Need A Little Advice

[Sarah1]

Hey Everyone! I'm new to the forum but I need a little advice.

I started my first aquarium of Goldfish back in June/July time last year and the Goldfish were fine. This afternoon when I looked into the tank I found one of the fish dead inbetween the plants and another dead down at the bottom of the tank beside the filter? I've removed the two dead and the other two are still swimming about like they normally do. Just wondering if anyone may know what caused the two to die so suddenly and what steps to take next.

Thanks

Sarah
xx

 

[Caprichoso]

Hi Sarah,

If your dead fish don't have any outward signs of disease or parasites, water quality could possibly be an issue.
Do you have a water testing kit for ammonia and nitrates/nitrites? If tests come back okay, other things have to be considered such as water temperature fluctuations, stress and internal parasites or internal organ damage. Without actually doing an autopsy (morbid, I know), it's difficult to pinpoint what the cause could be. I have info on how to do fish autopsies but I personally couldn't do it!
The best thing to do is perform regular water changes, keep the temp consistent and keep a close eye on your remaining fish for abnormal behaviour or outward sighs of sickness.
Also, what type of gravel and decorations do you have in your tank? Just make sure that everything you have in your tank is meant for a freshwater environment.
Good luck

 

[Sarah1]

Can't remember what kind of gravel it is exactly but I got it out of Asda and as for decorations I did have I think it was Bogwood that was in it but I took it out because it was making the water go really yellow and horrible. When I bought the fish I asked the colleague what kind of plant would go best with the wood in the tank and she picked one out that would be ok to put in with it. Never had any problems. I'm thinking it might be the water because I changed the water two days ago but I didn't do anything different to what I normally do. I usualy fill up the bucket and leave it to sit for a couple of days then clean out the tank and put the new water in. I'm totally baffled by it all. I'll get a hold of a water testing kit and see what results I get, In the mean time i've filled up another bucket of water and will do another water change tomorrow. Fingers crossed the remaining two fish will be alright. How long should I leave it before I get some new fish to replace the old ones?

 

[Skins]

Hello Sarah,
Sorry to hear about your losses. Can i recommend you buy yourself a test kit(liquid based)before adding any more fish. When you leave the fresh water in a bucket before performing your water change do you add a dechlorinater to remove chlorine/chloromine from the tap water?
Leaving water in a bucket for 48hrs needs a airstone in it so the chlorine can gas off, if any chlorine thats left in the buckets water gets to the filter it will kill the bacterias needed to break down the toxins(ammonia/nitrIte)in your tank waters chemistry.

Keep us posted, Keith.

 

[Caprichoso]

Yeah, unfortunately the bogwood releases a lot of tannins in the water at first. You could boil it to release some of the tannins(it would look nice in the tank). You mention that you let your water sit before adding it to the tank? Just make sure it sits for a few days. I usually add the chlorine remover just to be safe (I'm paranoid and impatient, lol). Do you have java fern in your tank? I find goldfish leave it alone. My mom has a couple of moss balls in her tank and they leave those alone too.
As far as adding new fish, once you've determined that the water is good(no ammonia and all that), everything is stable and your other fish are acting normally, add more fish. But, I would give it a good couple of weeks first, testing daily or every second day. No sense in adding more until you're sure about the water quality.
How old is your set up by btw? If it's less than 6 months, you have to really keep and eye out, as there can be many fluctuations in ammonia.

 

[Harlequins]

Hi & welcome

Firstly how big is your tank?

When you clean the tank out,how do you do it?

 

[Aqua Tom]

Hi & welcome

Firstly how big is your tank?

When you clean the tank out,how do you do it?

+1


How many fish do you have in it & what size are they?






.

 

[Sarah1]

I leave the water to sit for 4/5 days before changing it over, When I clean out the tank i wipe down the sides using a normal sponge but using the water in the tank. then get about 3/4 of the water out then add some new stuff in and let it sit for a while. I had 4 fish as for size of tank can't remember how much it holds but its a glass one that one of my mates gave me because she was needing rid of it.

Forgot to mention I got them at the start of June last year so about 8/9 months I've had them.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Sarah measure the length, width and height and then someone can work it out for you

 

[Sarah1]

Just measured the tank and it's 18"x10"x10".

 

[Skins]

Just measured the tank and it's 18"x10"x10".

29ltr/6gal

 

[Sarah1]

Cheers, Thanks for the help guys. I'll keep you posted on what happens.

 

[Harlequins]

TBH 6 gal is way too small for goldies...even one of them it happens a lot here,goldfish grow to a very large size and keeping them in small tanks can stunt their growth and lead to ean early demise...

How big are they now?

Have you done owt to your filter lately?

and has the sponge you cleaned the tank with been used for anything else?

 

[Twinklecaz]

I know you said that you don't want tropicals until you have more experience but really I think they're easier - all you need that you don't already have is a heater and you'd have so much more choice. You could have a lovely shoal of something in there or maybe some Honey or Sparkling Gouramis. Though I do like goldfish too! Are they fancy ones or ordinary ones?

 

[Sarah1]

They're the ones with the fancy tails that I have. I was actually thinking of getting a new tank because like I said the one that I did get was from a friend and it was really only just to start me off. I'll be going to the pet shop at some point during the week to get a couple of things for my hamster so i'll take a look and see what they have. As for the answer to the question was the sponge used for anything else, the answer is no. I keep all my cleaning stuff for my fish and my hamsters in seperate boxes under the sink away from any chemicals or cleaning products.

They're not that much bigger from when I got them maybe just over an inch from head to tail. I did ask when I bought them how many I could have in that size of tank and I had my mate that I got the tank from with me when I bought them the woman in the shop said that four would be alright. I haven't done anything to my filter haven't done anything to it really since I got it.