Merging tanks

Question
QUESTION: I was just given a 55 gallon tank with 3 well-cared for fish: 2 gold fish (each 6 inches long) and a pleco (eight inches long)One of the goldfish looks as if it has cataracts, and is obviously blind or close to it. The person who gave them to me gives the blind fish food that floats (she can always find it)and the other gets flakes and the pleco gets the green wafers-it seems a lot of care and thought went into these fish, but they were ready to let them go. I have a 20 gallon tank with 6 gold fish in it, the largest being almost 4 1/2 inches long and the others about 3 inches long. I wanted the 55 gallon tank to give my fish more room, however, I hadn't counted on the fish that came with the tank being so large, and I let my excitement of getting a free tank on freecycle get away with me. I wasn't aware of their size. Is the 55 gallon tank and it's fish large enough (and friendly enough) to comfortably accomodate nine fish of this combination? Will the large pleco eat my smaller gold fish? My initial idea was to only have one tank. Did I bite off more than I should chew? Did I inherit someone else's problem? Thank you for reading and considering my question.
Bonnie

ANSWER: Hi Bonnie;

Yikes! You do have a problem on your hands. Goldfish need ten gallons per fish at the very minimum. With the pleco in the mix that means at least one goldfish less that you can add. These are all very messy guys that get big. Goldfish grow to be at least 6" long, usually more like 8" or larger. Plecos grow to be about a foot long. You might be able to add two of yours but I wouldn't add any more than that. You will have to watch them to be sure yours don't bully the blind one. Fish can be little devils to disabled or sick tank mates.  

You could really stretch it and add three or four of yours to the big tank, but you will have to faithfully make a 25% water change at least once a week and don't overfeed them. Vacuum the gravel too. Also add an extra filter to the tank. Something powerful like a canister that attaches with hoses, unless it already has one. If you have a powerful one already, just add a smaller type of power filter as a backup and for extra help.

The 20 gallon is okay for two or three of the goldfish for quite a while. It's just going to be small for them eventually.

Have you considered building a pond? ;-)

Followups welcome...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for giving me the informationt hat I need.
I guess my intuition was right. When I first got the 20 gallon, I had 2 fish in it. Then I was given a group of six fish, (two who didn't make it) in a broken tank emergency. So I searched for a bigger tank and was thrilled to find this 55 gallon with a brand new 70 gallon pump. We have thought of a pond, but there are racoons and it gets cold up here (40 at night in the colder months) so don't know if those factors are considerations unless there are ways to solve those problems. We are all about doing the right thing, but spending the least amount of money. What do you think?

Answer
Hi Bonnie;

I don't usually answer questions about ponds but I do have basic info to share with you. I live where the temperature goes down to 20f or colder in the winter and there are many goldfish ponds in this area, as well as raccoons here. The trick is to be sure the pond is 3 feet or deeper in the center and put large rocks in the center so the fish can hide from critters as well as stay deep enough that the ice is above them in the winter. The fish 'hibernate' under the ice until spring. Or, use a type of pond de-icing heater that kicks on when the temp gets low so it never ices over. Here are some links with good info to help you further;

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/pond.htm

http://www.ponddoc.com/WhatsUpDoc/newsevent.html

http://www.pondmarket.com/pond_ebook.htm

Good luck and have fun!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins