Goldfish looking at mirror for hours at at time. Should I get him a friend?

[teeneythebetta]

Originally Posted by Pucky21811

I agree with MyRainbow; I wasn't sure of the exact numbers, but really do consider the min and max gallon amount for each goldfish; Five or six years ago my sisters and I won carnival goldfish to save them, and let's just say we didn't think they'd still be alive today. Unfortunately the best I can do for the two that have survived is for them to be in a 20 gal, and a filter only fit for a 10-15 gal. Poor fishies. If I had the money/space in my parents' house I would make it better for them, but for now they have to deal with a teeny tiny 20 gal. :/

Good for you!! :) Don't feel bad, we all know that if anyone else had gotten them, they would've been flushed by now. :(

[SparklE fin]

Originally Posted by PaintingPintos

Goldfish do not "need" friends.
It is the breeding season and goldfish are clearly going to be interested in mating.
Because your goldfish likes a mirror doesn't mean you need a friend.
Your tank is too small for another fish, anyway. If your fish is a fantail then it will NOT have any trouble "competing" for food anyway. If you have a Black Moor or Telescope Eye or Celestial Eye then it WILL have trouble eating and finding food because its vision will be impaired.
I have a Pearlscale and a Black Moor in the same tank.... They are female and male, and the only reason they find companionship in each other is to mate. They mate every morning (more like the male attempts to mate with the female) and when that is over with they ignore each other and act like the other is part of the scenery.
If you have a Fantail and insist on another fish, upgrade your tank to 30 gallons or more. Ryukins tend to be very aggressive so I would keep them singly or not at all. Comets and Common goldfish aren't very good matches for a Fantail though they are similar in body shape, because the former are more aggressive and play rough.
Good tankmates for a Fantail would be Black Moor, Pearlscale, Oranda, or another Fantail. Any aggressive fish should not be kept with the Fantail. But if you insist on a large-eyes fish, be sure that it receives extra food as the Fantail will be quicker at spotting food, and will eat most of it before the large-eyes fish even realizes that food is around.

So that's the reason he keeps staring at the mirror, it's mating season. He's still a juvenile so that didn't cross my mind. I didn't want to get a new fish because I don't even know the tank size. Thank you

[thekoimaiden]

Goldfish are social creatures (but not schooling). They do enjoy the company of other goldfish; ask any seasoned goldfish-keeper. I've seen this firsthand with my goldfish when I removed one for a series of treatments; the other goldfish became skittish and wouldn't feed as easily. I also have heard firsthand accounts of goldfish withering away after a long-time (10+ years) friend died. They do best with company (unlike betta), but can be kept alone with no ill effects (unlike neon tetra).

That being said, unless you can get a larger tank, I would not get Aki a friend for a few reasons. The tank is just too small to safely house another goldfish. If he does have a deformity, he will be in competition with the new fish for food. The biggest problem will be the increase in bioload for your tank. If you ammonia is at 1 ppm right now with just a single fish, you will have a lot of trouble keeping it down for another fish.

Mirrors do work fine to give your goldfish some interaction. I have a friend with a ryukin that is an eye-eater, so she keeps him in his own 30 gallon tank. The back of his tank has a mirror to give him some "company" while she is away.