Hello, I’ve read a ton on this Reddit and have 3 specific questions.
Have a rescue comet or common goldfish, he was initially saved by a friend as a juvenile from going down a toilet at a dinner table, she got him a 20G hex tank and 10-30G filter, built up the micro biome to get water controlled, no substrate and minimal anything in the tank and he grew over 3 years to about 5 inches body length including tail, so stunted. She left the country so I took him over and read all the things. Weirdly he is missing a pectoral fin, just a stump. Don’t know when it happened but it doesn’t seem to affect his swimming ability or activity at all. Must have got caught but I can’t imagine in what
After researching further I recognized the situation and added smooth driftwood and floating plants to his tank but there isn’t room for anything else. He does not seem to eat the plants and is thriving. I live in a small downtown condo so only option is for him to have natural light for most of the day so we have a UV sterilizer so water is always clear, only algae on walls accumulated, and I clean algae buildup during weekly half tank water change. Water testing shows total balance, it never changes and there is no nitrate build up in the week but I still do the change like clockwork. I also looked into rehoming him and local shops won’t take him and don’t have space.
I can’t upgrade to what he needs, both due to space and condo rules, but Ive negotiated and I can fit a 40 gallon but it’s a big investment and space taker for me, since the furniture the 20G is on will not hold the weight of a bigger tank I need new stand and new filter upgrading to the 30-70L filter. If I did this I’d get the pool sand substrate, a smooth pot for hiding and some more plants as they thrive in the sunlight.
Three questions
1) understanding there are never guarantees, realistically since he is already stunted does he have the chance to live more than another year or two if i do the upgrades? Please don’t crucify me, based on his behaviour he seems well adjusted. Swims all day, looks for food rooting in driftwood and plants, hides in plants if something scares him and comes to me when I approach and basically takes the food out of my hand. If he isn’t going to live even if I upgrade, it’s a huge investment. If it is probable he could live like another 5 or more years then of course .
2) missing pectoral fin? If he seems unaffected then I shouldn’t worry? Just monitor? Would this affect lifespan?
3) if I do the tank swap, I’ve read about cycling, but it if I move all his stuff (uv lamp which is usually slimy) driftwood and plants, as well as all the stuff inside filter (sponge, carbon pack, those white bead bacteria things) and the almost whole 20G of water, I feel like I don’t need to fish out cycle the tank? Maybe just minimizing feeding for the first week…. And leave the filter components for a month or more before adding more ceramic beads or changing sponge and other components to the new size. Also I would eventually add pool sand and a plant pot and maybe some rooted plants to enrich further. Bonus of being near a window is the plants are thriving. I would not add more fish ever.