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chenyi

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Messages
39
I've got 2 sons - 4 years and 5 months. I thought a fish tank would be fun and educational for them. My wife has been against the added life complication, but somebody gave me a tank for free and I just brought it home one day, so now we have a 10 gallon fish tank. I have no idea what I'm doing with it. I didn't have a place for it, so I filled it up with water and stuck it out on the deck to cycle for awhile and let the chlorine out or whatever. I knew better than to put fish in fresh tap water. After a week or so, my wife warms up to the idea and finds a spot in the dining room and announces we are going to go buy some fish. So we go and get a couple of goldfish and some fish food. The clerk said we also needed a heater and some biological additive, so we picked that up too. The red capped one did okay. The fantail wasn't really eating and my son noted that it only had 1 mouth. He thought the gills were extra mouths and fish are supposed to have 3 mouths. That was yesterday. This morning, we wake up and the fantail is dead, but because it was stuck to the pump inlet, it still sort of looked alive. So I spent the day today reading all about fish and aquarium and going to stores. Ammonia tested high. I think my used tank was not that clean and I started off with bad water. So I changed the water a few times and added more bacteria and tap water conditioner and electrolytes and an air pump. Probably not the best way to do it, but I had to get the ammonia level down so I could get another fantail in there before my son comes home from school. I also took out the 78 degree heater, because that seems pointless based on what I've read. If anything, it will just reduce the amount of oxygen in the water. And that's about where I'm at with my new aquarium hobby. :hide:
 
Hi! Sorry for the tough learning curve. Yeah, goldfish don't need a heater. The high ammonia is created by the fish; goldfish produce a LOT of ammonia and your tank has not gone through the nitrogen cycle yet. Your tank is also too small for goldfish, unfortunately. There are a lot of myths surrounding goldfish but two fancy goldies really need say a 50 gallon. Maybe exchange for a single betta? A 10 gallon would be perfect for that.
Regardless, you'll need to read up on the nitrogen cycle. A good place to start is here http://www.aquariumadvice.com/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium/
You should change out 50% or more of the water daily to keep the fish alive in the meantime.
Sorry for the tough start and good luck!
 
Great info. Thanks so much! I don't mind a learning curve. That's half the fun. I am kind of aggravated by people like the Petco guy acting like he knows what he's talking about and selling me all the wrong stuff and now I'm stuck with an unfixable situation. :nono:

Question: I got a chemistry kit with the aquarium. It's got a bunch of little bottles of chemicals and test tubes for testing pH and ammonia and stuff. It's 8 or 9 years old. Is that stuff still good? What is the difference between that and the paper strip type tests. They seem to do the same thing, but the paper strips are a lot less messy.
 
The old kit probably isn't good anymore. Many here recommend the API Master Test kit (test tubes). This is what I use, and is supposed to be the most accurate. You also probably won't have to buy more until it expires. Strips are okay but can be innacurate sometimes.
 
Welcome to AA

A api freshwater master test kit is highly recommended, only sure way to know what's going on in your fishtank.
 
I checked a few stores and it turns out nobody sells the test tube style testing kits. I wanted to get something quick, so I wound up with the strips anyway. I see your point. They are a lot harder to read. It's telling me that my nitrate is high, but my nitrite is not. Huh? I thought nitrite was supposed to go up first.

The other weird thing is there is no detectable chlorine in the tap water. My town does use chlorine in the water, but maybe the level is just not that high. Maybe I don't need to dechlorinate.
 
I would order the kit online, probably the most important tool for fishkeeper after the tank. They last a long time after cycling/settng up your tank only true way to know what's happening in your tank. The strips don't show ammonia which is the first step in the nitrogen cycle, ammonia is also the most deadly form of nitrogen,..... if you don't know you have it, [emoji88] things get ugly.
 
Well, I'm on my third fantail now.

I don't know why these fish are dying so fast. I'm testing the water chemistry every day. It seems fine. I'm changing the water daily. I'm carefully matching the water temperature when I add water. I don't think they have really had time to develop disease. I dunno.

I probably am feeding them too much, but they die before I can even get an idea of how much to feed them.
 
Did you wash that tank with soap? Soap isn't good for the fish. Or not wash it at all? That tank could have had sick fish in it. Just a thought.
 
Fish still aren't doing well. The fantail (number 3) was stuck to the pump inlet pipe and I thought he was dead. I helped him off and he floated on his side at the top of the water and still looked dead. But then the other fish nudged him and he suddenly swam around a little bit before floating back up to the surface. I want to turn off the pump so he doesn't get stuck to it again. But then they won't have oxygen. So, I dunno. I think he's a lost cause.

The red cap has survived since day one, but now he is just kind of floating at an angle with his nose up and a 3 inch long poop hanging off of him. I don't know if either of them will make it through the night.
 
Do you have a filter? Or just an air pump? Have you tested the water recently?
 
I have a little pump that draws water up into a little container where it goes through a filter and falls down a little waterfall back into the tank. Supposedly, that should be enough to aerate the tank, so I do not have the air pump hook up at the moment. The air pump is kind of obnoxiously loud.

I've been testing at least once or twice a day. The ammonia tube turns a little bit green. It was at 0.5 last time I checked. It has gone as high as 1. Nothing else is even registering. I'm changing 50% of the water every day. That seems like a lot, but maybe with 2 goldfish, it just still isn't enough to keep the ammonia down.
 
Okay. Your ammonia is high enough to kill fish. I recommend getting Prime (should be available at any fish store) and triple dosing the amount needed for your whole tank size every day. This will temporarily detoxify ammonia so it is not as dangerous.
I'm not quite sure what filter you are describing or if it is enough filtration.
 
At this point I'd take the goldfish back since they're going to overstock that tank, do a fishless cycle and then get fish that can be kept in a tank that size. You can even tell the petco guy off for selling you goldfish for that size tank, and for selling you a heater for goldfish....

There are plenty of neat fish that will be happy in that size tank but goldfish are not one of them. Save them and yourself the stress and hassle of trying to keep them alive through this process and take them back.
 
So I've had goldfish in small tanks for several years. People here are right...they'll eventually outgrow a 10 gallon, although it'll take a while. My kids absolutely love their tanks, which are in their rooms. We only change the water every few weeks, and do a complete wash-out maybe once or twice a year. But for a long time, we had no luck at all. The goldfish died pretty quickly, and I couldn't figure out why. Here are a few things we do now. Get a good filter you can hang on the back, one with a carbon filter. They aren't too expensive, but really help keep the ammonia in check. Get a small air pump and a good airstone. We put the air pump on a timer, turning it off at night. This gives the fish a little break from the current, and also makes things a little quieter. Make sure you're feeding goldfish food. Goldfish need a fair amount of vegetable content in their food, so the wrong food can cause them problems. They're also inefficient digesters, which is why their waste causes a lot of ammonia.

Also, think about changing the type of goldfish. The fancier ones are more delicate. The 'comet' ones are really inexpensive, and a lot of places sell them as feeders. Young kids won't really care about how fancy a goldfish is. Comets are tough and swim around a lot. You also don't have to worry about fighting with goldfish. I also include a pair of really small cory catfish. They're cute and help pick up leftover food on the bottom.

You may also have municipal water that the fish just don't do well in. This isn't too likely, but if you just have no luck, you could try buying some spring water that is sold in stores. (Don't get distilled water...it'll kill your fish.) And finally, do you have rocks in the bottom of your tank? I think it's helpful to use gravel, as it provides a good place for the beneficial bacteria to grow. But I have had gravel that seemed to be toxic...maybe it was a bad batch. If you buy a couple bags, rinse them out and give it a try. My kids loved picking out some of the crazy colors that are available. They really made the tanks a nice addition to their rooms.

In the end, having your kids love aquariums and fish is a terrific thing. They can learn so much, while having some pride in taking care of something. And as a parent, you can adjust their level of responsibility of care to their ability and age. We now have a 240 gallon cichlid tank that I built into our basement wall. My kids are now teenagers and have a full understanding of nitrogen, nitrates, ammonia and ph, along with a whole variety of other aquarium and fish knowledge. It's a terrific experience...good luck and have fun!













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At this point I'd take the goldfish back since they're going to overstock that tank, do a fishless cycle and then get fish that can be kept in a tank that size. You can even tell the petco guy off for selling you goldfish for that size tank, and for selling you a heater for goldfish....

There are plenty of neat fish that will be happy in that size tank but goldfish are not one of them. Save them and yourself the stress and hassle of trying to keep them alive through this process and take them back.
Goldfish belong in a pond.
100% agree with this!
 
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