How Difficult Can This Be.....

[Villy Valley]

Hi

Need lots of help I'm afraid. My 11 year old has always wanted a pet and No has always been the answer until I relented last year. One goldfish in a bowl who looked lonely and so I bought a companion. Fish kept dying and so I visited Aquatic shop and was told - don't keep fish in a small round bowl. This was the same bowl that they sold me as a starter kit!! I have upgraded to a larger tank with a filter in it and a strip light in the roof. To keep the goldfish company I bought a black moor (Villy Valley is his name) and Toffee another toffee coloured fantail and a white one called Sebastion and Boris with a moustache and two mountain minnows. The mountain minnow died quickly. Villy caught a parasite (argulus) that I removed with tweezers. The started flash dancing and so I bought white spot treatment. The tablets to check the nitrite levels. Then drops to condition the water. Then Tonic salts incase the feel sick. Then calming drops to keep them happy. I now understand that the goldfish killed the minnows and that they are not compatable. So they have both been removed. Now Toffee is floating on his side and just drifts around in the tank in an aimless manner. What the heck is wrong and are there some simple things I could at least start to get right! I can't bear to think I keep killing them.

Thanks

Villey Valley(who has a vested interest in staying alive)

 

[@ombomb]

What do you currently have in the tank?

What is the volume of the tank?

What is the water temp?

Do you have any test kits for the water? If so please post the Amonia / Nitrite / Nitrate levels.

How frequently and how much water do you change?

Do you use dechlorinator when doing water changes?

 

[catxx]

you'll probably find your tank is still too small and under-filtered.
goldfish need a LOT of filtration, they're poop machines!
and lack of this causes all sorts of problems.

 

[Villy Valley]

Hi,

I have 4 fish in the tank at the moment. 1 Black Moor and 3 fantails. I want to add some more but am waiting for Toffee to recover (or die ) ) Volume of tank Ummmmm well it measures 50cm length X 24cm height x 24cm depth (does that tell you?) Yes I do put the drops in when I put tap water in to sort out the chemical thing you mentioned. I did a 25% water change 4 days ago. I do this once a month and then I take the filter out and wash in the water that I took out of the tank. No idea what the temperature is. I bought the fish from the shop stuck my fingers in to the water in the bag and guessed the temperature. I just stick my finger in and see how it feels. I have got a test kit for nitrItes. I get a test tube full of water and put tablet in and crush it up give it a shake and wait a few moments and then have a chart to put it beside. I am going well with this - I think - just a slight tinge of pink - which I believe is ok. I am worried about Toffee who is floating on his side.

Villy Valley

 

[catxx]

you need to water changes once a week at least.

someone else will be able to do the maths on your tank size
but it still does sound way too small.

the rule with goldfish is, 20 GALLONs for the first fish, 10 gallon per fish thereafter.
if your unsure how big a 20 gallon tank is, go to your LFS and have a look at one!

before i came on this board i thought, along with most other people, that goldfish were the perfect starter fish, turns out, they are far more difficult and expensive to keep than a tropical tank.

 

[@ombomb]

You have a fair amount of fish packed into what is a very small tank (7.5 USG / 28.8 ltrs), so that chances are this is an infection brought on by poor water conditions.

Get a liquid based test kit for amonia / nitrite / nitrite, once a tank is established, nitrites should ALWAYS be 0. Did this start after the water change (which should be weekly)?

Are the other fish showing any signs of illness / distress?

 

[catxx]

oo also get a thermometer, goldfish are COLDWATER so if they're tank water is up to tropical temperatures, that'll have adverse effects on them.