Fish Identification

[chishnfips]

below are two links in both of them you will be able to see clearly the differences between tropical and coldwater fish.

Generally from my experience tropical fish are far more colourful and take on many different forms.

where as

Coldwater fish seem to all use similar colours (for the majority that we see in the pet stores) usually golds whites, yellows, blacks and greys and all seem to look quite similar (to me anyway) .

I hope these links help you.

as for the the tetras, they will probably seem ok in the tank as the damge that will be caused will be long term and maybe not as noticeable, as tokis said you might see different actions in their behaviour, and feeding patterns.

As you have a heater in there then it would be the goldfish that aren't comfortable, unless you take out the heater and rehome the tetras. If you think of it in terms of, if you were a goldfish and loved the cold water would like to live in a place that was too hot? And vice versa for the tetra.

As for the filter, if you had one in the tank it would firstly save you alot of work with the water changes, and it would also help maintain a good equilibrium within the tank, it keeps the water moving, helps oxygenate it, filters out the poop and uneaten food. without having a filter you are risking the build up of amonia and nitrites, which are poisinous to your fish.

The lfs that you bought them from has not given you good advice and just wanted a sale, its not you that is at fault, but good researching before you buy is always a bonus .

goldfish link
(click the link and go to photos on the left hand side)



tropical fish link

 

[AVANTI]

i guess the only option out is to seperate them....i had no clue that gold fishes are coldwater fishes..always thought that they needed a heater no matter what kind of fish there are.

I change the entire tank every 3 weeks. every two days i take out almost half a tank and refill it with new water.

I had a fighter fish which died due to sudden weather change here...and so after that i got a heater and all the fishes seemed fine.

The tetras though have become slightly pinkish from the pure white that they were. Is that any disease?



thanks...well about the research...i sure did a lot, but which which was something i left to the place i bought it from....since they sure knew more than me...

anwyay, will have to get the tetras out...

One more thing....could you give me a few names of fishes that are cold water fish, that would be fine with gold fishes?

 

[kat and james]

i did a quick google search and found this info on coldwater fish. i only keep goldfish in my coldwater tank, so i am not so sure as to how accurate this info is!

http/freshaquarium.about.com/od/fishqa/f/coldwaterfish.htm

kat

 

[chishnfips]

I think the pinky colour is actually their colour, I did a google on it and it said that they do have a pink tinge in them but I think it may be caused by dying the fish with colours by the breeder

white skirt tetra link

 

[AVANTI]

....okie...i have a black moor (confirmed), a white skirt tetra (confirmed) and two gold fishes (which type...debate continues.

primarily i had a confusion between a Silver dollar and a White skirt tetra...but the mouth of a WST is quite strangly diff at first....took somtime to get use to that look after a black moor

well im still working on getting them seperated, temporarly i have the temp in the tank as 25% C..is that ok with all these three in the tank?

looked through the link and also did a lot of research myself about the freshwater fishes...but at the end of it all, i will have to go and see what the shop has to think what i can get in return.

qs-

1. Any particluar filter to begin with? ANy suggesstions? The tank size is approx. 1.5 feet by 2 feet by 1.5 feet.

2. any hand made objects that can be put in the tank to enhance the 'hide and seek' feel for the fishes?

 

[kat and james]

bogwood is always an attractive addition to a tank!

you still haven't told us where you are located!!!

kat

 

[AVANTI]

hmmm a bogwood.....ok but anything that i can 'self make'. i know its close to impossible, but any ideas?

-also a list of things that are readily available in the market??....i tried real plants but they get eaten up and also fade colour(die out) very soon.

...pls i keep thinking what to add to the tank, that my mom gets fits everytime im at home, as i tend to pic anything that i think is water resistant and in it goes into the tank....(if you've seen the tank, i have a tilted maggi noodles bowl as a kind of a 'hide-out' place

im from south india (hyderabad). Not many ppl i know are aquarium lovers, actually not even pet lovers. Getting an aquarium was a way out to get a pet into the house, after getting a Dog was ruled out by mom....(too much of emotional bonding and attachement involved).

 

[sylvia]

First of all those red/white goldfish are just ordinary common goldies by the looks of it. They are deffinately not red-cap orandas or orandas of any sort for that matter. They aren't even of a fancy type as their tail does not seem to be double (look at their tails and tell me, do they have 4 lobes or just 2? Or if that doesn't make sense, if you look at the fish from the back, do they have a butterfly-shaped tail made of two fins or just one single fin?).

Next I should warn you to NOT take advice from the fish shop. NEVER, ever rely on them for info. Some are relatively good about it but most are just after getting sales.

Next, you have to get another tank for your 3 goldfish. They require no heater, very good filtration (an underwater, hang-on-back, power filter - ask your LFS - such as those made by fluval or an external filter of most any brand would be fine). The filter should be suitable for the size tank you have but, for the 3 goldfish, you'll need a new 40 gallon tank (or larger) and a filter to match.

The tetra should remain in the tank you currently have with the heater and you should also add 5 more of the tetras because these are schooling fish and also get a filter suitable for that tank as well. I'm not sure how many gallons your is but someone else might be able to help out with that if you post the exact dimensions (just measure the length, width and height).

When you move the goldfish to their new tank, also move a couple of handfuls of gravel from the current tank with them. That'll make sure your tank cycles quickly (read the links in my signature to learn more about cycling).

Make sure you are using de-chlorinator when you change water and only change 25% once a week. Also get yourself a gravel vacuum if you don't have one already so you can clean the substrate. You'll find instructions come with the vacuum.

If you cannot get another tank for your goldfish, return them all to your LFS. They should not be in a warmwater tank and yours is too small for them anyway. Goldfish grow to 10" (commons can get even bigger) and can live for over 20 years if properly looked after.

 

[AVANTI]

oh no ....i cannot get another tank...i will have to live in that same tank with the gold fishes out of the house then!!!! i've got this tank with a lot of concent...doing my best to keep it now

I guess i will have to find a way to return the tetras and focus on freshwater fishes (cold water right?) and since im just beggining to understand that having an aquarium is NOT AN EASY JOB....i better not get too excited in making my tank colourful and in that process having dead fishes floating in the tank!!

Sylvia, thanks a lot for that detailed info...
-i'll have to get a filter to begin with...will find out what the LFS has here and get back to confrim the same.
-secondly the vaccum is something i dont understand? where does it go? below the gravel?
-Thirdly my tank is approx. 1.5 feet by 2 feet by 1.5 feet. I was told that 6 fishes are good for this tank size.
-Fourthly my aim as of now is to just keep these as long as i can, in good health. in that process really find out, if i have the patience to have a TRUE AQUARIUM!!!!

 

[sylvia]

The vacuum is a plastic tube you use once a week to suck up any leftover food or dirt that's fallen to the bottom of the tank. It'll also help you do water changes quicker. You don't put it in the tank like a filter or anything - it's just a tool you can use to help you clean the tank once a week. Ask your fish shop about this and they should be able to explain.

Fish are not all the same size. Goldfish grow to a foot long. The tetras only grow to 2 inches. Your tank is about 33 gallons so will be ok for the 3 goldfish - but NOT for 6. Return the tetras, get a good filter and then don't add any more fish. Also, make sure you take out the heater once you have returned the tetras.

 

[kat and james]

if you are unable to get a larger tank for your goldies, you may be better off taking them back to the shop, and building up a tropical tank with the tetras (these need a lot less space than your goldfish, and they won't grow quite so large), you already have the heater

kat

 

[AVANTI]

guess i have to check out both the options depending on which shop takes which fish, cause you see all the three pairs are from three different shops...so well...its all going to depend on them...not sure if they'd take them back...lets see.

I guess this tank would be fine for sometime with the goldies....how fast do they grow afterall?

And also, i've seen a single/two gold fish in a small fish bowl....hows that space enough for it/them and not this big a tank for just two goldies? kinda confused?

 

[OohFeeshy]

And also, i've seen a single/two gold fish in a small fish bowl....hows that space enough for it/

Its not

 

[pica_nuttalli]

guess i have to check out both the options depending on which shop takes which fish, cause you see all the three pairs are from three different shops...so well...its all going to depend on them...not sure if they'd take them back...lets see.

I guess this tank would be fine for sometime with the goldies....how fast do they grow afterall?

And also, i've seen a single/two gold fish in a small fish bowl....hows that space enough for it/them and not this big a tank for just two goldies? kinda confused?

The common "goldfish bowl" is really a goldfish deathtrap. The natural lifespan of a healthy goldfish is 20 years or more! Have you ever heard of a goldfish living that long in a tiny goldfish bowl? (the answer is "no" )

Common goldfish grow to be about 12 inches long.
Black moor goldfish grow to be about 6-8 inches long.
Skirt tetras grow to be about 3-4 inches long and should be kept in schools of 6.

Judging by weather reports for Hyderabad, you have pretty warm weather all year long. I've noticed that the members on here from the more tropical regions such as yours often have more trouble with their aquariums overheating than with tanks being too chilly. You will probably have more long-term success in keeping smaller tropical fish than you will have keeping coldwater goldfish.

Since you now know that you can't rely on the fish dealers to give you correct information, you'll have to do extra amounts of research online. At the top of this fish forum is a "Fish Index" that's separated out into families and then species. I suggest browsing around in there just to help yourself become familiar with the different types of fish that are commonly seen in shops. After that, there's a bunch of other references available on the web to help you pick out types of fish. You'll want to do this sort of looking around in advance so that when you do go out shopping and you see fish that you like, you can already guess at what kind it is and have a place to begin researching it.

Supposing you can get rid of the goldfish, a school white skirt tetras would definately be ok in a 20 gallon tropical tank, so that's a good starting point.

You'll need to get some sort of filtration working in your tank. If money is a problem with getting a filter, I suggest you check out the Do-It-Yourself subforum for suggestions. It looks like you already have a couple of air-pumps; you wouldn't need to do much to transform them into sponge filters.

I know there's at least one other member on here from India, akudewan, although I think he's from a northern region. You could still try contacting him and seeing if he has any suggestions.

 

[AVANTI]

yes true the goldies in the fish bowl dont stay there for long...I'm taking a step at a time..since i might be shifting to a diff city in a few months.

Well...yes thats true the weather here is warm to very hot for about 5 motnhs in a year, though at present its winter time (indian winter and its quite cold.

But without a heater the water is quite cool in summer as well here...though not as chily as needed for the goldies. The reason my first Fighter fish died i suppose even though it was summer then was the fact that the water got too cold.

Since the weather is going to grow cooler and remain cold for about 2 motnhs now...i guess i could keep the goldies until then.

untill then hope all goes well!