JBJ nanocube vs Eclipse 12

[Mihai]

A quick question for one of my neighbors. She has a goldfish with no
plants in a 6gal Eclipse and wants to upgrade to either a JBJ nanocube
or to an Eclipse 12 - the goldfish is the only projected inhabitant,
no plants are in the project...

Do you recommend the JBJ nanocube or the Eclipse?

Thanks,
Mihai

 

[cmonkey]

How many goldfish/type are they? The first needs 20gal then each additional should be another 10gal....

 

[Juck]

Huh? 30 Gallons for 2 goldfish?

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

hehe...no really...30 gallons for 2 goldfish? Surely you must be kidding? Apparently cmonkey has never seen a goldfish bowl.

JBJ nanocube gets my vote.

 

[Mihai]

Only one goldfish, the black type with big eyes and three tails...

Still, a 20gal is not one of the options... JBJ or Eclipse?

M.

 

[Juck]

I don't like the stock water circulation on the Nanocube,,, but I doubt that's a big issue with FW,,, otherwise the nanocube's are great, especially now they have built-in fans and better lighting. I think they look great too.

So,, Nanocube.

 

[Mihai]

I don't like the stock water circulation on the Nanocube,,, but I doubt that's a big issue with FW,,, otherwise the nanocube's are great, especially now they have built-in fans and better lighting. I think they look great too.

So,, Nanocube.

Negative - we're talking about an old nanocube (second hand), hence no fans, no upgraded lightning. Also, customization is not an option.

Thanks,
M.

 

[Anonymous]

Doesn't need to be right? I'd think that flow is perfectly adequate for a friggin' goldfish...

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Agreed Matt. I think the flow will be suffiicient. They caan live in a bowl of water with no flow right?

 

[JaymzB]

first post so ill try not to tick anyone off. but...

you can live for a short amount of time in a 4 foot x 4 foot room filled with your waste, and restricted airflow. youd survive for quite sometime probably, the entire time your wastes building up around you, every now and then someone comes in and takes away a small amount of your urine and excrement. and there you have a goldfish in a bowl. water changes dont remove all of the waste or toxic ammonia. and yes, goldfish get large, some of them routinely exceed 8 inches. theyre also little waste factories, they produce large amounts of ammonia, very large. simply put a fish bowl is not an appropriate home for them, neither is a 6 gallon, or even 12 gallon tank an appropriate home for them. these are decent sized fish that put out an enormous amount of waste, so stating 20 gallons for the first fish and an additional 10 (to 15) gallons per each additional fish is pretty accurate. goldfish do not stay small, they dont grow to the size of the tank we keep them in. its that simple, but out of curiosity...why would you degrade a goldfish...is it because its a coldwater species of non-marine fish? i mean sure theyre no golden moray or some other more expensive fish, but theyre still living beings.

Jaymz

 

[Anonymous]

Bit of difference between a 4 foot room for a human and a 12 gallon tank for a goldfish, but yeah I see your point. I wasn't aware they got that big.

 

[JaymzB]

not a big difference, in fact itd be the same thing. you could survive in it, but i not for very long, and youd be miserable, not to attribute human emotion.feeling to an animal. but in the end its the same thing, a living breathing feeling being stuck in something that will eventually end its life long before it should be ended. but again a 12 gallon tank its not appropriate for any goldfish, and if the owner cant afford or fit in a larger tank maybe the owner should look into a new home for the fish and look into something smaller...just a suggestion no need to get heated.

Jay

 

[Mihai]

not a big difference, Jay

JaymzB,

I agree with you. However, I'm serious: it's my neighbor's tank. For now it's a big improvement: he's moving up from a 6gal Eclipse. I can't tell her how to keep her pets. For my part I have a 90 gal with 4 chromis and two clowns and a 35gal planted hex with 5 tetra jumbo and 4 otto. I think that this is reasonable...

So I appreciate the advice - can't do anything about it.
All the best,
Mihai

 

[JaymzB]

personally id suggest to your neighbor that a 12 gallon tank is not appropriate and also tell her WHY, people have an uncanny way of getting things better when they are told why the things they want to do arent going to work. stress that an 8 inch waste factory will not have enough water volume in that tank to handle the break down of its waste and itd be like shoving her in a closet and letting her stew in her own muck, only itd be getting stirred around from the power head, then add some food (whatever she doesnt eat will just rot away in there with her) and voila thats what that fish will have to deal with, not something an animal that has the potential to live for 50 years should have to be subjected to, in my opinion. so there are things you can do to try and get her to put the fish in something appropriate with the appropriate filtration. think if it was a $200 fish shed treat it like crap? why not put it to her that way. the very least you can do is inform her of it being wrong and educate her as to why.

 

[Mihai]

OK, I'll try to educate her. However, I'll try a different metaphor than the closet ;-)
Regards,
Mihai

 

[Anonymous]

I'm almost 7 feet tall, so it'd be more like putting a goldfish in a 5" by 5" space

But you're right Jay, and we shouldn't have trivialized it just because it's not saltwater. Thanks for your insight.

 

[JaymzB]

eesh, now i feel short! but for you matt we could make it a 7 x 7 closet, lol. and honestly mihai, it would be the same thing as her living in a small closet, constantly adding to her feces and occasionally having a small amount removed, so why not explain it to her that way, when you put it in human terms it can be very effective....coincidentally this is why i no longer work in the pet trade, and also why id like 90% of the people working/owning pet shops run out of business or treated the way they treat or recommend treating animals. its a sad sad world for way too many animals, and on that note, off to set up yet ANOTHER tank/cage i go, darned animals turning predatory! '

J

 

[redpaulhus]

Ditto the above -- an adult goldfish is the size of a football and should live 30+ years (given proper space).

I always recommend to customers that they plan 20g per goldfish (more space if it is a species prone to bacterial infections like orandas, lionheads, etc.). I also recommend weekly partial water changes. I know that if I recommend 20g and weekly, the fish will see 10g and monthly - If I recommend 10g and monthly the fish will see 3g per, annual water changes, and the toilet bowl...

I know a number of folks in the LFS industry who call those bowls "deadfish bowls" and will staunchly refuse to sell them for goldfish (or goldfish for bowls) - they (and I) recommend bettas as the only fish suitable for small bowls/tanks... I've sent alot of brides-to-be home without their little goldfish bowl centerpieces for their receptions, too...

As to eclipse vs JBJ nano - I'd go with the eclipse, just because in my area they are easier to find filter pads for (and I really like the bio-wheels for freshwater biological filtration). Basic logistics means that if they can get the filter pads easier, they'll change them more frequently...

 

[Anonymous]

inch for inch, goldfish (especially the 'ornamental' varieties, like moors, lionheads,ranchus, orandas, bubble-eyes, etc), are far thicker than 'standard' type f/w tropicals, and have a natural demand for higher oxygen levels(being a cooler water animal), so they have a physiology that naturally demands more O2, and a corresponding higher body mass to support, to boot

 

[Anonymous]

Moral of the thread: Don't come to RDO looking for advice on FW fish