Goldfish tank decor

[Tikibirds]

I really dislike the look of my sisters *cough* my *cough* goldfish tank.
When she isn't home, I want to redo it. I'm gonna leave her crappy light/dark blue gravel since she seems to like it for some odd reason but I want to make it look more..natural. Or as natural as it can get with funky blue gravel.

What do goldfish like in their tank? Do they need a place to hide or are they OK in open space? There are some live plants - anacharis and cabomba and one big, leafy silk plant. One big Asian buddah head statue (which they have no intest in) and a fake log that somehow managed to grow what looks like the moss ball stuff on it.

I was thinking replace the stuff with a chucnk of mopani wood with some anubias or would they eat the anubias? Java fern? I also have some large rocks I can use. I don't want to put too much in there as the tank is too small for them as it is

[emeraldmaster]

Goldfish are know to destroy live plants, so silk maybe...

[thekoimaiden]

Anubias and java fern are great plants to have with goldfish as both have really tough and yucky-tasting leaves. I wouldn't use wood in the tank as it can lower pH and hardness; goldfish like a pH above 7 and hard water. You can set anubias and java fern on the rocks (just don't bury the rhizome) and the roots will anchor themselves in the rocks.

As far as other decor, I just like to give my guys a few places they can hide. So really anything large and smooth that they can hide behind in case they get scared is good. This is a photo of my current goldfish tank. Those tall plants make great hiding place for the fish.

[finnfinnfriend]

Izzy: That goldfish looks so tiny in there! XD

[Tikibirds]

That is either a really big tank or a tiny little goldfishie.

The PH reads 7.8 - not sure if its actually higher as thats as high as the test will go. Anubias I can usually find in those tubes.

Hmmm...I'll see what I can come up with. Since putting in the aquaclear 70, i notice that I am not siphoning up as much debris as I was before but the current is a bit much

[MaisyDawgThirteen]

I believe that is her new fish Burbles in the 55 gallon. :)

[thekoimaiden]

Haha! That's actually the old new goldfish (lol if that makes any sense). Burbbles isn't in that picture and wasn't part of my family when I took it. That is a small fish in a large tank. It's a 55 gal. I need to get some pictures of both of them in the tank.

Aquaclears are pretty easy to baffle. I had to baffle mine as the current is a bit much for fancies. I used a large soda bottle and cut off the top and bottom to made a baffle similar to the ones I've seen for betta tanks. It's been working like a charm for a year now.

The anubias in the tubes work just fine. Just put some rocks on the roots to keep them down and they should grow and anchor themselves into the substrate.