New fish keeper

[Alviss]

4 weeks ago i bought a 24ltr coldwater tank with pump filter and light (as in picture left) and then put 3 small/medium sized (what i thought) goldfish in.
the water was ok for 3 days but became murky and smelly very quickly.and carried on after further cleaning. I used tap safe , and fish revitilser, but one by one all 3 fish got fungus and white speckles all over their bodys and then died.
I have now (today) bout 2 very small lionheads and another goldfish of some descrition and dont want the same thing to happen to them. i think that they are just reajusting to the surroundings, but they seem to stare at themselfves in the reflection.
im new to all this and was wondering if you could give me some advise.

cheers
laura
Alvissxx

 

[Fresh_Start]

Three goldfish are too many for 24 liters. You should try to keep only one in that tank if you want to improve your chances. What type of filter do you have? Goldfish are very messy and typically require more filteration than tropicals.

 

[trixiebelle]

Hi there,

Yes, the general rule is 8uk gallons per goldfish to allow for growth. The tank you have was too small.

Also, did you cycle the tank before you added the fish. I suspect you didn't as you have only had the tank for four weeks.

There are various guides on the web for advice on cycling tanks and also general upkeep.

Do you have a water test kit to test for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and PH level. If you don't then I would advise getting a kit from your LFS and then post the readings you get on here. Then hopefully one of us can help.

Sorry about all the questions but its just to find out enough to help you out and don't feel too bad about whats happened, you have made a common mistake when starting out but at least you are now willing to learn.

Hope to hear from you soon.

P.S I'm a newbie on the forum too.