The tank itself is fine, I didn't really care for the strange shape, but it's a sturdy acrylic tank. The "filter" however, is crap. You will need to buy a real filter that takes filter bags, otherwise you will be cleaning the whole tank out every week.It was perfect size for my betta, a sucker and two small corry cats. But the weekly fuss over cleaning the damn thing out was terrible. If you buy a GOOD pump with a proper filter, it is a goon starter tank for 4 small fish.
If you plan on buying this for your goldfish, FORGET IT. Save yourself a lot of anxiety and money and BUY A BIGGER TANK. I know this looks like the perfect size for that little 1" goldie you won at the fair, but it is a far cry from what you will need.
*** For your goldfish: You need a tank that holds at least 20 gallons (yes, that says TWENTY) -NOT THIS PIECE OF CRAP. ***
My reasons?
The goldfish might be small when you buy it at the pet store but will grow up to 6" and this is a MINIMUM. Some varieties may grow beyond a foot! This tank will not allow for healthy growth and development BECAUSE IT IS WAY TOO SMALL.
Goldfish are dirty. And by dirty, I mean they poop constantly. This means YOU have to clean up after them. And the smaller the tank, the more often you will need to clean it.
"Filtration" is total crap. Almost nonexistent. I think it just pumps a lot of bubbles into the water. Your goldfish will not be getting enough oxygen. Also raises the water temperature.
Hood traps in too much heat. Because of its small volume, this tank will have drastic changes in temperature which is not good for your goldfish.
Here is my story:
Boyfriend surprised me with a beautiful black moor and a HAGEN Marina Goldfish starter kit -exactly like this one. He purchased both from Superpetz. Neither of us had any knowledge of goldfish but the person who sold him the fish should have. The seller did not tell him that the tank is WRONG WRONG WRONG for a goldfish, which he/she should have known. I did not know this until a couple of days later (after the store had already gone out of business... no surprise there) when I started reading up on my new pet. I noticed that the water was getting murky within a couple of days so I did a 50% water change. Not even two days later, I came home and my fish was frantically swimming in a circle, up toward the surface and down toward the bottom, running itself into the side of the tank, over and over again. It looked like he was trying to push himself out of the tank. Odd, I thought. So I read up on some reasons. "TOO SMALL!" The restrictive size leads to a lot of health issues because of dirtiness. Swim bladder, fin rot, even ICH. I ruled it down to toxic shock. The fish was creating too much ammonia in too small of a space. Unfortunately for me, I cannot afford to buy/have the capacity for a larger tank at the moment. But I am not about to flush my fishie down the toilet, either. So I continue to do a 50% water change AT LEAST every other day (which stresses the fish) and an entire tank cleaning weekly (which stresses the fish AND myself). I hope that my fish makes it through the next week until I am able to get him into a suitable living environment, but the odds do not look good.
I am very upset at the Superpetz employee who was more concerned with making a final sale than offering a better aquarium. But I am downright angry that the HAGEN company would even manufacture this product and falsely advertise it as "a goldfish starter kit." I guess "starter" means "good for about a day and then buy yourself a better tank." Again, it is a good tank for a BETTA, but should be advertised as such. The box shows the tank holding a goldfish but it cannot possibly survive in there for long. FALSE ADVERTISEMENT.
~*~*~ If you plan on purchasing this tank for any kind of goldfish, avoid. Buy a 20 gallon aquarium. It will run you a little more, but it's the type you should have from the beginning anyway. Do not make the mistake that we made (not being educated about the goldfish, etc). I do not mean to slander the HAGEN company but this concerns the health and well-being of a living thing, and this particular product is not conducive to healthy living. Just getting the word out. Be aware. ~*~*~
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