Are These 'cold Water' Fish

[afeef745]

Hello All,

I recently bought an aquarium size 10 Gallons. Right now I have a Shubunkin and one small Goldfish in the aquarium. Saw a deal at a local pet store for the following fish. I was wondering whether they are COLD WATER fish and would they be compatilbe with Shubunkin and Gold Fish. The fish at the store are:

Sunburst Wag Platy
Mixed Platy
Black Neon Tetra
Gold Barb
Bala Shark

Appreciate a helpful respons, specially from those with experience with these fish.

Regards

 

[Bettawhisperer]

No. they are all not. the have to have heaters. Your Shubunkin and goldfish will out grow a 10g in no time. They are both fish that can get quite big. A goldie can grow to 12" and shubunkins can get even bigger.Unless you're planing on putting them in a pond later I would take them back to the store. The people at the store should never have sold them to you knowing you were planing on putting them in a 10g tank.

 

[karin]

Also the bala shark will grow way too big for a 10 gallon. Need like an 80 gallon minimum. I am going crazy with how many LFS sell bala sharks. What is that all about? Most people, the great majority, I doubt have tanks large enough for them.

 

[Curiosity101]

I am going crazy with how many LFS sell bala sharks. What is that all about? Most people, the great majority, I doubt have tanks large enough for them.

They're also actually a shoaling species like tetras and should be kept in groups. That's something shops don't tend to mention either.

Back to the original question, Bettawhisperer is spot on. Those fish really aren't suitable for that tank for more than a couple of months at max.

Also you need to address the ammonia problem straight away. If the tank (or rather filter) is brand new and hasn't been cycled the fish will be being exposed to extrememly high levels of ammonia. This could very easily kill them as it burns the gills and reduces the ability of the fish to absorb oxygen from the water.
Please read the links in my sig for advice on cycling.

 

[afeef745]

I appreciate the response, and will read on Amonia problem and try to fix it.

Wondering which fish will be best for my 10 Gallon aquarium. I would prefer Cold Water as they are much less hassle.

 

[Curiosity101]

How do you figure they're less hassle?

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with the direction C101 is going in: Coldwater fish are not really less hassle it turns out. We typically see two issues with them, the first we are already discussing - that goldfish are really mostly pond fish because of their enormous water volume need - and secondly, that the variety of coldwater fish available to create a community tank and enjoy the hobby is considerably more restricted than the choices up at the tropical temperature. It turns out that a heater and temperature maintenance is really quite a minor concern compared to the learning about filtration and water change maintenance, which are universal to both coldwater and tropical tanks.

We see dozens of cases like yours each year and the most positive outcomes are usually those newcomers who find a way to re-home the goldies and then work with the members here to learn the tropical fish hobby (a 10G is a very common starter tank.) I'm not trying to discourage the idea that a nice little coldwater tank could be created, I'm just trying to be sure you understand and fully explore the options.

Before I go let me add my voice to the others that more important than our discussion of the future is that you are now in an emergency Fish-In Cycling Situation probably and will need the resources of our Nitrogen Cycle and Fish-IN Cycling article in the Beginners Resouce Center.

~~waterdrop~~
ps. Welcome to TFF and our freshwater beginners section! The members here are great and you've really lucked in to a great place to learn the hobby!

 

[afeef745]

C101? Whats that?

 

[Curiosity101]

My nickname Just like many people shorted Waterdrops name to WD

 

[waterdrop]

Sorry afeef745, I should have been more careful not to use forum lingo when writing to a newcomer, just makes it all the harder for them. Its just that we get a pretty friendly atmosphere here in the freshwater beginner section and it just happens. Its just a great place to get a jumpstart into the hobby and learn things that would have been difficult otherwise. I sometimes overhear customers questions or problems in the LFS and I just sigh mentally, thinking of all that could have been explained so clearly to them here on TFF!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[afeef745]

So I just read articles from Beginners Resource Centre. As I already have added the fish, I think I will continue with Fish-In Cycling. I was wondering for how many weeks do I have to change 20% of water daily?

 

[FishyWishie]

For as many days/weeks untill your seeing 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite (for 7 days running)

The issue of tank size though for me is still a major issue both the goldfish and Shubunken will both fairly quickly grow far to big for the size of tank you have.

 

[waterdrop]

Oh yes, I think the assumption is that those will be re-homed in the coming days, those are pond fish. The baby goldfish could only be held in a 10 for a very short time and would make the fish-in cycling difficult anyway. WD

 

[afeef745]

WD, I didnt get what you trying to say. Why do I need to re-home the fish in the coming days? And what does re-homing means?

Also, I just noticed that the small Goldfish (1-inch long) has white spots all over it. What is that supposed to tell you?

 

[Curiosity101]

Shubunkin goldfish should grow to 10" long easily and common goldfish grow to 12". Goldfish have been scientifically proven to suffer from stunting if kept in a tank that is too small for them, this means that externally they stop growing or "Grow to the size of the tank", but their internal organs continue to grow and they often become listless and die prematurely for a variety of reasons. Sometimes internal organs burst due to the pressure inside of the fish.

This is why WD presumed you were planning on rehoming the fish, a 10gal tank is only suitable for goldies until they're around 2" long, at which point you'll start to risk them becoming stunted.

Re-homing means finding them a new, more suitable, home to go to. Such as a really large coldwater tank, or a pond. Some areas even have 'fish rescues' when people take in unwanted fish, some fish shops even take in unwanted fish if you ask them.

The white spots are a disease called white spot. It's caused by the ich parasite and often comes on when fish are exposed to high levels of ammonia or put under alot of stress. In this case I am pretty certain the high levels of ammonia will have caused it. The ammonia lowers the fishes immune system, I'm not sure if it's purely cause the fish is being poisoned, or if the fish actually become stressed and (like a human) their immune system is lowered by stress.

Eitherways you'll need to do 2 things to treat the fish, you'll need to pick up some white spot medication from your local fish shop and a liquid based test kit for your water. You need an ammonia test kit and a nitrite test kit (or the full API Master Test Kit if you have the money to hand).
You'll need to start the course of medication as directed on the bottle, but you'll also need to keep the ammonia levels down with water changes. This is a pain as it means you have to redose the water each time you do a water change (Ie. change 20% of water then you have to dose 20% of the original dose), but if the fish are exposed to high ammonia AND white spot, it can often lead to death so you do need to keep the ammonia levels below 0.25ppm.
The whitespot parasite itself normally isn't a killer if you catch it and treat it fast.