Am I Doing Ok?

[comet-tom]

hi everybody!
i just came on here to see what you guys have to say about how well I am doing
recently i got my first proper fish tank. until then i had only bred guppies for a while which, after a stunning bout of english summer, froze to death (about 3 tanks with 20 odd guppies each) ive always wanted a tropical tank but realized it was an incredibly hard thing to acheive(wanting clownfish) so i got a begginer freshwater set with an elite mini filter. until now i never used to 'cycle' the water or anything. so a couple of days ago i bought two comet goldfish for my 10 litre tank (which i think is 2+ gallons?) to start simple and already ive encountered problems.
1. my fish won't eat much, im not overfeeding them i collect what they don't eat
2. the dealer gave me two variations of comet, one big silver on with a single orange spot on his head and a smaller one with several orange spots. the small one has what looks like singed fray on its dorsal fin and keeps following and rubbing against the bigger one, who keeps nipping it. theres only 1 cm difference but they don't seem to cope together. also the smaller one is swimming quite rapidly in the same spot
3. is cloudy water from gravel a problem to the fishes health, im repalcing a tenth of the water every two days for a while is this allright?
4. ive halved the tank into an open space and an enclosed space consisting of 4 plants and a cove
5. one fish consistently gasps for air, ive opened the lid
6. the elite mini filter seems pretty crude to me, i heard the elite stingray 5 filter was pretty good will that fit a 10 litre tank?
7. are you supposed to put nurafin cycle in the filter sponge or the water?
8. do comets need a light, because ive got an office lamp on standby
9. does the filter have to be on ALL the time, its a noisy box of cheap cut-backs that is killing my electricity bill so i only keep it on at daytime, is this fine?
10. lastly is it possible to add some other animals, somthing like shrimp would be cool, or something that would clean the gravel although i don't want to overcrowd the tank

please help with any or all of the above and advise me on what i should improve on etc any help would be grateful

 

[rdd1952]

First, hello and welcome to the forum.

Your tank is way too small for 2 comets. Goldfish grow to a foot long and the minimum tank requirements are 20 gallon for the first fish and 10 more gallons for each additional fish so 2 comets should be in 30 gallons. Because you haev bought 2 heavy waste producers in a tiny tank, I'm sure you have a major problem with high ammonia and nitrite (do you have a liquid test kit to test the water).

1. my fish won't eat much, im not overfeeding them i collect what they don't eat
Most likely, your fish aren't eating because of high levels of ammonia and nitrite in the water. You should be testing daily and doing water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite as low as possible

2. the dealer gave me two variations of comet, one big silver on with a single orange spot on his head and a smaller one with several orange spots. the small one has what looks like singed fray on its dorsal fin and keeps following and rubbing against the bigger one, who keeps nipping it. theres only 1 cm difference but they don't seem to cope together. also the smaller one is swimming quite rapidly in the same spot
Rubbing against things can be a sign of disease. Poor water quality is a prime cause of diseases.

3. is cloudy water from gravel a problem to the fishes health, im repalcing a tenth of the water every two days for a while is this allright?
The cloudy water won't hurt and is probably a bacterial bloom where the tank is trying to cycle but can't keep up with the waste load of the fish. You should be doing uch larger water changes (50%) up to 5 or 6 times a day to keep ammonia and nitrite at or below .25 ppm. Otherwise your fish eill not make it.

4. ive halved the tank into an open space and an enclosed space consisting of 4 plants and a cove
For such a tiny tank, I would not cose off any areas. They need lots of swimming room and your tank doesn't have enough even with nothing in it.

5. one fish consistently gasps for air, ive opened the lid
Generally an indication of low oxygen levels. This can be caused by high temperatures or also because the bacteria attempting to break down the ammonia and nitrite are using all the oxygen available. Add and airstone.

6. the elite mini filter seems pretty crude to me, i heard the elite stingray 5 filter was pretty good will that fit a 10 litre tank?
Never heard of that particular filter but you need something that processes the water at least 10 time per hour for the fish load you have.

7. are you supposed to put nurafin cycle in the filter sponge or the water?
Cycle is a useless product. It will not help in cycling your tank. You can certainly use it as it won't do any harm either. Just pour in the water as instructed.

8. do comets need a light, because ive got an office lamp on standby
They will be fine with just the ambient light in the room.

9. does the filter have to be on ALL the time, its a noisy box of cheap cut-backs that is killing my electricity bill so i only keep it on at daytime, is this fine?
Absolutely must be on 24/7. Otherwise the ammonia and nitrite will build up. It is the filter that is cycled, not the water. So turning off the filter means your bacteria start to die off from lack of food and the ammonia and nitrite begin to rise again.

10. lastly is it possible to add some other animals, somthing like shrimp would be cool, or something that would clean the gravel although i don't want to overcrowd the tank
The tank is already way overstocked. All a tank that size is really suited for is a single betta or maybe some frogs or shrimp. You need to upgrade ASAP or you will eventually lose the 2 fish you have. They will outgrow the tank in 6 months if you feed and care for them properly.

Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news. If I were you, I would return the fish and tank and get a minimum of 20 gallons and then do a fishless cycle on it before adding any fish.

 

[comet-tom]

thanks for the help anyway!

i can't believe they grow that big!! if they do i will put them in a larger tank
and never mind the fishes problems i'm suffering from a scam!
i told what i thought was a proffesional private dealer what would go in a freshwater tank of that size
and he pointed to the comets

well i learned the hard way ill return the tank for a bigger one but i can only afford the cheap ones!

 

[rdd1952]

You will find that the worst advice given usually comes from soomeone at the fish store. So many of the employees have no real knowledge of the hobby (especially at chain pet stores like Petco and Petsmart) and even a lot the true fish stores are still out to get your money. Comets are usually "feeder fish" for oscars and other large predatory fish so most shops consider them "expendable" so if they die during the high ammonia and nitrite of the cycliing process, it's not a big deal (in their eyes).

As for the fish out growing the tank, They may become stunted in the tank they are in and not grow any where near their full size. That is not a good thing as it will lead to a shortened life (goldfish cal live for 25+ years). If you keep the water clean, they will grow. Most stunting seems to be caused by a build up of hormones emitted by the fish. They sense the hormones and think the tank is over crowded and stop growing.

 

[littlest]

I think rdd1952 answered all your specific questions, but I just wanted to urge you to take those fish back to the lfs asap. Goldfish are very messy, in that they produce a lot of waste. It isn't just a matter of size that requires a larger tank, it is a matter of the waste (ammonia) they produce. I don't think two comets stand much of a chance of survivng in a 2 gallon tank, even if it was already cycled. I tried to cycle a ten gallon with one fancy goldfish and the levels it produced were amazingly high. Despite doing 50 per cent water changes numerous times a day I lost the fish before the cycle was complete.
Although you may plan to get a larger tank when they grow, unfortunately it is a real possibility your fish won't live long enough to grow at all.

It really would be a lot easier on both yourself and the fish to return them to the lfs now, and do a fishless cycle instead.