new to aquariums and could ue help

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frshwaterfish

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Messages
40
im from michigan & got my 20 month old son a 10 gallon aquarium and have found out that i have over stocked it and need to buy a bigger tank i plan to get a 80 gallon plus as soon as i can.... good new though all my fish are alive, i have a few gold fish a lil cat fish a albino illuminated shark, a shark with neon red fins and an opposamus.... i didnt know anything about cycling or water peramiters but have done research in in fish cycling and have my amonia levels under control finally @ .25 ppm down from 4ppm earlier in the week all other numbers on my water are well within the good levels for fw on the chart that came with water test kit. any advice or steps that would help my son and i would be appreciated.
 
What test kit are you using? The drips are very inaccurate. I would suggest purchasing an API liquid kit although I use Nutrafin kit and works fine.
 
You'll actually need more than one tank; goldfish are coldwater fish and shouldn't be kept with tropical fish. Also do some research on the sharks, there may be some aggression (is it an albino rainbow shark? the other might be a red tailed shark). Not sure what an opposamus is.
 
i got a 55 gallon after work today it was the biggest tank i could afford, and the test kit i use is api master test kit. the one shark is a rainbow and the albino is pink with red eyes. i have the 55 running right now with real plants and no fish and in a few days will slowly start tranering my tropical fish over to the 55 and restart a in fish cycle in that one. any advice on steps i should take from here would really help. and im a bad speller the fish you didnt know is on of the ones that cling to the side of the tank and eat algi ive been feeding him algi wafers for right now :fish2:
 
What kind of goldfish are they? Fancy goldfish (the kind with double fins, odd little bumpy "hoods" or strange eyes, and a rounded body) need 20 gallons for the first fish, 10 gallons more for each additional fish, and tons of filtration. Goldfish make a lot of waste so they need major filtration and tank space. Common goldfish and comets (more slender bodies and a single tail fin) are pond fish and need at least 55 gallons just for one fish, preferably much more because they get to be a foot and a half long ideally. If you have fancies you could keep up to 4 of them in the 55 gallon with no other fish and rehome the tropicals. If they are commons you should return them. The two sharks will likely have problems as they grow up, they tend to be territorial. A 55 would be fine for one though, it would give him enough room to get his own territory established. The plecostamus probably needs a new home as well if he is a common pleco. They can get over two feet long! They also are major waste producers. They need 120 gallon tanks. If he is a smaller variety like a bristle nose, bushy nose, clown or pitbull Pleco the 55 would make a wonderful home for him though. Do you have a heater? The goldfish don't need one, but if you decide to keep the tropicals you need one. You said you are moving the tropicals, but if it were me I would move the Goldie's and the Pleco to the 55 and leave the sharks in the 10 for now, or just move everyone to the larger tank. They have a much smaller bioload than the goldfish so there are two main benefits to this arrangement until you can sort out which fish to keep. The water quality will be better with the high bioload fish in the big tank and it will cycle faster than if it just had the two sharks in it. Also, the goldfish would get sick quickly if multiple goldfish were kept in one 10 gallon tank for long, even with regular water changes.
 
yeah they are common goldfish i have everyone in the 55 right now and it is heated to 78. it is semi planted with two moss balls and some structures ill have to get pics up. i re set up the ten gallon tank and it is now my bettas home and is heated to 78 also both have filters the ten has just a basic one and the 55 has a better but still basic penguin 350 with bio wheels and moves 350 gallons an hour. right now ammonia is the only battle im having and have been able to keep it under .25 ppms.
 
I would suggest rehoming the commons to a pond as soon as possible. They will outgrow this tank quickly. They will also be the source of a never-ending battle with ammonia that your not going to win. If they are very small right now, you can get away with keeping them very short-term as long as you stay on top of your water changes. I would start looking into rehoming options for them right now- you can try local pond stores as well as your local lfs (not a chain store) for suggestions. You can also try posting an add on craigslist (if your in the US).

If you would like to keep goldies, you can comfortably keep 3-4 fancies in this tank but you would then need to rehome everybody else. You would also need to add additional filtration (another 400gph filter) and aeration if you would like to keep happy fancies. Pleas do not hesitate to ask questions- we are here to help! :)
 
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