Goldfish help? I am new at this...

[Goldfish friend]

I have a 10 gallon tank with 1 fantail goldfish and 3 corydoras. The tank was set up at the end of July and 2 goldfish were added 4 weeks later. So far I have been taking the advice of the store where I got the equipment and fish, but we have lost 1 goldfish already (last week) so I am hoping maybe to find more help here. When the goldfish were about 1 month in, the tank water was turning greenish, despite weekly water changes of about 1/3. One of the goldfish (the one that died) had a bout of what I figured was swim bladder disorder. I fed them peas, which rectified that situation. Tank kept on getting green, it was recommended to get some corydoras to eat the leftover food on the bottom of the tank. Everyone seemed to be getting along just fine. Tank was still green, talked to another person who recommended aquarium salt, which took care of the green. One goldfish started to get fin rot about a week after that. The other fish looked healthy and was still eating. The sick fish kept getting stuck to the filter (poor thing could not swim properly against the pull of the filter) and he lasted about a day before he just expired. The other goldfish still is in the tank, but has become very lethargic, just kinda of sitting in the corner on the bottom staring out of the tank. Occasionally she will swim around, but she has not eaten much in the last 24 hours. I feed them some flakes, some peas, some granules, but not all at the same time. Any advice would be appreciated! I love having the fish and would like to make a healthy place for them to live!!

 

[shellieca]

Unfortunately you have been given very bad advice. One goldie needs a minimum of a 20g tank & any additional goldies need another 10g, so for 2 they should have advised you to have a minimum of a 30g tank. Goldfish have a huge bio load so doing once a week water changes & vacuuming is probably not sufficient for a 10g tank. Your options are to get a bigger tank or rehome/return the goldfish and if I'm not mistaken, the 10g is not large enough for the cories either depending on the type you have. Do you have a liquid water test kit? I suggest you test your tank water for ammonia, nitrites & nitrates then I would do a 50% water change with a good vacuum. Depending on the test results you may need to do another water change. If you don't have a test kit, take some water to your LFS & ask them to test it with a liquid test. But a water change I suspect is very much needed. As for the algae I would rub it off for now and focus on what to do with the fish. There are other fish that would work great for 10g.

 

[Ljk09]

Goldfish are cold water and Cory's are tropical for one. And second, a 10g is WAY too small for 3 goldfish. It's too small for 1 goldfish. Rehome some fish, pick if you want goldfish or a tropical tank. If you want tropical, get a heater. But end result is going to be get a bigger tank.

 

[GNarnian]

Yes, sadly that is what is going on. Your fish are too big for your ten gallon tank. I would recommend doing a 50% water change right away, and replace with clean, temperature matched, conditioned water. The only way your goldfish will get healthy again is to get a bigger tank for it right away. You could even get one of those giant plastic tubs from Target or Walmart to put him in for the time being, just make sure that the water is conditioned and he is acclimated to the cleaner water slowly. And I agree, if you have a test kit, test the water. A liquid test kit is the most accurate.

 

[jlk]

Welcome to AA!!!! Unfortunately, you have been given very poor advice. Right now, the best thing you can are water changes (50%+) daily or even mutliple times daily until you can figure out your tank situation. A liquid test kit is strongly recommended- the API fw master test kit is used by most of us here. A bottle of Prime or Amquel Plus will help as well to limit the effects of toxic ammonia & nitrite. Please check ot the links below for more information on cycling and goldfish and ask any questions you may have!

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

http://www.myaquariumclub.com/goldfish-101-11174823.html

 

[Goldfish friend]

Thanks for the responses. I will take the advice and hope to keep things rolling! I feel bad for putting these guys in such a terrible environment.... Thanks for the helpful links, as well.