Please help!!!!!

[ReneeKat93]

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For a year and a half I’ve had 2 goldfish in a 10 gallon tank, recently i decided to a bigger tank 20gallon and add some tank mates. I went and got 3 more goldfish. A few days after I added the new fish the with the originals they got real sluggish acting they aren’t as active as they once were they stay at the bottom of the tank and they won’t eat ? I’ve changed the water made sure everything was safe and they are only getting worse! Now their eyes have some thick white film over them and they look like they are bleeding around their eyes and now the new fishes eyes are starting to do the same. The new fish are goldfish aswell just different kinds. My originals are common goldfish the new ones are telescope goldfish a black Moore and a calico and a white and orange koi goldfish! Please help! Thanks in Advance!

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[Aiken Drum]

How did you cycle the new tank to be safe for fish before introducing them all?

20g isnt a big enough tank for 5 goldfish. 10g wasnt big enough for 2 goldfish. Goldfish need 30g for the first and then an additional 10g for each additional goldfish. So 70g minimum for 5 goldfish. And they create a lot of waste, so a filter for double that and regular water changes.

 

[ReneeKat93]

I bought the start up aquarium that comes with everything you need to start a aquarium. I asked the man at the pet store if it would be okay to add more and told him my tank size and he said yes it would be. This is my 1st time doing the fish thing so I’m also still learning. Thank you for your advice, I don’t want my goldfish to die! Should I take the others out? & how do I get my fish back up to health? Their eyes are corners in this what looks like cloudy stuff?

 

[Aiken Drum]

You received very poor advice from the fish store. They dont know what they are talking about or they do but dont care about your fish. They are there to sell you fish, if they sell you fish that are unsuitable for your tank they might get to sell you a bigger tank, if they get sick they sell you medication, and if they die they get to sell you more fish.

You now have way too many fish in too small a tank that isnt cycled. The fish are now ill, probably through anmonia poisoning. If you can somehow rehome all 5 fish i would do that. Its unlikely that you can find someone that will take 5 sick fish though.

You need to get a water test kit and find your water parameters, API master test kit will test for what you need (pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate). Until you are able to get your water parameters i would be doing 50% water changes every day. When you get your water parameters post them here. Im not sure medication will help, they need clean water and hope that the unsafe conditions hasnt done irreversable damage.

If the fish survive, long term, you either need to rehome them, get a much bigger tank, or a pond in the garden.

 

[ReneeKat93]

Thank you for your advice! I really appreciate it. First thing tomorrow I’ll get the kit you were talking about and change water also will buy another tank or 2 And separate the fish and hopefully they will regain their health. I will not be going back to that pet store that is forsure! As soon as I get the kit tomorrow I will post the test strips here! Thank you again!!

 

[Aiken Drum]

Like i said 30g minimum for 1 goldfish, so unless you plan on getting 5 × 30g tanks, getting 1 × 60 or 70g tank and keeping them together will be better. And a filter for 100 to 150g will help too as goldfish are very messy. If the fish are currently small (say less than 20" combined length), keeping them in the 20g and getting that cycled will be a short term solution and you can consider your options for upgrades later. I think this would be the best option as we dont know yet if the fish will pull through, and you might end up with a big expense of new tanks with nothing to put in them.

Those standard type goldfish will grow to 12" and live 20 years if given adequate space. The fancy type goldfish will get to 8". If they dont have enough space they will be stunted in their growth, but their internal organs wont stop growing and this will lead to ill health and a much shorter lifespan.

Ive never heard of a treatment for ammonia poisoning apart from removing the ammonia. Hopefully if you can provide better water conditions any damage isnt permanent. On top of the water changes reducing feeding will reduce waste and turning off any lights will slow down metabolism. Both will help.

If you get new tanks or keep the 20g for now, then you need to cycle them. The tank will have fish in them so you need to do a fish in cycle. Test water daily. Your target is to keep ammonia + nitrite combined below 0.5ppm. If it goes above 0.5ppm combined change 25% of the water. If it goes above 1ppm combined do 50% water change. After a while, probably a couple of months, your cycle will be established and your ammonia + nitrite will consistently be 0ppm and nitrate should be rising. Then you can cut back on water changes to simply control nitrate. Typically you want to keep nitrate below 40ppm. Adding filter media from an established tank into your filter will help speed up your cycle. If you cant do that then some bottled bacteria like Dr Tims One + Only or Seachem Stability might help. Feed sparingly during your cycle. Either half what you normally feed daily, or feed normally every other day.

If you subsequently upgrade to a larger tank, it will be a good idea to cycle that tank without fish before you stock it. This is called a fishless cycle. We can assist you there if you get to that point.

 

[fishwonder]

Aiken is correct with the size of fish and small tanks. Your store gave you bad advice as they would never tell you about what happens with New Tanks or New Tank Syndrome.
Here is some additional information on Cycling your Filter/tank.

 

[ReneeKat93]

Thank you both for all the information!! I should’ve just stayed with my two goldfish I had! Will update soon!!

 

[Aiken Drum]

You would have run into health issue keeping goldfish in a 10g tank eventually.

Thank you both for all the information!! I should’ve just stayed with my two goldfish I had! Will update soon!!