Fantail Goldfish Questions

[idavis90]

Hey all,

I just bought the Aqueon 10 gallon basic starter kit from Petco along with a Fantail Goldfish. We had a fishbowl from a previous bad goldfish experience and let the fantail stay in there while we filtered the water through the tank for a day per the instructions that came with the tank/filter. After reading through some of the threads here I should have done things a bit differently but I guess that's what I get for jumping the gun a bit. My fish seems to be doing fine but I have a few concerns about proper care and tank setup.

1. Light. The tank came with a hood with two lights and I was wondering how long to keep it on for. I have red different ideas on this subject in a few places and am unsure about light cycles.

2. Filter. The filter seems to be creating a current in the tank and our fish looks like its swimming hard a lot, and when it swims under where the water comes in it gets pushed down a bit. I may have filled the tank with too much water but the directions were a bit vague on exactly how much to put in.

3. Tank size. We went with a 10 gallon because it is A) what we could afford, and B) what we have size for in our apartment. I have been reading that a 10 gallon is good for one fish depending on the size of that fish. The people at Petco said that it is 1 gallon per inch of fish but that seems to be wrong to me. Is it possible for 2 goldfish to live happily in a 10 gallon tank or would that be too small?

We didn't but a test kit but after reading more we're going to go get one tonight most definitely. I think we kind of jumped in before doing all the research we should have but I'm hoping to learn more about fish and fish care during my time here. Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[librarygirl]

HI and welcome!

1. Everyone leaves their lights on at different times. I don't think it matters much unless you start to have algae issues. Fish do like some time in the dark, so you might keep them off overnight and then put them on during the day when you are home to see them.

2. Your filter is not enough for that tank, particularly with a goldfish in there (we'll get to that issue in a minute). Does the filter have an adjustable flow? Aqueon filters may not be the best; if you can upgrade to an Aquaclear (and a larger one than the tank needs) it might be better.

3. Ok, minimum for golfish is 20 gals for the first and 10 for the second. So no, for 2 goldish you'd need 30 gals minimum. You're already way overstocked with one goldfish in a 10. Your other issue is that the tank isn't properly cycled and if you do a fish-in cycle with that goldfish I believe you're going to have an uphill battle on your hands. Goldfish are very messy; waste=ammonia. Because your tank isn't cycled yet there isn't any beneficial bacteria to get rid of the ammonia that the fish put out. So the fish will be in danger of ammonia poisoning and you'll be doing daily water changes for the next 3-8 weeks until the tank cycles.

If I were you, honestly, I'd return the goldfish, cycle the 10 gal without fish (properly, there's a link in my signature called 'new empty tank' which shows you how) and in the meantime research proper fish to keep in the 10 gal.