


DICTIONARY: ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS AND KEYWORDS COMMONLY USED IN FISH KEEPING - (To help you navigate the many acronyms and abbreviations used in these forums) http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/04/dictionary-acronyms-abbreviations-and.html or http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/glossary.html


POLL - Did your LFS or CS give you good advice... or NOT? (Actual POLL on new forums) http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/board/Topic111975-5-1.aspx

HOW LONG SHOULD FISH LIVE? An expected lifespan guide for fish keepers - http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-long-should-aquarium-fish-live.html

*** This list was compiled with the help of Hailey (Our forums most popular advisor and one of the most knowledgeable fish keepers out here on the net) and many, many others who have taught me over the years.

NOTICE TO OTHER READERS OR CONTRIBUTORS - This Blog article will continually be developed so please post links and threads in the comments section and I will update this article with credit given to you.

Once again, if you have any questions, please feel free to look for me at one of the three forums at the top of this article.

Thanks,

GoldLenny
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