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smallworld

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 25, 2010
Messages
10
Location
San Francisco
Hi there :wave:
I just joined the site and this forum is great but I'm overwhelmed.
I already feel like I've made mistakes that might kill my fish.
The sales people at the fish stores really aren't helpful and as much as I want to do right by the fish, they brushed off most of my questions.
I wrote one member with my questions so far but wondering if anyone with experience would have a chat or private message with me so I don't clog up the forum.

Details:
10 gallon tank
6 goldfish
6 artificial plants
gravel bottom
I've had the tank since Sept 8 2010

My immediate questions are:
1. I want to place an aerator in my tank. Should I wash my hands with soap? Should I use rubber gloves? What's the safest for the fish?

2. The artificial plants are gathering brown spots. Should I remove them and clean them with water?
Should I get an algae eating fish?

3. Should I jump ahead & get real plants? I feel bad for the fish not to have real plants but the salespeople told me to wait.
If I get real plants, is it necessary to change the light fixture in the tank? Right now I have a full spectrum bulb.

Any help is much appreciated. I want to be a good mom to my fish!
thanks a bunch
-smallworld
 
To answer your questions:

1- I would not use soap... just rinse them off good. I dont even do that unless I've been doing something with chemicals.

2- You can rinse them off... you could just pull them out and take a paper towel to them. Brown spots are most likely diatoms, which are going to be present in almost any new setup. They'll go away on their own. You do not need to get an algae eater. I would not even recommend getting one if you wanted one. See followup at the bottom.

3- Its completely up to you. I think anything fake in a tank looks, well, fake. I like my tanks to be as natural as possible (considering the circumstances). My tanks have only sand, rocks, and real plants. Depending on what light came with your tank, you've probably got several options. Surprisingly, alot of plants will grow very well under 'standard' lighting in a 10g tank. Whether its a 15w 18" flourescent bulb, or an incandescent fixture. I've got lots of plants under both. If you do get plants, make sure you get plants that are supposed to be under water. Too many LFS sell 'aquatic' plants that die when fully submerged.



Now, on to the followup. Your tank is entirely overstocked. I'm sure you've already figured this out based on your comments. Goldfish are NOT suited for a 10g tank. Your best bet is to go ahead and take them back to the LFS that you got them from, then never go to that one again. Unless you want to upgrade to a 75g+ tank ;) Goldfish of any kind get entirely too big for a 10g tank. Fancy goldfish (well, I call all the short, fat goldfish fancy), can do ok in a 20g tank (for one), bigger for more. Comets and commons (long skinny) should only be kept in ponds, or aquariums that are monsterously huge.
 
Oh No I had no idea my tank was overstocked. The lady said they'd be fine.
This is not good. And asking her or the other store what kind of fish to get won't help. They don't seem to care.
 
I would suggest asking questions here. I am new too (only one month+ in), and have found this forum very useful, and the experts helpful.
 
+1 for everything mfdrookie said...

You are going to find that sales people in pet stores are sometimes not helpfull, and frequently are horribly misinformed. And I say this as a former sales person in a pet store! You might get lucky, and find that rare special employee who really knows his/her stuff, and wants to help, but until then get your advice right here. No one here is trying to sell you anything, and advice is given because everyone here wants you to enjoy this hobby, and do it right.

You must read up on the "cycle"...ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. You must get a drop-type test kit, not strips. Get the numbers from a test kit, and post them here so we can see what is happening in your tank, and help you.

And yes, you are tremendously over-stocked. The sales person who set you up with 6 goldfish in a brand new 10 gallon tank should be shut up in a sealed room with 5 other people for a month.

I will leave the question of live plants vs. real plants to others as I have limited experience with live plants. The few times I have tried, my goldfish ripped them apart and ate them or let the pieces fall to rot.

I am more concerned about what kind of filter you are running, and what you have in it.
 
Another thought, are you doing large partial water changes, frequently? If not, we need to talk...and fast!
 
My immediate questions are:
1. I want to place an aerator in my tank. Should I wash my hands with soap? Should I use rubber gloves? What's the safest for the fish?
You can as long as you make sure they are rinsed and dried out properly.

2. The artificial plants are gathering brown spots. Should I remove them and clean them with water?
When you do a water change take out the plants and wash them in the water you've just taken out of the tank, then they can go straight back in. If you are getting brown spots this quickly the problem is likely to be the aquarium lights being left on for too long.

Should I get an algae eating fish?
I have a couple of mollies who are always picking around the algae which seems to keep it under control but I have very subdued lighting which is on for a limited time (around 5 hours per day)

3. Should I jump ahead & get real plants? I feel bad for the fish not to have real plants but the salespeople told me to wait.
Your tank needs to be fully cycled and have nitrates present for plants to thrive.

If I get real plants, is it necessary to change the light fixture in the tank? Right now I have a full spectrum bulb.
That should be fine. You just have to balance that the plants need the lights on, but more light creates algae. Personally I can't be bothered with trying to get this right so I have fake plants!

As others have said, 4 goldfish is way too much for that tank, they will likely be ok for a little while - perhaps 6 months but they will quickly out grow the tank and either become stunted or quite simply die!

What's your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) currently?
I fear with a tank that new and that many fish in all at once is going to go wrong very very quickly.


As said above you MUST get a test kit. It's absolutely essential. I've compared it before to having a fuel gauge in a car, you might be able to get on ok for a while without one but eventually it will all go wrong!
 
Thanks everyone

I've been getting so much great advice here. You all are a very helpful bunch.
I'm learning a lot & adjusting to the fact that I have to take my goldfish back to the store. Meanwhile, I'm doing the partial water changes & changing the filter.

Today I'm off to get a test kit & a new 20 gal tank which I'll start out right this time.

The most disturbing part of this experience is how careless the LFS sales people have been. And these are both mom & pop places. I've wanted to do the right thing from the start and asked many times for them to steer me right but they sent me home with 6 goldfish for my 10gal. I'm so attached and already named them. What's worse, I'm scared to bring them back. Will they put them back in their tanks or??? I shudder to think.

Maybe I should put an ad on Craigslist in case somebody wants to adopt them.

What I really want to do is keep two for my 20gal but I know that's a no no.
 
Hey, if by saying "change the filter" you mean "throw out the old filter pad and put in a new one"...don't! Just rinse/squeeze it out in water that you have removed during a water change. Much of whatever beneficial bacteria you have developed so far is on your filter pads. You need to keep as much as possible, and rinsing them out in old tank water will remove built up crud but not destroy much of the bacteria. If by saying "change the filter" you mean you are upgrading to a larger filter...go for it! But put your old filter media in the new filter, for the same reasons I just gave.

Are your fish fancies, and very small? I have never tried to return fish, but you have my sympathy. I might get some flack for saying this, but if they are fancies, and if they are small, and if you are getting a larger tank and a larger filter and a drop type test kit, you might be able to keep them. BUT, you will have to test daily, do large partial water changes (probably daily), and be ready to get a larger tank not long down the road. You will need to transfer your gravel to the new tank, (with minimal rinsing in old tank water) and reuse your old filter material in the new filter...or just run the old filter along with the new filter for a few weeks.

I say all this because it is quite possible that your LFS will not take the fish back, and if they do, the stress of of the move on top of the less-than-ideal water quality they are currently in may do them some harm. Maybe not. I helped another person on this forum get thru a cycle with 9 commons from a pond, but she had a larger tank to start with...and upgraded to a 55 gallon after a few months! Eventually they will go back to the pond, I think.
 
As far as live plants are concerned, I find them easier to keep rather than fake. I used to love fake plants because they were so colorful and I worried about my filter being clogged with all of the plant matter. Nope. Not the case at all. I turns out real plans are easier to keep clean, easier to maintain, and look nicer than the fake plants that fish can actually get hurt on.

What do I buy? There's this marine grass. It's about 1.50 for a chunk (which, when you first get it, seems small, but TRUST me, you stick that tank next to a window and that plant will grow in a week to fit the tank). You can trim the plant to your liking. Plants also give oxygen to the water, as well as mini-filter the water. I wouldn't rely on a plant to filter out the water. AND, my fish LOVE to play in the real plant verses the fake plant. The fake plant is hard and will hurt and damage the fish. This real plant is more natural and sometimes (depending on what fish you get) the fish will nibble at the plant as a little treat for him/herself. =)
 
Gold fish and live plants do not mix well due to the fact gold fish love to forage in substrate. They will also decimate plants that are tender.
 
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