New fish, new tank, fishy dead

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CaseyCip22

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
23
Location
New York City
OK folks, here goes. I haven't had a goldfish since I was maybe 7, and even then I remember them only living a couple of years. But here's my story:

Day 1: Saturday night I went to a cheesy church fair and I won a goldfish playing that throw the ball in the bowl game. I brought him home, and put him in the biggest thing I had (a big wine glass) with his same water for the night. Named him Spot Conlon (Newsies reference) Night one, a-ok.

Day 2: Sunday, he hung out in the wine glass all day and went to Petco and bought him a 5 gallon tank with a filter, a plastic plant, some red gravel, and a spongy rock. Oh, and a small goldfish friend, whom I named Teddy Roosevelt. I set the tank up about 9pm. Filled up with water, put in the water conditioner (though I put in the whole packet, which was meant for a 10 gallon tank, so too much?). Then I put both Spot and Teddy back in their bags and did the whole bag/water/temperature transfer thing. They were fine all night until about midnight, when I noticed them both huddled together and kind of sitting on the bottom of the tank. They moved when I turned the light off, then...

Day 3: Monday. Today they fluctuated between swimming and a smaller amount of huddling at the bottom of the tanks. Then, about an hour ago, Spot seemed dead. Not moving, not breathing, not moving his fins at all. H wasn't floating on the top, but he didn't move when I went after him with my net. So, he's dead.

What did I do wrong? Was he just a crappy, carnival fish who never had a chance? Will Teddy do better because he's a pet store fish? I spent like $90 on a tank and all the stuff, so if Teddy goes too I'd still like to keep a fish or two. Maybe some other kind, who knows. But if Teddy lives, maybe I'll get him another goldy friend. Any thoughts?

UPDATE, it's 11:45pm here in NYC and Teddy Roosevelt isn't looking to great. He is still breathing, but he's floating around on the bottom and he doesn't swim (just floats) when I shimmy the plant. :(
 
This isn't the news you want but; goldfish need a tank at least 55 gallons to be happy. They eat a lot and produce a lot of waste. They get VERY big and it's not good to keep a fish in a tank too small for most of it's life.

If I were you I would re-home the goldfish and make a community tank or a cool shrimp tank.

If you want to kill your pets or make them miserable go ahead: but it isn't fair to the goldfish to keep them in a small tank.
 
55 gallons??? For TWO goldfish (now one)?? I'm a newbie but I'm going to call shenanigans. I had 1-3 goldfish for years as a child in a tank just this size. I'm not talking a load of goldfish like at the pet store, I'm talking two goldfish here. The rule of thumb I always heard was 2.5 gallons per inch of goldfish and these guys were both less than an inch.
 
Hi Casey. Welcome to AA.
What type of goldfish do you have? Minimum tank size for a fancy goldfish (double tail) is 20g for the first and 10g for each fish after that. If you have a pond fish (single tail) then it's 50g each fish or a pond.
What is happening is the ammonia is building to toxic levels. You new to do a large water change ASAP.
Please read this and learn about cycling:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...-to-Starting-a-Freshwater-Aquarium/Page1.html
 
Hi, he's got just one tail so I guess he's a pond fish. I'm flabbergasted at this 50 gallon thing for one, small 3/4 of an inch goldfish, or even two of that size. That sounds nuts. This very website suggests the 1 inch rule, does it not?


Anyways, there's not going to be a 50 gallon tank in my NYC apartment any time soon, so all I can do is try to save this guy with what I have. I don't have any water conditioner left from the tank kit I bought, should I do a whole water change with just tap water or just half or 25% or what?
 
OK, I'm just noticing that you live in Australia, so perhaps I've assumed wrong and you mean 50 grams and not gallons? I have no idea how much that is...I'll Google a conversion.
 
Nope I mean 50g (190litres). He's either a common or comet goldfish and if kept healthy can reach 18inches long.
You need conditioner to remove chlorine and chloramine from the tap water.
One inch per gallon is an outdated, unreliable way to stock a tank. There are too many factors like adult size of the fish, swimming space, aggression, if schools are needed, etc.
 
Ok well, a 50 gallon tank isn't going anywhere inside my NYC apartment (not that I could afford to buy it anyway) and the water conditioner that came with the tank is all out and it's almost 1am here so I'm clearly not getting anymore anytime soon. So I guess this guy is a goner.
 
Do you have any bottled water? You can use that to change some water tonight. You can contact your local pet stores and see if they will take him.
There are a few other types of fish, such as bettas, that will fit in a 5g tank. And of course there are shrimp and snails also.
 
Yes, I know about the chlorine. I was just mentioning the chloramine fact. Either way, there's nothing I can do at this point, I suppose.
 
You can change water daily till he can get to a larger tank or pond. Goldfish need big tanks with BIG filters or ponds because they are poop machines. Great fish just lots of waste and ammonia.

Use Prime conditioner if you can get it. You only need 2 drops per gallon, so it's a good value.

FYI lifespan on a Comet can be over 20 YEARS with good care. 2-3 yrs is still a baby. A stunted baby in too small an environment.

Unfortunately there is a huge amount of outdated bad information about Goldfish.

Keep learning :)
 
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