Are my Goldfish Healthy?

[Fishkeeper26]

Hi I was just wondering if my goldfish are healthy, I just upgraded their tank so I wanted to make sure everythings okay

 

[Fishkeeper26]

*goldfish

 

[Fishkeeper26]

More pics

 

[glassbird]

Well, they sure are pretty!

They do not have any obvious issues that I can see, but if you upgraded their tank there are some potential health issues looming on the horizon that, hopefully, you already know about. What size tank were they in before, and what size tank are they in now? And did you move over their old gravel and filter with minimal cleaning, or did you start with new stuff? (Basically, I am asking if this new tank is correctly cycled....)

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Im using two marineland bio wheel 100s, one of which was on the previous tank. I used gravel from the old tank, and some new tank. So I think I should be good as far as cycling since the previous tank was establish for a few months. They used to be in a 10 now there in a 20

 

[Fishguy2727]

They need a larger tank. The best guide for goldfish is 20 gallons for one and an additional 10 gallons for every additional goldfish. I see at least two, so they should be in at least a 30 gallon tank.

What is the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate concentrations?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

They need a larger tank. The best guide for goldfish is 20 gallons for one and an additional 10 gallons for every additional goldfish. I see at least two, so they should be in at least a 30 gallon tank.

What is the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate concentrations?

+1

They look pretty good to me, but knowing the water quality is important. Also how do you test you water (liquid or strips)?

How long were they in the 10g? Can you up grade to a bigger tank (30-40g)?

There's a common misconception that goldfish will only get as big as the tank they're in and what will really happens (as I understand it) is their internal organs will continue to grow and cause problems later on in life, it's called stunting.

Having extra filtration is a good idea for goldies since they have a huge bio-load and keeping up with PWC will ensure they stay healthy.

 

[BeavisMom62]

I agree. They do definitely need a bigger tank. Even if they are babies now, they can get to 8" long or longer and with proper care can live 10-20 years. In addition to being relatively large fish, they are also messy, so the more water you have, the more room for error. So make sure you stay on top of your water testing and weekly pwc's. And as Mr Limpit said, double filtration is necessary. They are beautiful fish. Goldies are my favorite.

 

[Fishkeeper26]

There are only two goldfish. Test twice a week with API master, ammonia stays at 0- water quality is fine

 

[Fishkeeper26]

And they were in a 10g but it took me forever to convince my parents to let me upgrade since I'm only in high school. But I am aware of the fish, I don't mean to sound rude but I'm not a a beginner. I have been keeping fish for over a year, and I do like receiving help( which is why I joined this forum). But I am doing the best I can, and not having my own house is something I can't control yet

 

[BeavisMom62]

LOL! I still consider myself a beginner! I've been keeping fish for three years and have quite a few tanks (and had quite a few others that I have since either broken down or consolidated). But I'll never stop learning.

 

[Fishkeeper26]

I mean yeah I'm a beginner, but I'm not clueless (I know not to put goldfish in a bowl). But im doing the best I can, I mean I can't control if my parents won't let me get another tank when I just upgraded literally last week.

 

[jonnythan]

You're doing fine. I echo the suggestions that a bigger tank would be ideal but they're fine for now. As they get bigger see if you can convince them to get a 29 or 30 gallon tank. 20 -> 29 is a nice upgrade, and has the same footprint so you can use the same stand. Keep the same filters and lights and everything.

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Ok thanks!!!! Yeah I'll prob do that and of summer maybe or for Christmas

 

[jsoong]

Bigger tank is always better! But really, a 20 will be fine for now, you just have to keep up with extra water changes. When you can no longer manage water quality with weekly pwc's, it is time to trade up. <Some people do keep goldfish is smaller than ideal setup, but to keep the fish healthy, they have to do daily pwc .... that is too much work for me!>

BTW - I would try to trade up to a 40 or 50 breeder .... You actually want to have goldfish tank with bigger footprint so there is more surface area for gas exchange, and the shallower breeder tanks are ideal. I don't think it is worthwhile trading up to a deeper tank (like the 29), you are not getting much benefit.

As for if the fish are healthy - nothing obvious on the pic, but behavior is much better indication than static pics. healthy goldfish should:
1. Hold their fins out, with dorsals mostly erect.
2. Be always active unless sleeping. Goldies should spend most of their waking hours booking (nosing around the gravel looking for food).
3. Eat like a pig, all the time!
4. Have no visible poop. <No long strings of poop hanging out the backside, not a lot of poop visible on the gravel ... healthy goldfish poop breaks down quite quickly.>
5. Have bright eyes & clear slime coat.
6. Have no obvious buoyancy problems. Fish should not be struggling (or expend much effort) to stay either at the surface or at the bottom.

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Thanks!! I was looking at a 35g breeder last night. And they meet all the things listed above

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Thanks! I was looking at a 35g breeder last night I think. They do meet all the things listed above!

 

[Fishguy2727]

What is the nitrate concentration?

I have never found any evidence that the internal organs keep growing if the body stops. This doesn't make sense to me and I don't know where this idea originated. Growth in general can be effected in many ways and evidence suggests that water quality (not tank size itself) causes stunting (of the whole body, not just the body wall). Even in a tank generally considered physically large enough, if the water quality is not maintained the fish will still be stunted. Vice versa fish can grow to be physically too large for their current tank if water quality is maintained.

Internal organs (all organs) will stop growing when they reach physical barriers unless their is disease present (like cancer). Internal organs can press against eachother to keep growing a little but this is usually limited to one organ (like an enlarged liver) not all of them. If the idea that stunted fish were so because the body wall stopped growing and the internal organs did not then stunted fish would have greatly enlarged abdomens, which is not the case.

Mr. Limpet, this is in no way an attack on you, it is just something I have heard repeatedly before that doesn't make sense to me so I wanted to elaborate on it a little.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

You're absolutely correct that actual evidence is lacking Fishguy, but it's a theory I've found many times in my research and the necropsy seemed to be indicative of the possibility. The other side of that coin is that there's no actual evidence refuting it.

Stunting And Internal Organs - Kokos Goldfish Forum

 

[Fishkeeper26]

I did a pwc this morning, so any actual nitrate testing would probably inaccurate. But I tested now and it was 0ppm after a 30% water change roughly 5 hours ago