Jeanna Groat
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2017
- Messages
- 1
Hi. I just found this group and have decided to join because I am overwhelmed by all the information out there, and have found the pet stores around me to be full of teenagers who know less than I do from my research, but always want to sell me something. My daughter got a goldfish at a fair on July 4, but not knowing anything much about them, put him in a 2.5 gallon tank. I doubt he was in great shape when she got him - I don't know how he lived before we got him, and we received him in a bag of bright yellow water, which I have no idea what that was, unless it was waste, bacterial growth or what? We've been learning about the horrors of a nitrogen cycle with a goldfish in a small tank, so please consider our hands slapped. We are here to learn, and I hope we've come to the right place. Every source I've found on cycling has an opinion about everything, and no one seems to agree on anything. We are quite upset and discouraged so we are asking for help.
What I would like to know:
The fish is turning black, does not eat, lies on the bottom of the tank, and is obviously not doing well. I'm surprised it is still alive. I know now that he should have been placed in a bigger tank, and I don't know if at this point it would even do any good, since that tank wouldn't be cycled either?
Assuming he doesn't make it, is it possible to use a 2.5 gallon tank for a single betta, and if so, do we need to toss everything in it, and start fresh? It does have a filter and a pump, but test results have been conflicting, and I don't know where we truly are. It's only been a week, so I can't see how we have much of anything except ammonia, but the pet store test says we already have nitrates, and low nitrites which doesn't make sense to me. Can you recommend a GOOD reliable test kit?
We have used TopFin water conditioner, and bacteria starter. Are these good, or are there better ones?
We have hard water, and the pH meter here at work read the tap water out of the faucet at 9.8. I don't think the water conditioner does anything to this. Again, one pet store picked this up, another did not and their test said it was neutral to low. What is recommended for this? I know there are solutions to add to fix this, but I wouldn't want to cause swings - consistency is important.
What am I missing?
I don't see any white patches or spots, so from my limited knowledge, I think his problems are all water quality caused. Please believe me when I say we are horrified at what has happened to this poor fish, and we really want to do better, especially if we decide to stay with this and get a larger tank eventually for other fish. Thanks for reading this long post and any advice you have is much appreciated.
Jeanna
What I would like to know:
The fish is turning black, does not eat, lies on the bottom of the tank, and is obviously not doing well. I'm surprised it is still alive. I know now that he should have been placed in a bigger tank, and I don't know if at this point it would even do any good, since that tank wouldn't be cycled either?
Assuming he doesn't make it, is it possible to use a 2.5 gallon tank for a single betta, and if so, do we need to toss everything in it, and start fresh? It does have a filter and a pump, but test results have been conflicting, and I don't know where we truly are. It's only been a week, so I can't see how we have much of anything except ammonia, but the pet store test says we already have nitrates, and low nitrites which doesn't make sense to me. Can you recommend a GOOD reliable test kit?
We have used TopFin water conditioner, and bacteria starter. Are these good, or are there better ones?
We have hard water, and the pH meter here at work read the tap water out of the faucet at 9.8. I don't think the water conditioner does anything to this. Again, one pet store picked this up, another did not and their test said it was neutral to low. What is recommended for this? I know there are solutions to add to fix this, but I wouldn't want to cause swings - consistency is important.
What am I missing?
I don't see any white patches or spots, so from my limited knowledge, I think his problems are all water quality caused. Please believe me when I say we are horrified at what has happened to this poor fish, and we really want to do better, especially if we decide to stay with this and get a larger tank eventually for other fish. Thanks for reading this long post and any advice you have is much appreciated.
Jeanna