Rescue goldfish

[_skyla_]

Hi everyone , I now have 2 fantail goldfish and a bristlenose pleco. Unfortunately they were living in terrible conditions at my work and weren't wanted anymore. That tank had been set up for years with multiple goldfish that have died being in it and not looked after, the tank being way too small, only 68litres.
I had tried to tell them it wasn't suitable and what care fish need but people just don't care and think I'm being weird cos they are just fish they will just get new ones when they die! [emoji36]the usual unfortunately:/
The pleco is the only one that has survived through it all and is over 4 years old at least. The goldfish weren't far off dying like the rest if I hadn't said I'd take them.
So home they came with me , I cleaned out their tank , it smelt sooo bad! ��
Took half an hour to get the gravel not leaking dark brown muck! The filter in it was just a crappy tiny Kmart one.
I eventually wanted to get another tropical tank set up after moving house and not having one for awhile but def wasn't going to get goldfish because of the space they need and def wasn't the right time financially to be able to afford everything again.
But we have them now and are very fond of them. So we want to try and do our best for them. We replaced the filter with a non expensive one but suited 80litre tank while we are using the small tank.
I know they will need a bigger tank asap.
I'm just hoping they will be ok Until I can afford one and we find a good set up second hand.
Will they be ok for awhile without being stunted ?

Here's the album of their current tank before and after I cleaned it and added some plants.
Also can anyone tell what sex the goldfish might be ?

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/members/65790-albums14719.html

 

[Delapool]

Hi, from what I've seen - yes, your tank is probably small but you know this and it's better than where they were imo.

 

[Reygan2]

You can´t determine gender without knowing how to sex them. They will need suitable food, preferably a good gel food, not flakes or most pellets, along with fresh greens. Clean water is a must, so large weekly water changes are a necessity. You´re doing a good thing by rescuing them!

 

[Autumnsky]

Yes, good to have them in better conditions and even better for them to get a good larger sized home as soon as possible. I hope you can find a free option even.

Often after you get a bigger tank, they will have a growth spurt. Good food, fresh clean water and better care can do that.

On way I can think of to check free sites of course, but to offer a person who says they will be moving, an open invitation to rush over and pick up the tank if it doesn't sell and they will have to be rid of it to move. I'd offer a token amount like 40-$75. on a good 55-125G tank with a stand or up to what you could afford.

A dollar a gallon for a basic tank with accessories is usually a pretty good deal. Often people can't sell off a tank and give it away just to be rid of the burden. Just be prepared with buckets, containers, strong arms, and transportation! May you find a fabulous deal.

Another time to find good stuff if you live near a college area and students are moving to go home at the summer break or after graduation.

 

[_skyla_]

We have been keeping an eye out for decent second hand tanks but haven't had any luck yet. I'm in Perth WA so we don't get the $/gallon deals here unfortunately. We are going to check out some shops and price some tank set ups tomorrow. In the mean time the two goldies and bn plec have been doing really well. We are doing 70% water changes weekly and giving the gravel a good vacuum. We have added some live plants to help with the water too. Hornwort , swords and vallis.
I'm thinking I want to go the sand route when we get the larger tank instead of gravel. I def want to use a substrate as I'm going to be planting it.
Thinking a cheaper alternative like play sand or Pool filter sand ? I've used okay sand in a tank before but don't have experience with PFS or know if it's better to use than the play sand ?
My Partner would like to add a black Moore to the larger tank so we have the 3 goldies and bn plec but that means a bigger tank so trying to figure out our options and how big we would need for just the 2 and pleco as to have big we'd have to up it to for the additional black Moore ?

 

[IHaveAquariums]

For 3 goldfish and a pleco... I would go no smaller then a 75 gallon. Goldfish are extremely messy fish and can throw water parameters crazy. Pool filter sand is more uniformed sand in grain size and has a an overall better look I believe. However with plants I would look into using either dirt or a planted substrate like eco complete as a layer under the sand so the plants get more nutrients from it and will root better

 

[_skyla_]

I might have to skip adding another goldfish. We can only really go no bigger than a 52gallon. Thanks I'll look into getting something better for the plants up to under the pfs

 

[Autumnsky]

Garnet sand is really nice, it is often used as a sand blasting media available at stores which would supply welding stores or in Hardware supply outlets which would offer this. It is most often a pinkish purple color but can be a sunset orange type color, if you are interested in using root tabs and liquid ferts I have grown plenty of great looking plants in low to medium light with this.

For GF you will probably like Anubias which will be tied or glued to wood or stone, a hardy plant which has hard leaves and not as tasty of a treat for the GF to eat. Around here the sand is $18 for 50 pounds. Very reasonable.

Light color sand often shows off poop and is a little hard to keep clean looking.