Help! save the goldfish again!

[pixieil]

I just bought a test kit.OMG!my nitrates are at 200,my nitrites are at.5, my hardness registers300, my alkalinity registers lesss than 40and my ph looks like lesss than 6.8., and the doggone kit doesnt have a test for ammonia!Ive been doing 1/3 water changes every other day just on general principals and that water tests 0nitrate,0nitrite,0hardness, and under 40 alkalinity with a ph of 6.8
WHAT DO I DO??

 

[Fluff]

Keep up with the water changes or perhaps start doing 50% every other day. What type of test kit did you get? Nitrates at 200 seems extreme. :|

 

[Rosemary]

How big is your tank and how many goldfish do you have in there? Any tankmates?

 

[pixieil]

It s a 2.5 gal (long explaination of it's history under "save the goldfish" in "getting started". Only one fish....now. There were 3 originally. when the other 2 died i set out to try to save the last one. I had no idea about ANYTHING to do with fish. still dont have much..

 

[Rosemary]

2.5 gal is much too small for a goldfish--you need a 10 or 20 (depending on who you ask).

Goldfish Paradise is another helpful site specializing in goldfish.

 

[krap101]

well... depends on how big the goldfish is. if your planning on keeping the golfish in a tank if suggest u get a 5+ but ull have to get a 10+ eventually. if its like
|------------------| that size of smaller you'll be okay for awhile i think but i highly doubt a goldfish... or just dont feed like any. just dont feed as often either i think.

but personally i think you should get a pond indoor/outdoor or something

 

[pixieil]

yeah. Im trying to set up a 10 gl. but the water situationpanicked me. now I have another Q. the guy at Petsmart (who claims to be an expert, cause i asked) says Goldfish should get pelleted food , cause gulping air when they try to get food that floats on the surface gives them bloat. My goldfish book said they get most of their air from the surface. whats up?

 

[Essayons89]

Goldfish, like all other fish, should be fed a varied diet. They are omnivores but their diet shouldn't be too rich in protein. A quality flake and a pellet can be used a staple with some frozen foods like brine shrimp mixed in a couple of times a week to vary the diet. Pieces of shrimp and earthworm can also be fed as a treat.

About the air-gulping. Sometimes, when a fish feeds from the surface they can suck in air with the foods. This is known as air-gulping. When this happens a fish will exhibit some sporadic floating problems and may only swim normally for a short time. This can be avoided by holding the food beneath the surface so that it sinks and has to be eaten in mid-water.

Bryan

 

[Fluff]

Some gulping can't be avoided. If you have fish like mine, they are at the surface gulping before you get the food can open. :?

 

[Essayons89]

Some gulping can't be avoided. If you have fish like mine, they are at the surface gulping before you get the food can open.

LOL, I hear that. I have a tank full of Paralabidichromis sp. "rock kribensis" that gulp rather greedily at the surface before the food even hits the water. If they could jump into the can to eat I'm sure that they would. I also have a couple of wild discus that are just as bad as they are.

Bryan