So, like, hey. I'm Sean, first year student of the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. General Chemistry sucks, but, as I'm finding out as I explore this hobby, it has its uses.
So! My story, which in fact ends with a question:
For Christmas, my aunt and uncle were kind enough to give me a couple goldfish. I knew nothing about them, but decided to begin investigating after they told me, "Goldfish are the easiest to take care of. They clean their own tanks. Just keep them wet and feed them these flakes."
The two goldfish (which may actually be healthy feeders... I'm not sure) came in a ~1 gallon bowl complete with pink gravel and a plastic plant, and, though I found a lot of information saying they need about 10 gallons apiece, a tank, I decided, was too much work to start over Christmas break (as I mentioned, I'm a StLCoP student and had to head back soon). So, I did the best I could as I learned. I boiled tapwater every day for the next day's 20% water change, and both fish seemed content zipping back and forth across their ten-inch-wide home.
The fish eventually came to St. Louis with me, a few weeks ago. After the first water change (with tapwater that had been sitting out for 4 days), both fish (Captain and Tennille) became pretty lethargic. I figured it was mostly stress from the car ride. A couple hours later, Tennille was dead, and El Capitan was lightly flittering about vertically on the bottom of the tank with his head on the rocks. I moved him into the plastic jar I'd been using for water changes and poured in 3 bottles of Nestle bottled water. He survived and perked up after a couple days, but his inclination to stay vertical remained. Some research told me it was likely a bacterial infection, and he would either get better or he wouldn't.
Captain is now back in his bowl, and I'm at home on Spring Break. I purchased a book (David Boruchowitz's The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums) and am about halfway through it. I think I'm going to end up with a 29-gallon freshwater tropical tank, but more on that later.
I finish my story with the question, which is: What do I do with Captain? The new aquarium will be for tropical fish, so he won't live there safely. A second aquarium at this point really isn't an option, and I'd like to have the tropical aquarium and not a cooler one full of goldfish.
Also, I've had Captain for about 3 months now, and he hasn't grown much. He's still about 2.5 - 3 inches. Is he a feeder goldfish that somehow isn't diseased?
Glad to be here.
So! My story, which in fact ends with a question:
For Christmas, my aunt and uncle were kind enough to give me a couple goldfish. I knew nothing about them, but decided to begin investigating after they told me, "Goldfish are the easiest to take care of. They clean their own tanks. Just keep them wet and feed them these flakes."
The two goldfish (which may actually be healthy feeders... I'm not sure) came in a ~1 gallon bowl complete with pink gravel and a plastic plant, and, though I found a lot of information saying they need about 10 gallons apiece, a tank, I decided, was too much work to start over Christmas break (as I mentioned, I'm a StLCoP student and had to head back soon). So, I did the best I could as I learned. I boiled tapwater every day for the next day's 20% water change, and both fish seemed content zipping back and forth across their ten-inch-wide home.
The fish eventually came to St. Louis with me, a few weeks ago. After the first water change (with tapwater that had been sitting out for 4 days), both fish (Captain and Tennille) became pretty lethargic. I figured it was mostly stress from the car ride. A couple hours later, Tennille was dead, and El Capitan was lightly flittering about vertically on the bottom of the tank with his head on the rocks. I moved him into the plastic jar I'd been using for water changes and poured in 3 bottles of Nestle bottled water. He survived and perked up after a couple days, but his inclination to stay vertical remained. Some research told me it was likely a bacterial infection, and he would either get better or he wouldn't.
Captain is now back in his bowl, and I'm at home on Spring Break. I purchased a book (David Boruchowitz's The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums) and am about halfway through it. I think I'm going to end up with a 29-gallon freshwater tropical tank, but more on that later.
I finish my story with the question, which is: What do I do with Captain? The new aquarium will be for tropical fish, so he won't live there safely. A second aquarium at this point really isn't an option, and I'd like to have the tropical aquarium and not a cooler one full of goldfish.
Also, I've had Captain for about 3 months now, and he hasn't grown much. He's still about 2.5 - 3 inches. Is he a feeder goldfish that somehow isn't diseased?
Glad to be here.