Goldfish with bichirs

[Fishnkdub]

I want to share with you guys my experience with goldfish. I have had this guy for 8 or 9 months. From 2" to 10". He is housed in a 225g with bichirs since he was about 5 inches.
He eats what the bichirs eat (hikari cichlid gold mixed with northfin jumbo). He also eat their poop and appears to be quite fond of it.

He keeps the sand spotless, always searching for a bit of food leftover.

 

[tlindsey]

I want to share with you guys my experience with goldfish. I have had this guy for 8 or 9 months. From 2" to 10". He is housed in a 225g with bichirs since he was about 5 inches.
He eats what the bichirs eat (hikari cichlid gold mixed with northfin jumbo). He also eat their poop and appears to be quite fond of it.

He keeps the sand spotless, always searching for a bit of food leftover.

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Definitely healthy looking.

 

[tlindsey]

I want to share with you guys my experience with goldfish. I have had this guy for 8 or 9 months. From 2" to 10". He is housed in a 225g with bichirs since he was about 5 inches.
He eats what the bichirs eat (hikari cichlid gold mixed with northfin jumbo). He also eat their poop and appears to be quite fond of it.

He keeps the sand spotless, always searching for a bit of food leftover.

View attachment 1537876

View attachment 1537877

Was the goldfish a feeder early in it's life?

 

[Fishnkdub]

Was the goldfish a feeder early in it's life?

No I don't feed live fish ever. After thinking about it a bit, I decided to get him as my clean up crew. I wanted a fish that's on the larger side, cheap, active, bold but not so much that it would bully the bichirs.

Goldfish fit the bill perfectly. I have a couple shubunkin growing out until they're big enough to go keep him company.

 

[Fishnkdub]

Maybe not the best picture but there we are. I added the little 5 incher to the bichir tank 3 days ago. So far so good.

 

[Fishnkdub]

I thought I'd do a little update on my poop cleaning goldfish. I think he ate too much.. I lost him at 11.5" after a year and a half only. The other smaller one eats way less than this one did and is doing better I guess. I only feed this tank every 2-3 days. I hoped it would leave it time to digest the heavy protein diet inbetween feeding but I guess not.

I'm bummed out, I liked him.

 

[jjohnwm]

I don't have a ton of goldfish experience, only been keeping them for a short time, but they have got to be the greatest aquarium cleaners since power filters were invented, and among the best aquarium fish in general. Eat anything, up to and including poop (!), keep the substrate spotless, non-aggressive, colourful, active, always moving debris and detritus into the filter, easy to breed if desired...honestly, I can't imagine why you'd throw a bunch of bichirs into a goldfish tank.

Too bad about your big guy; that was a good-looking fish.