ok so today is my fiences and my 2nd anniversery and i have been begging him to let us get a fish so today we bought one. we got a black moor goldfish, and as i find out now hes apperently a very clumsy fish so it was good that i got him this little round bride that he can't poke his eyes on and he likes to go under it and stay for a little while but we got him a two gallon tank becasue thats what the lady at the pet store said he would need, but now im looking online and seeing he's going to need a lot bigger tank....? also to make it easier for us to clean and better for him can those little sucker fish go in the tank with him? and should we get the little plants for the tank to help with oxygen because i know he likes to digg so im kinda afraid he'll uproot the plants and end up hurting himself somehow.... i really have no idea, and id be really grateful for any help anyone has for me thank you so much
I Have Never Had Fish Before So... I Need A Little Help
- Thread starter angelbear
- Start date
Miles_hot
Fish Addict
Welcome to the board. Have a read of the beginner's stuff at the top of the board; there's quite a bit there but make sure you read about fish-in cycling as you need to keep on top of the water chemicals. You need to get a tester kit - API master are usually recommended and start doing some water changes each day to take away his waste products which are toxic to fish (at above 0.25 parts per million (PM)! As you've already worked out I think that goldfish need fairly large tanks.
This is a pretty friendly place so bring on all your questions and the experts will help you to keep you're new pet alive and happy (i'm very much a beginner and am still attempting to grow bacteria - I haven't even got around to fish yet!!
)
Regards
Miles
This is a pretty friendly place so bring on all your questions and the experts will help you to keep you're new pet alive and happy (i'm very much a beginner and am still attempting to grow bacteria - I haven't even got around to fish yet!!
)Regards
Miles
Welcome! Hopefully we can help set you on the right foot here.
Whatever you do, don't add any more fish to that tank! A sucker fish won't help you clean in the way you want, it will just make the tank dirtier by adding more waste.
Just a word of advice, don't always listen to whatever the person at the pet store says. Often times they don't really know what they are talking about or are just telling you whatever it takes to get you to buy something. There are some good employees but you always have to go home and research if what they say is true.
Like Miles said, read the begginners stuff (Beginners Resource Center link). I recommend looking at the articles "What's Cycling" and "The Nitrogen Cycle" to start with. You will soon see problems if you don't read up and start the nitrogen cycle. Basically, your fish's poop will poison itself to death if you don't change the water often enough to remove the waste, or allow a colony of healthy bacteria to grow in the filter that will "eat" the toxins.
Goldfish can get pretty big (picture of big goldfish) and they produce a lot of waste, so you'll either have to take the goldfish back to the store or get a bigger tank for it (15 gallons or bigger). If you take the goldfish back, read the article on "Fishless Cycling" and do that. You might only be able to keep a betta or a guppy in a tank that small though. If you want to get a bigger tank and keep the goldfish, read the article "Fish-in Cycling" and do that method.
Hopefully that helps somewhat and wasn't too overwhelming!
Whatever you do, don't add any more fish to that tank! A sucker fish won't help you clean in the way you want, it will just make the tank dirtier by adding more waste.
Just a word of advice, don't always listen to whatever the person at the pet store says. Often times they don't really know what they are talking about or are just telling you whatever it takes to get you to buy something. There are some good employees but you always have to go home and research if what they say is true.
Like Miles said, read the begginners stuff (Beginners Resource Center link). I recommend looking at the articles "What's Cycling" and "The Nitrogen Cycle" to start with. You will soon see problems if you don't read up and start the nitrogen cycle. Basically, your fish's poop will poison itself to death if you don't change the water often enough to remove the waste, or allow a colony of healthy bacteria to grow in the filter that will "eat" the toxins.
Goldfish can get pretty big (picture of big goldfish) and they produce a lot of waste, so you'll either have to take the goldfish back to the store or get a bigger tank for it (15 gallons or bigger). If you take the goldfish back, read the article on "Fishless Cycling" and do that. You might only be able to keep a betta or a guppy in a tank that small though. If you want to get a bigger tank and keep the goldfish, read the article "Fish-in Cycling" and do that method.
Hopefully that helps somewhat and wasn't too overwhelming!
yea they won't take the fish back unless he dies and i really really don't want that to happen... what im understanding so far is that i need to do a water change everyday until the ammoina and nitrite levels get to zero and then i should be ok. and i really didn't know that i needed a bigger tank for my fish (fred) ... but i get my next paycheck in a couple days so im gonna go buy a bigger tank for him then, because right now hes only maybe 2 inchs long, hes not very big at all... he should be ok in the tank for now right?
the lady also told me that i don't need to feed him but every other day..? ... is there anything else im forgetting .... i don't think so but im not sure
the lady also told me that i don't need to feed him but every other day..? ... is there anything else im forgetting .... i don't think so but im not sure
Yes, for now change the water every day, maybe not all of it if that is too stressful for the fish but most of it. Get an ammonia test kit if you can and make sure the ammonia is always 0 on the test kit. If it is more than 0 change the water. Hopefully that will start to cycle that filter. Once you get a new tank, even if you get a new filter, keep the old filter in the new tank so if there are any bacteria in the filter, you are keeping them. Don't ever clean the filter in the sink, never clean it with soap or bleach. If it gets clogged up, squeeze it out in old tank water.
Good luck, I love black moors I hope everything works out for him.
Good luck, I love black moors I hope everything works out for him.
Miles_hot
Fish Addict
I'm sure you have but just in case - always de-clorinate the water before you add it to the tank (OK strictly you can add the water to the tank and then de-clorinate but on a small tank with a growing bacterial load I wouldn't risk it).
Fred will be fine in the current tank for a bit - he's currently small however do move him sooner rather than later as
1) you'll probably want more fish (bigger tank = better)
2) fish kept in too smaller space will be stunted
3) it's one less thing to worry about
Have fun, we're here to help
Miles
Fred will be fine in the current tank for a bit - he's currently small however do move him sooner rather than later as
1) you'll probably want more fish (bigger tank = better)
2) fish kept in too smaller space will be stunted
3) it's one less thing to worry about
Have fun, we're here to help
Miles
coldcazzie
Ice Queen
Water companies put chlorine in the water to make it more suitable for us to drink. But chlorine is toxic to fish, and the bacteria that live in your filter. So you need to buy a bottle of dechlorinator, which you add to the water every time you do a water change, and it will neutralise the chlorine in the water. I'm surprised the fish shop didn't tell you that - they usually get that bit right at least!
Sorry to hear Fred died
but if you would like to keep more fish (either different fish or another black moor), then at least now you can sort out everything properly. If the tank is still brand new, you could take it back to the shop and swap it for a bigger one. Then if you do a fishless cycle (where you add household ammonia to the tank) then in a couple of months you should be able to add a new fishie without having to worry about him (or her) getting ammonia poisoning 
if you'd like to stick with the tank you have then I would say still do a fishless cycle, but buy a heater and keep some kind of small tropical fish rather than a coldwater one. 5G is a little small, but not too small to work with
Sorry to hear Fred died
but if you would like to keep more fish (either different fish or another black moor), then at least now you can sort out everything properly. If the tank is still brand new, you could take it back to the shop and swap it for a bigger one. Then if you do a fishless cycle (where you add household ammonia to the tank) then in a couple of months you should be able to add a new fishie without having to worry about him (or her) getting ammonia poisoning if you'd like to stick with the tank you have then I would say still do a fishless cycle, but buy a heater and keep some kind of small tropical fish rather than a coldwater one. 5G is a little small, but not too small to work with
ok thank you ill try to take the stuff back to the pet store and get a bigger tank i dk if they will let me but ill try and i'll do a fishless cycle because i got attached to fred and i don't want to lose another fish. but thank you all so much
ill try to take the stuff back to the pet store and get a bigger tank i dk if they will let me but ill try and i'll do a fishless cycle because i got attached to fred and i don't want to lose another fish. but thank you all so muchHi angelbear.
Unfortunately many beginners learn the hard way so don't beat yourself up too much about it. As long as you learn from the mistakes and stick around here from now you'll be good. If you have any questions at all, no matter how silly they seem, just ask around here. We're all quite nice. Except Tizer, he's wierd.
(he did say so in another thread!)
Unfortunately many beginners learn the hard way so don't beat yourself up too much about it. As long as you learn from the mistakes and stick around here from now you'll be good. If you have any questions at all, no matter how silly they seem, just ask around here. We're all quite nice. Except Tizer, he's wierd.
(he did say so in another thread!)Miles_hot
Fish Addict
Sorry to hear about Fred. Have a read on the beginners stuff about the fishless cycle etc and you'll know as much as many of us - then all the questions start and you'll really start to feel comfortable about what needs to happen.
Miles
Miles
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