Cycling with Goldfish? AGH!

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GoldfishNewbie said:
Changed it, but is it dangerous to the fish? or do I kind of want a bacterial bloom?
Click to expand...

If you keep it under control, it won't hurt but it's not something you want around. As I understand it, it's bacteria with nowhere to live. Couple 3 days of PWC's and it should be gone.

Have you tested your water yet?

Sent from my Epic 4G
 
A bacterial bloom is an indication of high ammonia levels. The bacteria are not harmful, but the ammonia is, so a water change (daily for now) is in order. <I would suggest doing daily pwc's until you get a test kit.>

Regarding fish size - well, you cannot count on world record size (eg 10" for a fancy), but 4-6" for fancies are average, and 12" for a common is average (up to 18" in ponds). Goldfish never stop growing, they just slow down ... so Mr. Limpet, your 4 year old moor can get bigger yet!
 
thanks so much, I think as long as it's cloudy i'll be doing 40-50% water changes untill the actual test kits come. oh I feel terrible now:( Oh well, now I know... and I havent seen my goldfish so happy in a long time :D
I'm just hoping the kits come in SOON! do you know of any relatively inexpensive ones that I could use for just a short time? like a different brand name that is still better than the test strips?
 
Also I know this sounds stupid since I think I know the answer, but would my two commons who are no bigger than 3 inches (i think two actually) be able to handle the 50 gallon for like a year, I mean I WILL get rid of them if its an absolute necessity, it's just I love them so much and they help me deal with my depression and i'd just hate to lose them :( I'm thinking since i'm 18 that I'll be moving out in a year or so and then could get a bigger tank, my parents house just can't handle the weight of big tanks (we live in a super old trailer and right now I have the 3 tanks in my room, which is an add on and we weren't even sure the floor was strong enough for my newest addition (50 gal tank) and my parents dont want the fish around them, since they think i'll forget to care for them (I know I wouldnt)... but anyways ya, could they handle a year in the 50 gal until I can find a more permanent home for the fishies and me? I KNOW you want me to get rid of my 2 commons and keep the fancy fish, but somehow I just feel more connected to the other two =[
 
I did use the test strips and this is what it says (approx I guess)
NitrAte between 10-20
NitrIte 0... (the next was .5 but it is definately the shade of the 0)
Total Hardness between hard and very hard (the scale jumps from hard being 150 to very hard 300)
Total Chlorine 0
Total Alkalinity is between 180-300...?( Not sure if thats bad... or what it really means)
and PH around 7.8
I just realized it doesnt even test ammonia (unless thats the alkalinity...)
so i REALLY need to find a way to get the test kits... but for now 50% water changes ok? it should really only be a few days...
also, if you want to explain what the levels for everything else should be that would be greatly appreciated :D
 
For a year, they'll be fine. Maybe even a couple years.

One thing to think about is the weight of your tanks. The 50 gal weights in at close to 500 lbs. Might want to have someone gets some jacks underneath it. Might be OK, but better safe than sorry.

Sent from my Epic 4G
 
ya that was one problem, I got my dad to make me a super strong stand out of 2 by 4's and stuff, it's doing fine for now but I think with any bigger tank I would be screwed here haha
but awesome, thanks so much :D
 
GoldfishNewbie said:
I did use the test strips and this is what it says (approx I guess)
NitrAte between 10-20
NitrIte 0... (the next was .5 but it is definately the shade of the 0)
Total Hardness between hard and very hard (the scale jumps from hard being 150 to very hard 300)
Total Chlorine 0
Total Alkalinity is between 180-300...?( Not sure if thats bad... or what it really means)
and PH around 7.8
I just realized it doesnt even test ammonia (unless thats the alkalinity...)
so i REALLY need to find a way to get the test kits... but for now 50% water changes ok? it should really only be a few days...
also, if you want to explain what the levels for everything else should be that would be greatly appreciated :D
Click to expand...

NitrIte and nitrAtes look good, but hard to say without ammonia (for strips, it's a separate test), but it's probably higher than you want, so yes keep up 25 - 50% PWC's. Looks like you're close. ph is fine as fish adapt to it.

One thing to keep in mind too, is to not over feed. Twice a day at most, once is OK. And if you miss a day every now and then it won't hurt them. The uneaten food and waste decay and increase ammonia.

As for the weight, it's more about what the floor can take that I was referring to.

Sent from my Epic 4G
 
I did read about their food things, and make sure they eat everything or I take it out. I've now switched to pellets since it's easier to see what/how much is being eaten. I feed them the peas and snacks sometimes too, as well as skip a day every once in a while
but thank you, I'll at least try and buy the ammonia test strips while I wait for everything else to ccome in :)
 
also, My ryukin and oranda are still in the 20 gallon for now at least until it's cycled, but for the past 2 weeks my ryukin has been losing his scales. everything about him other than that seems fine, he seems healthy and happy, and the water is good and cleaned weekly etc... any reason why he's losing them? I don't know if I should keep him separate from the others incase its some sort of disease thing, of if he's actually fine. theres no decorations he could lose his scales on, only a bowl type thing he likes to swim around in (It's just like a bucket inside of the tank)
 
I feel like I'm talking to myself lol but anyways I created a second thread about my ryuking. Now I'm wondering in my 50gal tank, I used my last test strip today to check the water and somehow it says the ph is between 6.2-6.8... how did that randomly happen? could it just be the test strip mistake, because every other time I tested it was more around 7.8... should I continue with 50% water changes daily?
 
Until your tanks with fish are fully cycled, you need to do daily PWC's almost, if not everyday. Don't worry about the pH with those tests strips. No luck on the liquid kit?
 
GoldfishNewbie said:
Just ordered it today, prob about a week before it comes. should I keep doing 50% or is 25% ok? the cloudiness is gone
Click to expand...

Cloudiness aside, you're still cycling and the excess ammo, n02 & (somewhat the) n03 are what you're doing the PWC's for. Until you know exactly what your reading are, I'd keep up the water changes.
 
My test kit came in today! =D It felt like Christmas as I opened the box, anyways I did a 50% water change earlier and then tested my water... Here's where I'm at
PH:7.4
Ammonia:0.25
Nitrite: between 2-5
Nitrate:20
The nitrite is obviously super high, but its after I did a water change, could it just be that the water hadn't fully spread or something? I'm still doing the 50% water changes daily.Everyone seems happy in there, but I'm worried about that. and is the ammonia ok for now? or should I do another 50% change tonight?
 
GoldfishNewbie said:
My test kit came in today! =D It felt like Christmas as I opened the box, anyways I did a 50% water change earlier and then tested my water... Here's where I'm at
PH:7.4
Ammonia:0.25
Nitrite: between 2-5
Nitrate:20
The nitrite is obviously super high, but its after I did a water change, could it just be that the water hadn't fully spread or something? I'm still doing the 50% water changes daily.Everyone seems happy in there, but I'm worried about that. and is the ammonia ok for now? or should I do another 50% change tonight?
Click to expand...

Merry XMass!

IMO you should keep up with the daily PWC till the nitrIte (no2) is at 0. Ammo is fine at that level but by trying to keep your no2 down, you'll keep your ammo in check. Having nitrAtes is fine as long as they stay below 40ppm (30 is better).

IME, it's best to wait an hour or 2 after a PWC before testing.

You're doing a great job and happy fish is what it's all about IMHO :).

Sent from my Epic 4G using Aquarium Advice App
 
Thanks! :D It took about a week for the water to clear up from the cloudiness, but it's all crystal clear now :D And I'll definately keep doing the daily water changes.
Once my Nitrites get to 0, should I start doing the water changes every second day or something, just to make sure all the good bacteria can keep up?
 
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