You are so right. One of my goldfish had a stone stuck in his mouth. It was a round natural looking stone. Out if desperation, I used tweezers to get it out and he was fine.Ever since I have bare bottom tank, but I really think sand would be better. I grow algae on the back of my tank. There are little holes in it where my goldfish pick at it, but prefer the totally wiped down tank.I could watch your fish all the time. Thanks-
I went with black sand. It makes the colors pop (except forthe Moors of course)...and i like to watch them sift. They pick up every speck of flakes as well. Ive learned so much from your videos! My 9 year old son and i set up our tank and now he enjoys the 2 Orandas he picked out himself. We learned what to do step by step from you! Thanks a million! Im sure Mac and Cheese appreciate it too!....lol....❤🐟
Sand is great but you need to be careful not to stir them up too much when you por fresh water back into the tank as stirred up sand can get sucked into your HOB filter mechanism and can overtime damage the spindles and other mechanism inside the HOB filter machine. Large gravel is just bad....
I've seen fish dig in sand before. I thought they were just shy, but it seems like they're kind of like dogs that they dig for fun! Maybe you can hide a nice treat for them to find? Fish are surprisingly dynamic! I learn a bit more every day!😄
theyll smell it and not have to search i think, and i also think goldfishes eat food that is in the ground and not at the surface so they always dig like that
I usually have a gravel layer (lava rock fine size= pea or small marble sized) then I use fine sand. Ontop of it so the good bacteria has plenty of rough surfaces to culture on so I keep at least 2 inches of sand ontop of my gravel media layer
I lost my favourite fish when he swallowed a piece of gravel and where I couldn't get it out. I had to euthanase him. I now have a (sort of) bare bottom. I have some glass "pebbles" that are too big for the fish to swallow, but where they like to push them around. And it's super-easy to clean. I have three live plants that are in terracotta pots with large gravel pieces - and so far, so good - they aren't pulling them out.
Sorry for your loss 😢. What was the signs? My goldfish has its mouth stuck open and has done for a week. I have gravel at the bottom of my pond but can't see anything in its mouth
Good bacteria live on hard clean surfaces and are not too effected by vacuum cleaning. Some gets sucked up and are quickly replaced by multiplication. No good bacteria live in the water column. Good bacterial cannot live on mushy detritus so clean those sponges in the filters and the sponge filters.
Hey Luke! I love your videos and everything you do! i have 2 orandas of my own, and have been thinking about getting new black sand so i was just wandering which one you use for your orandas and the one in the background of your video?
I was stuck between thinking about getting bare bottom or black gravel(as i already have around 10kgs of it) for my new gold fish tank. Only reason i wanted gravel was it looked nicer. But i guess i am gonna go bare bottom now
don't put any sort of substrate for a fish tank from my experience it is one of reasons for fishes to die because all sorts of wastes and fish poop get stuck in it and make the aquarium look cloudy and dirty and at the end your fish is going to die from ammonia spike
Luke, I’m curious about your opinion on decor in an aquarium. I notice you really don’t use much in your tanks and they are pretty bare, could you elaborate for us why you choose to keep a minimalist aquarium? I’m curious because I had always assumed that aquarium decor and plants were a way of keeping the fish stimulated, so I’m wondering what the actual benefits are of aquarium decor, if any. Aside from plants adding oxygen to the water.
I know it’s 6 months later so I don’t know if you figured it out but I saw one of his videos saying he doesn’t like decor because fancy goldfish are big and clumsy and decor can get them injured so the only decor he recommends is love plants
@@Luca_Silvio I think I did see him say something about that in another video. But thank you for reminding me 🙂 I do wonder though, about how he feels about aquatic plants as aquarium decor, Vs plastic plants that can have sharp edges. I had a faux plant for my betta fish, but it was made of the same stuff that fake flowers are made of, kind of like a synthetic silk. So it’s pretty soft, and softer when it’s submerged in water, so I feel that if you’re gonna get any kind of fake plants, fabric ones are probably the better idea. Though bigger fish do tend to like to nibble on plants in their tanks, so probably not the greatest idea for some species.
@@missmarie_8790 I had a typo I meant to say live plants not love plants if I remember correct in one of his videos he said goldfish are big and clumsy so they might get cut on fake plants because of sharp plastic edges but it’s ok for other species and the silk ones are probably fine for most species that don’t bite the plants
@@Luca_Silvio oh no doubt lol, you can tell with how the lil nuggets bump around into each other in his videos. It gives them some charm though, and definitely don’t want to put them in an environment that would make them uncomfortable or cause them harm. I do love aquarium decor, but I don’t have to live in it, so if it’s unnecessary or harmful, I wouldn’t put any fish I had through that. I had a little clam shell that looked like a treasure chest, that my Betta liked to hang out in, and “nap.” But it had smooth edges, and no tight areas to get stuck in. It bothers me whenever I see people get like the SpongeBob pineapple house for their aquariums, because they are notorious for getting fish trapped in. There is a subreddit devoted to bad aquariums, and it’s upsetting to see some of the misguided attempts.
I have two goldfish one common goldfish and one comet Goldfish and one time my common goldfish choked on a rock but I told my parents and they caught it and saved it
You will need substrate to help hold beneficial bacteria in the tank. Sand is the best since gravel allows gunk and east to seep to the bottom. And sand is too dense and waste will just sit at the top.
The single layer of pebbles I have is very easy to vacuum when I do a water change/top up and my goldfish and algae eater push the stones around but can't swallow them. Has been this way for months now and no issues. Water quality remains very good and stable too - I only do a top-up/change once every three or four months - but I also have a low stocking rate (only three fish in my three foot tank).
I have had goldfish get gravel stuck in their mouths twice. They managed to dislodge it on their own, but it was stressful. I was getting ready to intervene both times. Totally think sand or bare is the way to go with goldfish.
Hi again, my new piggies, Bowie and Zowie, have pure white sand, but after looking at yours I quite like the black....anywhere, my guys love the sand sifting.. In fact....they are very good at it....these are my first fancies....I'm obsessed by them.....I'm forever cleaning the sand with a large pipette .... or doing water changes, am I stressing them out?.....
Luke... Question... I've been cleaning my gravel by completely removing all the water, taking the gravel out and rinse it with tap water until its clean. I do this about once a month. Is this the correct way of doing it? What would you recommend?
removing all water stresses fish. also you are cleaning off any beneficial bacteria. Tap water has chlorine, so I hope you are using something like PRIME in all your water changes. Do 50% water change when your nitrates hit 20-40.
Is a plant or plants on a driftwood good for goldfish? Does driftwood (bought from an aquarium supplier of course) leach anything into the water that might harm fishes? Pls help ! My young ryukin goldfish are active but they seem bored cos there's nothing in the tank to entertain themselves with 🙁
I had an aquarium for over 25 years and I only had one “stupid” fish that would CONSTANTLY get gravel stuck in its mouth. I swear he would go pick up the gravel till he got one stuck. One time I had to pry a piece out of his goofy maw and 5 minutes later he had another piece stuck. 🙄
My guppy ate gravel like he swallowed it .... I can clearly see it through his stomach (because it's translucent) And I panicked and just shook him until he puked it out
Hello there Luke, i dont have a decent source for black river sand. is it possible to use activated charcoal chips instead? the same one used in water filters. around 3-5 mm in diameter. The deep black substrate in your aquariums really look good.
barebottom is the easiest and cleanest way to maintain a fish tank if you have a strong filtration system.you put any sand into your tank only leaves you dirt and a lot of troubles need you to clean up very often. If you don't then your fish would easily get sick and die But if you do not put any sand then all the aquariums will lose a lot of money can earn. That is why the aquarium will not tell you the truth. People don't like to use barebottom it's because they think it's ugly and looks unnatural but don't forget one thing that is your fish tanks filtration system no matter how strong it is still can never compare with nature river water
Hi, I have a problem with my 3 fantails sitting at the bottom of the tank 3 days now they seem to go into a trance tap the glass & they swim up eat a little food then go back down, 2 small ones a new bought on Tuesday the other is medysized & had him months, I’ve got aqua soil in the tank with a little bio substrate to with roots of a plant in there, could it be the substrate no signs of disease & have a hang on the back filter I’m stumped at what it could be, did a water change & treated water with tap safe & ammonia & nitrate treatment.. please help 😢
Hey which brand sand did you use? I’m thinking of adding my four Oranda’s in my 125 gallon which is a sand/gravel mix. I want to remove that substrate and add a black sand but the one I used to buy - CaribSea Instant Ocean been discontinued. Any recommendations? I’m in Chicago btw - noticed your shirt
I want my fish to get fun, lower risks, so that the dirt does not accumulate excessively, so today I will go buy my sand and prepare my tank for my chubbys.
I look at your aquarium, and start to think of removing my black background. I like that see through style, but still thinking how to cover pipes from external filter and cables :)
Background is literally the only way unless you run the pipes(assuming they're thin and small) along the corner of the tank, could also find plants to wrap around the pipes.
thanks for this video im really struggling with the gravels ive got i just thinking in changing for either sand or larger rocks but cnow i have to rethink