Rescued Goldfish, and questions

[monsteridea]

Alrighty, I couldn't help myself.

I went to a country fair and saw a bunch of people carrying around common goldfish in bags. I told my boyfriend, okay... I'm going to give at least ONE of these little guys a chance to live in a big tank.

So I ended up wasting 3 dollars on the game before just asking if I could pay for one. $4 later, she bags me one and hands it to me. I'm satisfied until I hear someone next to me say "I don't like this one, it's ugly! I want an orange one!" I look at them :| Seriously? He was just bagged right? We can trade.

So, this fish is not ugly. I should have called that girl ugly instead! LOL
He's this light gold with black tips on his fins. Very active and does a great job with cleaning tank!

But I do want to ask something. When I first got him he had darker black on his fins, and a black stripe on his head, and a little black mustache, VERY cute. I have read that goldfish will almost always lose some of them pigmentation as they get older, but I've only had him for less than a month.

So can they lose their pigmentation in that short of span? Or is it possible for fish to recover from ammonia burns? Just really curious. I know he's been eating a lot of plant material for fiber, and food with a good amount of protein. Could diet be related?

I've read a lot about how to care for goldfish, but I've never successfully kept one (had them in bowls when I was a kid). I want to make sure he sticks around for a while, or at least has the chance to. He's pretty cute.

Any insight would be lovely

 

[jlk]

Hi! Ok, where is he now (size tank)? Is it cycled or are you cycling with him? What type of water change schedule do you have? How do your parameters look?

Now, in respect to the black- is it fading? If it is and you have only had him a month, then it's ammonia burns that are healing. Black coloring in goldfish rarely is a static color unless specifically bred- black will slowly transform over months or years, not weeks. Ammonia burns in fair fish are almost to be expected from being kept in bags or cups.

Let's get a few basics on your present setup & we can go from there! If you have specific questions, just ask!

 

[Samzter]

I think this persons tanks is 40-45 gallons. I don't know if that's big enough for a common though.

 

[monsteridea]

Hi! Ok, where is he now (size tank)? Is it cycled or are you cycling with him? What type of water change schedule do you have? How do your parameters look?

Now, in respect to the black- is it fading? If it is and you have only had him a month, then it's ammonia burns that are healing. Black coloring in goldfish rarely is a static color unless specifically bred- black will slowly transform over months or years, not weeks. Ammonia burns in fair fish are almost to be expected from being kept in bags or cups.

Let's get a few basics on your present setup & we can go from there! If you have specific questions, just ask!

Currently, he's in a 40 Gal with older fish (senior citizens that I've "adopted" from my grandfather). Eventually he'll most likely be the only one in there, and I'm fully aware of that. The black IS fading, it's almost completely disappeared on his head. If they were ammonia burns, then I'm happy it's gone. Makes me happy that me saving him helped him lol!

The tank is Cycled, and I haven't had the heater on, and when it is on it remains around 72-78 degrees. I have a warm side and a cool side (temperature strips on both ends of the tank). I do water changes every week to 2 weeks if I can help it, normally about 30% and I siphon the gravel at the same time. I use Prime as a conditioner, and check ammonia and nitrate levels constantly. I've upped my concern about them since adding him, but everything has been normal. Probably because I did pure ammonia cycling. Ph is usually neutral at 7, and everything else tests to a normal or safe range when I test it. Hard water, 0 ammonia, etc. Anything else?

He's currently only about 4 inches, I think he has grown slightly. At the fair they had them all in a cooler. The bags they gave were better than what I've seen in the past; they had instructions on how to set up a permanent home for the fish, including conditioning and water changes (though I don't feel it was particularly specific), then it said to visit your local pet store for further instructions on types of tanks and such. Which I thought was a huge step up from "back in the day" fairs. I do know that the closest pet store from that fair is a PetSmart that is normally on top for customer service and information, so I hope that the other fish got a chance too.

 

[jlk]

Thanks! Are the other fish goldfish as well? I would suggest increasing your water changes to atleast 50% weekly or biweekly. Two 30% water changes a month really isnt sufficient for any fish, especially with goldfish. Just a suggestion, but you may want to consider moving him to a happy pond in the spring (or building your own). If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask!!

 

[monsteridea]

Thanks! Are the other fish goldfish as well? I would suggest increasing your water changes to atleast 50% weekly or biweekly. Two 30% water changes a month really isnt sufficient for any fish, especially with goldfish. Just a suggestion, but you may want to consider moving him to a happy pond in the spring (or building your own). If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask!!

The other fish are not goldfish. I know it's not recommended, but they seem to be getting along so far. And I'm constantly moderating everything.

Thanks for the help. I'll keep all that in mind.