Saltwater & Reef

Becki273 · 01-08-2013, 06:40 AM

Hey! I'm new to all of this including fish keeping!

Right I have a problem.....

My partner kept banging on that he wanted a goldfish (I got a dog he wants a fish, fair deal yea?)

So for Christmas I bought him a starter tank that came with everything I could possibly need for a cold water tank at bargain price! (B&M Bargains £12.99) Bought a few extra ornaments, plants, gravel etc.

Anyway he loved it and couldn't wait until we got some fish for it! A friend of mine had already told me that I needed to run the tank for a while before getting the fish so that's what I did, then we called to our local pet shop (Pets At Home) we want to get an idea of what we wanted more than anything. Spoke to a woman there & explained what tank we had and by this point that it had been running for 9 days she told us we could have 2 Small Oranda's but would have to look at upgrading the size of tank a little bit in 18 months.

Fab! Got 2 stunning baby Orandas - one red, white & black and one orange & black. My god what beautiful fish! I have never been too fussy about fish or really seen the fascination until I got these beauty's home!

So let them settle in and that was that, very comical fish and very active! After a week noticed our crystal clear water was cloudy as and we couldn't see the back of the tank! (The tank is apparently just under 14l) quickly looked online and was HORRIFIED!

I've done a lot of reading up since on these gorgeous fish and realise that we were had by the store! We're going to get a bigger tank today as now one of them is trying to wedge herself in a corner and stays there most of the day! The one were picking up is a 60l as we just haven't won the lottery to get a 200l tank that's been advised!

Obviously we need to get the fish out of that coffin and into the bigger tank ASAP, but we obviously will need to cycle it. Being naive I put the two fish straight into my tank whilst it was still in cycle and they've survived could I put them into the bigger one during cycle? Surely it would be better than leaving them in that tiny box? We used goldfish safe liquid in our small tank and were going to the same in the big tank - water purifier. I'm fine with water changes as we're doing them daily at 20% at the moment with the little tank. Any advice would be fantastic!

Oh the Orandas by guesstimating are about 3-4 weeks old??? Their about 1-1/5 inch long??

Thank you in advance Becki

marsh · 01-08-2013, 07:14 AM

Big Tupperware is an option if you can't buy a glass tank. I might suggest getting two of the biggest plastic tubs and getting filters strong enough for them and squeezing the current filter media onto the new filters (or cut it up and stick it in the new filters to seed them) then you can house them separately for the time being.

I had to do this to save my Betta that was in a bowl I thought was adequate until he got massively ill. The Tupperware I put him in is still my "quarantine/hospital" tank so it was worth the investment in the end. And he survived!

Btw- also buy a drip test kit so you can measure ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels without going to the pet store for testing. This is the only way to tell when your water is reaching dangerous toxicity levels with "fish-in cycling". Google fish-in cycling versus fishless cycling to decide which option is best. I used the fishless method with ammonia drops in my glass tank while my guy was in the hospital tank, and I did daily water changes to keep his water safe. The cycle took 2 weeks but fish-in can go much longer.

Good luck!

Becki273 · 01-08-2013, 07:31 AM

So my 60l I'm getting today won't suffice?

What are the risks with cycling my larger tank with the Orandas in it? Would the risks out weigh the risks posed to them in this tiny tank?

I was wondering if I put the water from this tiny tank into the Bigger one and top up with fresh would keep the cycle going? I'm a complete novice to this so apologies if I say something stupid! I was thinking if I used the water from the original tank in the new tank it might act just like a water change? But keep the bacteria etc growing? My red, white & black Oranda is very slow and lazy today and really doesn't have much life in her at all where as the other is fine still very active and much himself!

Ill pick up a test kit today and see I'm guessing from what I've read that the ammonia levels are going to be sky high! Is there any water treatments I can get to lower it temporarily while the bigger tank sets up?

Becki273 · 01-08-2013, 07:34 AM

Also the filter in the smaller tank is bubbling like crazy - almost like boiling water would that be strong enough in a 60l? I have no idea what make model it is as it just came with the tank and no real description. The only thing it says is 'air pump aquarium sk-9102' with sponge filter inside

marsh · 01-08-2013, 07:40 AM

Oh well I missed the 60l tank bit, not sure how may gallons that is. I'd advise 30 gallons each to start, 20 minimum. Even for the next few days!

I would keep the filter with out touching the media or rinsing it/letting it get dry and do a 100% water change. Frankly do a new batch of conditioned water daily- no important bacteria lives in the water only on surfaces like gravel and filter media house bacteria colonies

Also a sponge filter is fine for a Betta or nano fish but the Goldies have a massive bioload and you can use a hang on back or even internal filter to meet their needs. Real poop factories, similar to a dog actually

What kind of pup did you get?

Becki273 · 01-08-2013, 07:55 AM

Okay thank you ill give it a go and hope to god they survive! Always thought people were mad when they said fish have their own personalities and that they come to recognise your voice! I'm a total believer and don't want to loose my fish!