Where I board there are several boarders that think it is grand to have several goldfish live in their horse’s water tank! So, they don’t want to keep the water tank cleaned and free of algie and all the other ekk that goes along with having fish in the tank so the fish want die?!
I had rather have no fish and keep clean, clear and good smelling water for my horses to drink!!
Why would they let their horses drink nasty water just to have a few fish swimming around in there!!! Gross!:eek::no:
The fish are in the tank to help keep it clean.
[QUOTE=RioTex;4057699]
The fish are in the tank to help keep it clean.[/QUOTE]
I really do not understand the logic behind this - worked in a fish store for a while and goldfish are filthy, filthy creatures, even in tanks where the space is more than adequate. Snails I could see, or even those sucker fish, but goldfish? 
I remain open-minded, however, and if someone can provide me compelling evidence (ie more than anecdotal) I would really like to read it. 
The fish EAT the algae (and larvae…and bugs…) I’ve kept them in my larger tanks for YEARS and the horses prefer the “fish” water. Done properly the water isn’t “nasty” or “dirty”.
As long as the nitrificating process is started properly (not too many fish) so that the bacteria that consume the fish waste can properly flourish, the water is CLEAN! it’s a cycle (hence the term “cycling the tank”) so it takes about a month to get into action, but once it’s going it works very well for all creatures involved.
I have three comet goldfish in about a 350 gallon tank. I started with five. The three remaining are about 3 inches long and have been in the tank for three years. I supply them with a couple of bricks to hide under and for shade in the summer (it gets HOT here). The algae that lines the tanks (small amount really) provides food and insulation for the fish. Twice a year I do a partial water change (down to 1/4 of the tank, and my tank is connected to a auto refill so it’s always getting a fresh supply of water when the horses drink.
I would not want snails in my tank. Do a little research. 
The goldfish eat things such as mosquito larvae. They do not keep the tank clean of everything else.
I had them in my water trough last year. I found almost no living critters in it. I have not gotten any yet this spring and with just a few hot days there has been quite a few things swimming about in the trough.
They are not hard to deal with either. Scoop a bucket load of water out of the trough. catch the fish with a net and put them in the bucket. Drain and scrub the trough. Put fish in the barn over night. Fill the trough and wait until the temperature warms up some and add fish back in.
I agree - goldfish are filthy fish, and if they have enough to eat they’re excreting almost the same volume in poo each day! Plus you have to net them to clean the tank weekly anyway - what a time waster.
Our BM adds mosquito fish to our tanks (and sometimes goldfish.) What with the herons and raccoons they live for a month maybe. Mosquito larvae hatch in a week. If you clean the tank weekly, problem solved with no nasty fish poo.
I keep goldfish in my stock tank to eat the mosquito larvae. I just dip-net and transfer the fish to a bucket when I need to clean the tank.
Fish in the water trough??? I learn something new every day!!! :lol:
[QUOTE=Xanthoria;4057735]
I agree - goldfish are filthy fish, and if they have enough to eat they’re excreting almost the same volume in poo each day! Plus you have to net them to clean the tank weekly anyway - what a time waster.
Our BM adds mosquito fish to our tanks (and sometimes goldfish.) What with the herons and raccoons they live for a month maybe. Mosquito larvae hatch in a week. If you clean the tank weekly, problem solved with no nasty fish poo.[/QUOTE]
Read above…NITRIFICATING process. Bacteria (that do not harm horses) EAT the waste, and YES they do eat some algae, but not algae is bad. I but barley mats in my tanks to help with the algae, anchored to my bricks about half way down in the tanks.
Most people put too many fish in that results in fish loss and dirty water. It’s not in balance. If you’re cleaning your water too often you’re killing the natural bacteria, and the process breaks down resulting in…once again…fish loss and dirty water.
Goldifsh are NOT appropriate to put in a stock tank.
Goldfish are cold water fish. As in, shaded 50 degree water. Just a concrete cinder block in the bottom for shade is NOT sufficient. A goldfish’s blood pools in the anal and caudal fins when the water is too warm. Sorry to say, but this is abuse.
Goldfish require a varied diet, high in vitamin C. They are omnivores and require a diet of mixed vegetable and high protein material. Algae is not sufficient.
Goldfish are sensitive to water parameters, just like any other type of fish. Unless you have well water, you will need to neutralize chlorine with chemicals each time you fill the tank. If you have well water, it may be too high in heavy metals and nitrate to keep the fish alive for very long. This can be adjusted with chemicals in the home aquarium - but in a water tank???
When fish die, their body quickly degrades and releases waste into the water. You want your horses to drink water fouled with dead fish? Drinking from a moving river or stream would be healthier than a closed system with dead or dying fish.
Goldfish are MESSY! They crap bigger than your golden retriever. They require a lot of food for the size of their body because their digestive system is inadequate in extracting nutrition from food. For this reason, they should be fed soft cooked peas every few weeks to help flush toxins and buildup from their digestive tract.
Goldfish are REALLY bad algae eaters anyway. They do pick at algae but algae is not their main natural diet. They get bored with it, and begin picking it only from certain surfaces. Besides, you would need a heavily stocked tank of fish in order to consume all algae on the tank walls and floor. Refer to #1.
Just dump your stock tank once a week and scrub it. It takes 10 minutes.
I think you mean “nitrification” process.
And just for clarification - nitrosomonas and nitrobacter do not “eat the fish waste.” They consume amonia and nitrite and excrete the safer chemical nitrate, as their own waste product. Fish poop and all organic matter must begin to decompose before the beneficial bacteria can utilize it as a food source. This can take WEEKS.
Yes, I agree with Auventera Two - it can take a long time for a tank to get the right “biological soup” going to process all that fish poop, and yes if you’re dumping weekly you’re hitting the reset button on that process each time.
If you’re not dumping weekly, yes, your horses are drinking fish poop. Which I don’t want my horses to do even supposing the tank eventually finds a biological balance.
Geez don’t tell my fish about the peas…my fish have grown and grown…I bought them as tiny little things about an inch long…29 cents at Wally world on sale.
I have one that is close to 4 inches long, the other two are similiar. I change out the water in the tank when it gets “cruddy” and usually it is clear enough to see almost to the bottom. I have an algae eater in there as well, no snails…I figure they would just crawl out.
I don’t do much special for the fish except make sure that every day I run fresh water into the tank for oxygen, about 10 gallons or so.
They wintered fine in the tank, lived all through last summer in GA. and have grown so big that one must come out this year and have it’s “own” tank. My tank is 100 gallons and is shaded by a huge water oak tree.
Matter of fact I only have one tank that isn’t, and I wouldn’t put fish in there, too hot in the sun, but my other tank is in the shade all day so that’s where the fish will go.
I guess the fish are getting plenty to eat, the horses dunk their hay in there, they dribble bits of feed in there, and there are bugs, etc. At any rate, they have grown and look great, no sores when I catch them and look at them when changing all the water.
The horses are funny when one comes up while they are drinking…it’s like “oh there you are” look on their faces.
Goldfish and Koi seem to be pretty hardy, but if you overstock a tank, it can be downright nasty unless the water is changed and the tank cleaned out every once in a while. But what do I know? I am not a fish “raiser”, I just stuck them in the tank to keep the sqeeters under control…they appear to have thrived in spite of not having peas.
Goldfish abuse, well, there you have it. :eek::eek::eek: I won’t tell them they are abused if you don’t. My tanks do better with fish in them. Don’t care about the why. I don’t have any right now because the dog splashed them all out when he dives in and out of the troughs. Now, that was goldfish abuse, or a carnival ride, depends on your perspective.
I had the same experience. No one obviously told my GF that they should not like life in my poor eco-system-water trough.
I bought the tiny feeder fish and by the end of summer they were about 4 times the size they were when I bought them. They looked healthy too.
The wintered at a friends pond and are still alive. (I switch to a much smaller heated bucket for winter. Not a good GF home at all.)
We used to keep a few Koi and an algea eater in each of our tanks. While it worked at keeping the tank clean for a week at a time, it was a pain in the tailfin to remove the fish, clean the tank and then replace the fish. And you still sometimes have to feed the fish!
It was just better for us in the long run to just dump each trough (sp?) each day, run the brush over the trough and then refill it when the horses went back out.
I guess its a to each his own type thing.
Maybe you should try eating some fish; I hear it’s good for the brain.
I think this thread is absolutely hilarious! How many thousands of years did horses drink out of rivers and ponds? I am sure there were far worst things in those than a few goldfish, but each to their own.
Well, at least a big 100g is finally big enough for goldfish. (Goldfish need 10g per 1" of fish. They are FILTHY. I disagree they need 50 degree water–that’s a bit low, though they can tolerate it. Low 60s is good–would kill trops, but goldfish will be fine.)
My horses drink from a pond with lots of fish and frogs. All seem very healthy and I don’t have to clean anything. If you get the right ‘ecosystem’ going in a tank I think it can work nicely but as others have said, that can be hard to maintain.
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