I have all of these new goldfish and I am looking to get them to grow large. I have seen the size of some of these fish at the Orlando Show and I admit there is some jealousy. Genetics is a big thing and this new stock has more to work with than anything coming from Petsmart prior. The question is, what else can I do to ensure they get to that size. Giving them water is out of the question though as they will not get mixed into the Koi pond, get their own pond, nor will DW let me get a larger tank anytime soon. They do however get to go into a large 250+ gallon QT pool to help cycle it in February prior to new Koi coming in. They spend about 2-3 weeks out there during that time frame with large water changes and water turning about 5x/hour. Here are my specs for my normal set up. Let me know any other suggestions on care and food.
Tank- 47g
Filter- Rena XP4 which at peak performance flows 450gph. I am sure media and time decrease this a bit. Inside there are 20 and 30 pads in basket one, cermedia in baskets 2 and 3, chem bags (carbon, ammonia down, phos down) and a micro pad in basket 4.
Water changes- didn't do too many prior, but trying to stick to 50-70% weekly
Food- I have a large container of Azoo and a lot of sample packets of some other foods. It is all mixed together right now with the Azoo being the primary ingredient. Here is everything with content.
Azoo 9-1 (main portion of mix)
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein min. 33.0%
Crude Fat min. 3.0%
Crude Fiber max. 5.0%
Moisture max. 5.0%
Hikari Oranda Gold (sample packets added)
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein 45% min.
Crude Fat 6% min.
Crude Fiber 10% max.
Moisture 14% max.
Ash 1.2% max.
Added Vitamin
Vitamin A 36,000 IU/kg
Vitamin C 190 mg/kg
Vitamin D3 7,300 IU/kg
Vitamin E 350 mg/kg
Hikari Gold Golfish (Sample packets added)
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein 32% min.
Crude Fat 4% min.
Crude Fiber 5% max.
Moisture 10% max.
Ash 12% max.
Saki-Hidari Fancy Goldfish Pellet (Sample Packets added)
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein 45% min.
Crude Fat 7% min.
Crude Fiber 3.0% max.
Moisture 10% max.
Crude Ash 20% max.
Phosphorus 1.8% min.
B. subtilis 10,000 CFU/g min.