upside down fish!!

[logansmomma1228]

How mayn gallons is your 42L? My 10gallon is a 40L I believe, so that would make yours a 12G??? If so, then you would be OK with one goldfish max IMO. They are pretty messy and they get real big. You seem to like them, though, so maybe you could look into getting a different tank altogether? Maybe a bigger one? Then you can cycle it and you will know that it is clean.

 

[mellawson]

Sorry to hear about your loss, it really sucks to loose a fish especially when you work so hard to prevent such a thing. Your future fish will benefit from this experience though your far more aware of the signs of danger and you'll be surprised at how more confident you feel about treating and fixing things that are bound to happen. I hope that made some kind of sense.

 

[jsoong]

42 l is approx 11 US gallons.

This is small for goldfish. Although it is true that you can keep half a dozen small (1" or so) fancy goldfish in there, they quickly get into trouble as they grow. So I am going to have to disagree with your lfs there .... Crowded goldfish simply don't live very long.... months rather than years.

The smaller the system, the more unforgiving it is going to be. Generally a 10 gal should house only 2 fancy golds. <And a real goldfish fancier will not use anything less than 40 gal/160 l.> With your 3 remaining goldies, you are still overstocked, and can only keep things in equilibrium with frequent pwc's. <50% weekly is a good place to start.> Even then, you are still going to have to get a bigger tank if those goldfish grows pass 3-4" (not counting the tails.)

Although I try not to discourage people that have smaller systems for goldfish, it is much easier keeping goldfish living a long time if you invest in a bigger system. <Average lifespan for a fancy is 5-7 years, the world record is ~42 years, although she is a single tailed fancy ... so would have the single tail's longer lifespan of 15-20 years.>

For now, I really would not suggest getting any more fish, even though the temptation is to replace your beloved pet ASAP. FYI, Orandas (red caps & others) are most demanding of clean water of all the commonly available fancies. Moors are actually hardier than Orandas, although not as much as a self-colored metallic fantail. <"Self-color" means single orange color, as opposed to calicos which are multi-colored & have matted scales.>

 

[Donna]

thanksguys.
logansmomma and jsoong: agreeing with you there on the overcrowding. we were only told that we "might be overstocked" by the aquarium once we'd bought our fifth fish! managing to convince the hubby that more fish isn't the best idea, besides, i could never REPLACE the two we've lost...they were awesome fish!
will look into a bigger tank also, but it's not going to be able to be more than 60 litres i think since the unit the tank is on isn't big enough to have anything bigger and it's the only solid place in the house right now thankfully our biggest fish is only 5cm long from nose to the tail (where the tail fins start) so hopefully have a little time to maybe invest in something free-standing.

we were origionaly given our tank and i thought i'd done quite a bit of research into fish-keeping, i always deeply research before i considder keeping an animal. can't believe there was so much that i missed regarding space. it has knocked my confidence quite considderably...
thanks for the hints on moors, but they'd have to have a second tank methinks! (so that won't be happening any time soon, if ever!)

 

[logansmomma1228]

we were origionaly given our tank and i thought i'd done quite a bit of research into fish-keeping, i always deeply research before i considder keeping an animal. can't believe there was so much that i missed regarding space. it has knocked my confidence quite considderably...
thanks for the hints on moors, but they'd have to have a second tank methinks! (so that won't be happening any time soon, if ever!)

Don't feel bad, you know now! This site is amazing. You could check out craigslits for stuff too, or the classifieds on here even. I know that fish keeping can be very expensive; if I would have been on here before I bought my 10gallon then I wouldn't have even bought it! I have soaked a good couple hundred dollars into this already. I found a great deal on craigslist - 29 gallon for 60$ with everything it needed except the stand. I just put it up on my dresser (it's a pretty sturdy dresser). My 10 is on a sturdy coffee table. But I am starting to wonder if the 29 is really bigger than that. I need a tape measure though...

Anyways, lol, sorry to go off topic there. You will be just fine, and though it is unfortunate that you lost some fish, it will help you be able to give the next ones a good life

 

[dkpate]

I believe she is in the UK, and I don't know if they have a CL there.

 

[Donna]

yes i'm in the UK.
to be honest, getting a great deal is nice, but i always buy new tanks if i'm purchasing. that way i know it comes with no nasty residues etc and also if it has been used to keep gerbils in previously, chances are it'll leak. i have a nice big 20G (compared to my 10G!) tank in my cupboard, but my gerbil (R.I.P) scratched out the seals and i don't trust my handiwork to repair it!
thanks for the hints though guys.

 

[jsoong]

Resealing an aquarium is really pretty easy:
Resealing an Aquarium, by Nick Spinelli

What you have is a damaged inner seal. The structural seal (between the glass panes) should still be intact, so repairing that is a cinch. I've done that a couple times, just have to take it slow to do a nice looking job. But do make sure you test the repair outside with a full tank of water to make sure there is no leak ...

I would definitely switch to the 20. It makes a big difference when it comes to ease of maintaining good water quality.

 

[dkpate]

And I would recommend aquarium silicone. Just use a wet sponge or a wet Q-Tip to smooth it.

 

[Donna]

Lol, my fish don't seem to use the space they have too well!

YouTube - fishie squishie.AVI

 

[jsoong]

Goldfish are schooling fish, so it is not unusual to see them all squished into a corner, even in a big pond.

The bigger tank is not just for space, it is for enough water so the waste the goldies produced is diluted down.

 

[Donna]

thanks jsoong, I posted that because i thought it might give you a giggle at my nutty fish! i understand the need for the bigger tank is for the water quality. doing daily gravel vacs shows how much these fish produce, it often astounds me because they don't get fed that much!!! makes me wonder where it all comes from!!! (I guess they nibble on th eplants when I'm not looking.)

I hope you didn't think i was trying to justify that the tank they have is big enough, it was simply a little light humour that seemed to fit in with the current conversation. I'm still working on that bigger tank!

 

[jsoong]

Oh I got a good giggle on that last post.

I wasn't trying to criticize, just clearing up some points in case someone else was reading.

I am always amazed at the amount of poop I vac up. I feed maybe 2-3 tablespoon of food a week, but somehow that translates to cupfuls of MULM in the tank ....