Need Some Advice ........

[Chris #]

Hi There,

I have a very settled aquarium downstairs which is now runing nicley thanks to the advice I received here!!!

Now my daughter has a tank upstairs for a goldfish ........it's very small.

now here is my question .....


I've been told by my local Aquarists that I could pop some Guppies in there for her if the water temp doesnt go below 18deg c ...... I've monitiored it and it doesnt .........

now the tank itself has filtration and lighting and I've carried out a water test .......

Ammonia is high at the the moment (1.5) but I dont think the tank has finished cycling yet ............ but the filter is only one with a sponge in rather than all the media of the one I have downstairs ...... will this still cycle in the same way or do I need to Change it?

I'm worried I've been given some bum advice here and I dont want my fish suffering as a result .........

I want to do this to encourage my daughter who has shown an interest but also to set it up as a fry tank as the fry are getting wiped out in mine .........

 

[JenCliBee]

if it is that small the a goldfish isnt sutible they need 50g upwards , guppies will not live at 18 degrees the temp drop will probably kill them.

wot are the dimentions of the tank

if big enough danio's could live in the temp quite comfatably but if i was u and the tank is big enough i would buy a heater and use it as a small tropical aquarium for live bearers


jen

 

[OldMan47]

The minimum for healthy guppies is about 20C which is much colder than most people keep them. At 18C I would not expect them to do well at all. The comments about the size needed for a goldfish may be a bit extreme but are essentially right. A goldfish should no way be in a small tank.

 

[Chris #]

if it is that small the a goldfish isnt sutible they need 50g upwards , guppies will not live at 18 degrees the temp drop will probably kill them.

wot are the dimentions of the tank

if big enough danio's could live in the temp quite comfatably but if i was u and the tank is big enough i would buy a heater and use it as a small tropical aquarium for live bearers


jen

Hi Jen,

The tank is around 30L and the Temperature is between 20 and 21 degc

I suppose I'm a little concerned what the Goldfish will think of the heater too

 

[Miss Wiggle]

the ammonia level could be one of two things either the tank hasn't cycled properly or the filter is just not up to the job, goldfish are very high waste producers and it's a tank that's way too small for it.

you really need to get goldie into a bigger tank with a filter that's up to the job, think 20gallon tank really.

do not put anymore fish in this tank certainly with the goldifhs, if you re-home the goldie you may be able to keep something in it, you've not said how big the tank is though so without knowing we can't really advise on what is suitable.

the ammonia level is really concerning though, you need that to be 0, or if that's not possible then below 0.25ppm, you should be doing daily water changes to get this under control

 

[Chris #]

Hi,

It's a 30L Tank and the temp is a steady 21 deg

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, MW has said it.. Your immediate task is to begin water changes. Then you will need to base the decision for continued frequency of water changes based on what your morning and evening ammonia and nitrite tests on the goldfish tank say. You'll want to do changes if either test is over 0.25ppm.

Our LFS's are just right there with all the encouragements for exactly the wrong thing, aren't they? A well-filtered 10 or 20 gallon in a child's room with a small number of colorful tropicals and maybe some playful corries would be such a safe bet. But our stores make it so easy to get goldfish (way to big and messy), small tanks (more difficult to balance than larger tanks), livebearers (so much instant entertainment, but then slowly but surely, dozens of happy wriggling little problems begin to multiply!!)

I shouldn't fuss though, the members will get you sorted out!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[backtotropical]

Hi,

I have heard of guppies being kept successfully as low as 19C. I agree that 18 might be pushing it a little. As your tank is steady at 21C, guppies would be fine and a good addition..............

However, having a goldfish in a 30 litre, you are already way overstocked which your ammonia level is confirming, so adding more fish is a recipe for disaster. I would recommend no less than a 20 gallon tank for a solitary goldfish, but 30 gallons would be preferable.

As has been pointed out, you need to do water changes immediately and keep doing as many as needed to keep ammonia and nitrite virtually undetectable. Any detectable level of ammonia or nitrite will potentially kill your fish. I would advise that you should also start to look into investing in a bigger tank or looking to re-home the fish immediately too.

If you re-home the goldie, you could keep a shoal of 6 guppies no problem in the small tank.

You could try taking some media from your other tank to the filter on the goldfish tank. That would help with the existing water quality issues, until you can re-house the goldie.

Hope that helps.

BTT

 

[JenCliBee]

im not sure y ppl are suggesting 20g tanks for a goldfish in the future u would probably buy another 1 aswell so y are ppl encouraging the 20g or even 30g when in the future u will have 2 upgrade specially when these goldfish are around 6 iches long ,waste of money if u gonna upgrade then upgrade once!!!! with a sutible size 2 start with instead of buying a suitable for the time been and then having 2 upgrade again . not moaning but logically suggestions for the future would have been better.

ill stop moaning now lol

jen

 

[Chris #]

Hi,

Thanks for all the advice !!!

I have a bit of a problem here as my SWIMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) stopped me from getting the large tank in the first place and she wont budge ........

I'll get a bigger filtler and leave the goldie there for now .... I really wish I could get another tank but it just isnt going to happen ...........