goldfish, glofish, and a black light?

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Natalie_ava

AC Members
Mar 28, 2010
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Texas
So, I am not sure this is such a great idea....

my friend wants to add some glofish to a tank with goldfish already in it. He also wants to put black light bulbs in because he thinks it would look cool. I tried to talk him out of it by saying that they need a warmer water temperature but apparently glofish can do well in water temperatures within the lower 70s (Fahrenheit). Like I said, I really don't know if it would be ok to keep them together but the workers at the petstore seem to think it would be ok. Also, I'm not sure about a black light being used either. So I thought I would ask you guys, who are far more experienced and knowledgeable about these kinds of things.

F.Y.I. the tank is 55 gallons with a constant temp of 72-74 degrees Fahrenheit. There are currently four fantail goldfish all about 3 inches long. They don't seem to be aggressive from what my friend tells me.

Thanks for any advice :)
 
Natalie_ava said:
the workers at the petstore seem to think it would be ok.
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That right there tells you that it is NOT okay.

But seriously... I don't keep goldies, but they are definitely cold water fish and danios (glofish) are definitely tropical. They might have some overlap in their tolerances, but my gut feeling is that they wouldn't thrive. It also just gives me the heeby jeebies when someone talks about doing something with animals that might be bad for them, only because it would "look cool." My two cents.
 
I think of danios as more "subtropical" than tropical. They seem to prefer temps in the low to mid 70's but mine actually did fine closer to 80F. I don't think temp would necessarily be an issue since fishbase actually lists the temp range of Danio rerio to be between 18-24C (~64-75F).

I am not, however, positive if goldies and danios are compatible in terms of activity and diet.
 
Goldfish and danios are not a good combo, depending on the size of the goldfish the danios could become a snack.
 
jpappy789 said:
I am not, however, positive if goldies and danios are compatible in terms of activity and diet.
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absolutely compatible...the glofish will be a compatible food for the goldfish when they get large enough!

When younger and less-educated, I had zebra danios at room temp and they seemed to be fine.
So it probably would work OK, the danios are quite a lot faster than the goldies...but I don't think it would look right.

...arrgh ratlova beat me to the punch :)
 
Giant danios could survive the likes of shubunkins, comets and hibunas. Fancies though are ridiculously slow in general and likely to be outcompeted for food by the danios and danios likely will pick at them as well.
 
IDK, I've always liked breaking rules, so take this with a grain of salt. But I've had the same goldies and the same danio for over two years. The tank has no heater. I've had it in unairconditioned (temps above 95 in summer) and airconditioned apartments. Haven't lost any animals to temperature issues so far. I say go for it. My one concern is aesthetic, that the goldies wouldn't fluoresce AT ALL.
 
DO they work yes. My gf started out with 5 glo lights in her 55gallon with 3 fancies. They ate 4 of them. After a year, that 1 glo light is still cruising. They never out competed the goldfish for food or picked on them.
 
I think its a bad idea.. but I think it would "work" in theory to an extent.

1- Danios CAN live in cold water, but they wont thrive
2- The danios will nip the goldies fins, and then in turn the goldies will eat the danios once they get large enough

The black light is fine, as fish could care less what color light is used.. or even if there is a light at all.


If he wants to do a glofish tank with a black light thats fine.. but why add goldies to the mix? they arent gonna glow, they are gonna look plain and dull compared to the flourescent danios....


all in all I think its a bad idea... and the fact that the "pet store seems to think it would be ok" says absolutely nothing, as pet stores (chain stores at least) are wrong 99% of the time


also keep in mind that fancie goldfish need a huge tank... dont be "that guy" and put them in a 20g tank and expect them to live.... a 75g tank is needed for 2-3 fancies, maybe larger.
 
I had glofish a few years ago and I tried the whole black light thing (10 glofish in 20 gallons). TBH the blacklight didn't make them glo very much at all. I ended up switching back to a normal bulb after a few days
 
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