adding new goldfish?

[fishymcfishfish]

Hi there, I was wondering if you could offer some advice.


I set up a tank about two months ago, and several days later I bought two goldfish. They were two different types of goldfish - one was a creamy pale silverywhite colour with an orange colour on the top of the head, and the other was smaller, narrower, and a darker orange colour, with a large tail.

I had some issues with cloudy water, which I think was due to overfeeding, so I do regular partial water changes, and have a gravel cleaner.

I noticed that the smaller fish of the two didn't seem to grow like the other goldfish, and then a couple of days ago, the smaller fish unfortunately died The other fish seems totally fine - its eating, is active and looks healthy. What I'd like to know is, is it okay to add another goldfish friend to the tank? I was told that if I add a fish to the tank, they may fight each other - is this true? Its just that my little goldfish guy is alone in his tank, I don't want him to feel lonely

Any advice/suggestions would be really great, thanks

 

[Fishguy2727]

First you need to figure out why the one died.

What size tank?
What filter?
What food?
What are the concentrations of: ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?
What is the pH?

 

[BigJim]

Welcome to AA!

What size tank?

- Unfortunately, most people are under the delusion that goldfish can be kept in a bowl or a small tank. You need at least 30g for a round-bodied goldfish and more for other types.

What filter?

What are the concentrations of: ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

- If you don't know these, get your water tested and get a liquid reagent test kit. Skip the strips. They're inaccurate at best.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

I was told that if I add a fish to the tank, they may fight each other - is this true?

Don't mix straight tail fish with fancy tail fish. Mostly because the straight tailers can swim better and can tend to bully the fancies. But goldfish aren't particularly aggressive compared to many fish.

Its just that my little goldfish guy is alone in his tank, I don't want him to feel lonely

Goldfish are mostly fine on their own. You first need to get the conditions right for the fish you have, before moving onto getting another one. Which means first answering the questions of my learned friends above.