SOS!

[BethanyBee]

Hey everyone! So...my son brought home a goldfish. I assumed it'd be easy to care for and fairly cheap, but it seems I've been proven quite wrong. The tank was too small, so I had to upgrade. I still think my filter is too small, but I got the largest size that would fit and that I could afford for the 29 gallon tank we now own. In it is some kind of pleco and a snail as well, with some decor and plant life. I still don't have a light for it though. And I think the pleco is sick, but in order to use the medication, the bottle says I'd need to remove the filter. But, since the goldfish has only been in the tank for two days, and the water is already cloudy... I just don't know what to do. I've never owned or cared for fish before. I'm not sure what to feed them, how often to change the water, really much of anything in this area. And much of my research seems to contradict each other. Help! I need all the advice I can get at this point. My little boy will be crushed if this fishy goes belly up.

 

[MissGurnus]

Hi again!

The first problem you have is a 29
Is still too small for a full grown gold fish and pleco's produce a lot of waste.... And depending on which kind you have could end up over a foot long. Secondly to properly keep fish a tank needs to be cycled. This means bacteria in the tank need to convert the ammonia the fish produce as waste into nitrite to nitrate which are in step less toxic to your fish. You do this by fish less cycling, which is dosing an empty tank with ammonia and keeping track of your levels with an API liquid test kit until your tank coverts 4 parts per million in a 24h period OR by fish IN cycling adding small fish and doing daily water changes until the same goal is reached.

Water changes should be around 50% a week ish but you'll want to check your levels and see what works best for tank

Id get different fish if it were me, the pleco will produce a lot of waste which will probably stall your cycle. The gold fish could stay for now...... But eventually he'll have to go. It might be better to decide on something you'll be able to keep comfortably through its whole life


Sini's my personal bucket lugger..er, I mean husband

 

[MissGurnus]

There should be links that would be really helpful to you in the freshwater thread, should be a link thats titled "setting up an aquarium"


Sini's my personal bucket lugger..er, I mean husband

 

[BethanyBee]

Hi! Thank you for your advice! The goldfish is a fantail, and right now is only about an inch long. How soon should I get a larger tank? I can't really afford a new one just yet. If I get rid of the pleco, should I get a different sucker fish, or no? Any tips on feeding?

 

[MissGurnus]

Actually my husband just said by its self a fan tail should be fine in a 29. So just return the pleco to a store. Gold fish should take well to most flake food. Especially since it seems your tank is not cycled, feed your fish VERY LITTLE. If you think you're starving him you're probably doing it right. Feeding fish less will reduce the waste they produce helping you to cycle the tank and save the fish


Sini's my personal bucket lugger..er, I mean husband

 

[MissGurnus]

What your priorities should be is purchasing an API test kit, they are like $40 but should last you a while. You should check your water daily along with 50% water changes and don't forget water conditioner unless you have a well thats not chlorinated


Sini's my personal bucket lugger..er, I mean husband

 

[BethanyBee]

Okay, I can do that. How long does it take for the tank to cycle? Do I do the water changes weekly, or daily? And I do have a test kit, it was actually given to me. But it didn't come with a guide to what the levels should be. Fishy has only been in the tank for one day, and the water is crazy cloudy, I can hardly see through it.

 

[sinibotia]

Some kinds of goldfish will outgrow a 29 but a fantail should be ok.

+1 to everything misgurnus said.

The thing about suckerfish is that all of them produce a TON of waste... and many fishkeepers find it easier to clean up all the algae than all the waste In a 29 gallon the fantail should be by itself, it's prettymuch the limit of what a 29 gallon can handle for space and bioload.

Just to give you an idea of what I mean....

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...uire-big-tanks-visual-perspective-265871.html

 

[sinibotia]

Okay, I can do that. How long does it take for the tank to cycle? Do I do the water changes weekly, or daily? And I do have a test kit, it was actually given to me. But it didn't come with a guide to what the levels should be. Fishy has only been in the tank for one day, and the water is crazy cloudy, I can hardly see through it.

Usually takes around 4 weeks for a tank to cycle. Sometimes it takes 3, sometimes it takes 6.

For typical maintenance you'll want to do weekly water changes of around 50%. With a messy goldfish you may need to do larger changes. However, when you are cycling a tank, toxic wastes build up that may need to be removed much more often (sometimes daily). Once the tank is cycled the toxic wastes are converted to much less toxic waste that only needs to be removed weekly to prevent it building up to toxic levels.

What kind of test kit is it? Not all kits are created equal. Specifically, test strips are about as accurate as tasting the water

A healthy goldfish tank should have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and less than 40 nitrate. While your tank is cycling you don't want to let ammonia or nitrite rise above .5ppm, you can accomplish this with appropriate sized water changes.

Cloudy water is a sign of a bacterial bloom. It's normal for a cycling tank.

 

[BethanyBee]

Okay thanks! I really appreciate all the helpful advice. Should I wait to do water changes until the tank cycles? Or more often due to the extreme cloudiness?

 

[sinibotia]

Okay thanks! I really appreciate all the helpful advice. Should I wait to do water changes until the tank cycles? Or more often due to the extreme cloudiness?

Water changes more often for sure. Your goal right now is to keep the ammonia levels from getting toxic without removing it completely. It's a catch-22; the bacteria need ammonia to eat and grow, but the ammonia can kill the goldfish. Try to keep it between .25 and 1ppm- if it's 1ppm or more when you test the water, do a big water change to bring it down to around .25-.5

Once your tank cycles you can do a routine 50% per week.

 

[MissGurnus]

Explain everything to your son! Don't really dumb it down, learn it together, it will be a great experience for you both, its a great learning tool and bonding experience


Sini's my personal bucket lugger..er, I mean husband

 

[BethanyBee]

Haha, my son is in preschool. So we do as much with it together as possible, but... I'll be doing - and remembering - pretty much everything myself. Lol.

 

[MissGurnus]

I get that lol keep us posted! Always glad to help!


Sini's my personal bucket lugger..er, I mean husband

 

[Finntastic]

Haha, my son is in preschool. So we do as much with it together as possible, but... I'll be doing - and remembering - pretty much everything myself. Lol.

Teach your son, he'd probably be facinated while he's still young and who knows in a few years you might have a little fish keeper on your hands. Good luck

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G800A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[BethanyBee]

I plan to. Thank you!

 

[spangler2k3]

if money is tight, i believe there is someone selling an API master kit in the classified section.. "Tropical Aquarist" i believe someone correct me if im wrong.. But i'll do just about anything to save money

trust these people bethany.. they are helping me tremendously to the point where i can safely say i can help a beginner cycle a tank to get started.

Good luck

 

[coralbandit]

ALL hard goods are cheaper online even with shipping.
Many times there will be free shipping...
API Freshwater Master Test Kit | eBay
Quick search of 'api mater kit on ebay' yielded^.
Your fish is still small so I would not worry so much now but rather enjoy and learn as you go.
You could enjoy years before a larger tank is needed.
Goldfish live longer then most fish if properly cared for.

A 29g is a decent sized tank to start with...
I agree with not having the pleco if it is a common as it will grow larger,faster then the goldfish..
Welcome to AA.

 

[Finntastic]

ALL hard goods are cheaper online even with shipping.
Many times there will be free shipping...
API Freshwater Master Test Kit | eBay
Quick search of 'api mater kit on ebay' yielded^.
Your fish is still small so I would not worry so much now but rather enjoy and learn as you go.
You could enjoy years before a larger tank is needed.
Goldfish live longer then most fish if properly cared for.

A 29g is a decent sized tank to start with...
I agree with not having the pleco if it is a common as it will grow larger,faster then the goldfish..
Welcome to AA.

I find it a little sad when people say goldies only live a few days - weeks when really they are treating them so badly that it's all they can do to survive. I mean they can live 20+ years in the right environment

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G800A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[crtc_01]

My son won a gold fish at the fair and we put it in a 5 gallon tank. That was almost two years ago and the gold fish is huge. We also have black gold fish in the tank as well that is a year old. My daughter has a 5 gallon tank with two small gold fish as well. One was won at the fair and one was purchased roughly 8 months ago. Both are in great shape and getting big. Both tanks are fed at the same time each nigh with flakes and the fish will eat out of your hand. Both tanks are kits purchased from a local store. Small charcoal filter we change once a month. In the summer I do partial water changes every month and have never tested the parameters. In the winter the water evaporates really quick we we are constantly adding water. Goldfish are hardy and should be able thrive. I know eventually I will have to move the fish to a larger tank. I am currently cycling a 55 gallon for a community tank and will seed a smaller, maybe 20 gallon for the goldfish at some point.