how many fish?

[moranclan]

have purchased a small tank approx 14 litres for my son's bedroom, how many goldfish type fish can he have in the tank?

[B00]

the general rule is one goldie for every 10 gallons.

[moranclan]

does that mean that he can't even have 1 fish?.... cos 14 litres = approx 3 gallons.... (is that right?)

[fairkatrina]

Nothing like 1 per 10 gallons! I've got a 74l tank in which I keep 30+ (tropical) fish, which works out at basically 2l per fish. Obviously goldfish are bigger, so I'd work on something like 3l per fish and put 5 fish in the tank. If it looks empty with them in try adding a couple more, but start slow because if the tank is too small they'll just start dying en masse until the space/fish ratio is even.

[B00]

Keep your goldfish in a tank of at least 10 gallons, and make sure that a minimum of 8 gallons of your tank space is dedicated to each goldfish (a 10 gallon tank is really only suitable for one goldfish).

taken from.....

http://www.firsttankguide.net/goldfish.php

[B00]

A good rule of thumb would be one fish for every 10 gallons of water. The bigger the fish the more space it will need to grow

taken from....

http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-a-Fantail-Gold fish

[wildwood]

14 litres is quite a small tank, and would barely house 1 small goldfish (under 2 inches each) comfortably, and don't expect it to grow much bigger.
Regularly change 1/3rd of the water every week.

If you are anywhere near a breeder you may be able to get small coloured up goldfish around 30mm long, in that case you can get two.

[moranclan]

thanx all, just bought my son 2 v.small goldfish type fish that apparantly stay small...? my son happy with his choice, not so sure bout the fish though, they seem bit worried and stay close to the bottom, not much swimming going on, they have eaten though, is this normal? i'm sure i'd feel the same if i was forced to live somewhere strange and new!

[wildwood]

They'll feel a lot happier if there are some plants and/or rocks in the tank. Even plastic plants will make them feel more secure.
Remember not to overfeed them. Feed twice a day if possible, they should eat everything in 10 minutes or else feed less next time.

[sparkyrover]

you dont mention if you have a filter? when you do a partial water change use a de-chlorinator and make sure the temperature of the new water is the same as water in the tank. usually 20degress. in england. i use a fridge thermometer and add boiled water out of the kettle into the dechloronated water. my tank is 20gallons and my 5 fish are in perfect health.they will be nervous at first.

[moranclan]

we do have a filter and use a de-chlorinator, we have plants and hidey holes for them, we've had them a couple of weeks now and they still seem very nervous, will get a thermometer to test the water temp, but always add a touch of warm water so that the water isn't too cold for them, maybe we just bought shy fish!