Fancy goldfish help.

[ScottyAllen]

Hi. Quick question. We have some fancy goldfish. Two of tjem have some black spots on them that look normal but I'm not sire if they were there when i bought them. Is there some kind of possible siclness that this could be or is it possible that these spots were always there and maybe theu just got darker ? Thanks for your help

 

[jlk]

Hi and welcome!!! A bit more info will help! What size tank? Is it cycled? What type of fancies & how many? What are your exact parameters for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & ph and how are you testing (liquid or strips)? Can you post a pic of the spots/black areas? If you cant, are the black areas on their fins/gills or the sides of their bodies & look like color changes or are they specifically small circular spots? More info will help us to help you better!

 

[ScottyAllen]

The two fish in question are a pearlscale and a common goldfish. The black spots kind of just look like smudges. The pearlscale has a little black on a few of its fins and one aide of its full and the common just has a spot on his chin and a little on his gill. I tried taking a photo but found that it was almost impossible to see what I'm talking about. I need to get the water tested asap. But won't be able to make it to the aqaurium store til Tuesday. Please let me know what other info I can provide to help , I would still Definately consider myself a novice at this and I just wanna make sure my goodies are happy lol

 

[jlk]

What size is their tank? You must get yourself a proper liquid test ASAP- the API fw master test kit is the most recommended. I suspect your tank is not be properly cycled as well. The black smudges you are seeing are ammonia burns. Do a 50% water change with temperature-matched, properly conditioned immediately. Until you can get yourself a proper test kit, continue to do this daily. Healthy water (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, less than 20ppm nitrates) is the best thing for your fish & the ammonia burns will heal with time spent in healthy water & return to their normal color. Heres a link on cycling with fish- please ask any questions you may have!

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?!

 

[ScottyAllen]

The tank is a 55 gallon. I will do a 50% water change tonight. Thanks so much for your help. I'll be sure to post again if I have any further questions.

 

[blert]

If the fish are suffering from ammonia burns it may be prudent to do that 50% PWC then wait an hour and do another one as the ammonia would be pretty high. In addition, because they have such a high bio-load, it might be a good idea to do two tomorrow also (one in the morning and one in the evening) and then one a day until you get your own test kit. Good luck, I hope things get better very soon.

 

[ScottyAllen]

Good news !!! Had the water tested yesterday and they said there was no ammonia problem. I think the black spots must have been from when I first started the aquarium and put the goldfish in. I dont think I let it cycle long enough before we put the fish in. Anyway , I had the water tested and they said it was time for at least a 25% water change, so I did that and I did a 15% change the following day. Hopefully the spots will go away, time will tell. I love having my goldfish aquarium and I really want to provide the best possible environment for my goldies so if anyone has any kind of advice for an intermediate aquarist I'm all ears. Thanks so Much again for the help

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Welcome to AA!
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...-to-Starting-a-Freshwater-Aquarium/Page1.html
Please read this. IMO you need to be doing at least 50% water change per week (in a cycled) goldfish tank. They are messy creatures and produce a lot of waste. Lots of fresh water is needed to provide them with the best environment possible.

 

[jlk]

Please get yourself an API freshwater master test kit so you will be able to monitor your water yourself. They are @$10 cheaper on amazon than the lfs. Most lfs use strips to test which are inaccurate at best & what they deem as 'safe' actually is not. You really should be checking your water daily to make sure it is safe for your fish & doing water changes as needed.

In respect to their care, weekly or bi-weekly big water changes are needed in a cycled tank (atleast 50%). Make sure you are feeding a quality sinking goldfish pellet (such as Hikari) and offering daily cooked, plain veggies daily. Please dont hesitate to ask questions!

 

[ScottyAllen]

Thanks for the info guys !!!! This forum is great !!! What kind of veggies in partticular do you reccomend ? And I have another question, I have a 55 gallon tank and 9 goldfish , 2- black moors , 2 pearlscales, 1- common, 1- shubunkin, 1- ryukin, 1- fantail, 1- calico telescope eye. First question is whether you think this is too many fish , we were hoping to add maybe 1-3 more. The fish are all quite small now , about an inch or so each. I have two dual outlet air pumps running in the tank now so there is plenty of water movement and aeration. Thanks again for your help

 

[ScottyAllen]

And p.s , I will Definately be getting the api master test kit asap, but we visit our aquarium supply store every week anyway so we usually just have them test our water. They don't use the strips there , they use the viles and drops. The store we use is very well respected and they only hire top notch employees who know what they are doing so I know we can trust them , we would never use a place like petsmart or petco etc. Etc.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Thanks for the info guys !!!! This forum is great !!! What kind of veggies in partticular do you reccomend ? And I have another question, I have a 55 gallon tank and 9 goldfish , 2- black moors , 2 pearlscales, 1- common, 1- shubunkin, 1- ryukin, 1- fantail, 1- calico telescope eye. First question is whether you think this is too many fish , we were hoping to add maybe 1-3 more. The fish are all quite small now , about an inch or so each. I have two dual outlet air pumps running in the tank now so there is plenty of water movement and aeration. Thanks again for your help

The rule of stocking with fancy goldfish is 20g for The first fish and 10g for each after that. So a 55g could house 4 maybe 5 fancy Goldies with good filtration and water changes. They maybe small now but the grow fast and can reach 12 inches each!

 

[ScottyAllen]

Ok. So Definately no more then ? I read a book about fancy goldfish that said you can get away with keeping a few extra fish in the tank if you had adequate aeration. I have one big filter running in the tank now and I hope to have another one in there soon, I have an extra one but it hasn't been running to great , so im hoping to fix it up and get it back in there.

 

[ScottyAllen]

12" !!??? Yikes ! Lol. I did a bunch of research before I bought the fish and most of the stuff I saw said average size is usually about 6" I know they get big and I can't wait lol I just good we can upgrade the tank before they get too large , we have been planning on getting a bigger aquarium for quite some time , just gotta find the right one. Id really like to get something over 100 gallons and have a Huge goldfish sanctuary

 

[jlk]

Thanks for the info guys !!!! This forum is great !!! What kind of veggies in partticular do you reccomend ? And I have another question, I have a 55 gallon tank and 9 goldfish , 2- black moors , 2 pearlscales, 1- common, 1- shubunkin, 1- ryukin, 1- fantail, 1- calico telescope eye. First question is whether you think this is too many fish , we were hoping to add maybe 1-3 more. The fish are all quite small now , about an inch or so each. I have two dual outlet air pumps running in the tank now so there is plenty of water movement and aeration. Thanks again for your help

Upgrading their tank is a good idea! The common & the shubunkin do not belong in an aquarium however. They can grow to be up to 18inches & realistically belong in a pond (or a 100+gal tank to themselves). I would look into rehoming them to a proper environment. The 7 fancies need atleast an 80g tank & will grow very fast- without sufficient water they are at risk becoming stunted. Even with sufficent aeration & heavy filtration (min 10x the tank size or 550gph), this setup will not work for long with this many fish. They do most of their growth in the first 2-3 years of life so you will need to consider an upgrade sooner rather than later.

 

[ScottyAllen]

Wow . So basically I'm an idiot huh ? I thought I was doing pretty good with setting up this amazing goldfish tank. But I guess I was wrong , ill have to start looking for a bigger tank asap. I will Definately be sure to keep up on the weekly water changes and testing. Any other advice would be great is love to learn as much as possible.

 

[jlk]

We are all here to learn! Ask LOTS of questions- especially if you are unsure. The advice from the lfs you should take with a grain of salt. Most serious goldie fanatics would keel over at some of the advice that is offered by the lfs or in some books. Keeping goldies happy & thriving is completely different than them just merely existing in sub-prime conditions.

 

[blert]

Wow . So basically I'm an idiot huh ? I thought I was doing pretty good with setting up this amazing goldfish tank. But I guess I was wrong , ill have to start looking for a bigger tank asap. I will Definately be sure to keep up on the weekly water changes and testing. Any other advice would be great is love to learn as much as possible.

Wow! I have to say, it's so nice to see someone who doesn't freak out and get all defensive when they are told something they didn't want to hear. You have made my day! Oh, and, welcome to AA, your fish are going to be fine, you are in good hands.

Craigslist is a great place to find setups at a good price.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Not an idiot! We all have to start somewhere At least your open to advise and suggestions. They are only small now and you are planning a larger tank so you don't have to worry.

 

[ScottyAllen]

Someone had mentioned offering the goldfish vegtables. Which kind is best ? And best for them thanks !