New Goldfish Health Check (rubbing on glass)

[Haywire]

Hi,

Just under a week ago I purchased two Fantail Goldfish from my local pet store. I've set up the aquarium relying on information almost entirely from the internet and have no one in real life to check these things for me. If anyone could be kind enough to read over the information here and look out for any red flags, I'd really appreciate that. I'm trying to keep my fish in good health.

So, I introduced them to the tank after acclimating them to the temperature. From the moment they were let out the bag, they started exploring the tank and eating up algae, bugs, and plants. I didn't feed them or turn the lights on for 24 hours. When feeding time does come around, they rush to beat each other to the food. They will always swim excitedly around the tank when someone approaches and they come to the top when the tank lid is opened - which makes me feel guilty when I'm carrying out a water change or testing.

Diet:
Currently, I'm feeding them pellets twice a day (only a couple each to match the size of their eye), as well as peas and a fast day once a week. There are copepods in the aquarium that they eat throughout the day. I also plan to add a lettuce clip and occasionally sink flakes for a varied diet. I've started to hand feed them as well for fun; they don't seem to be scared by anything. Their poo usually just breaks off and sinks to the bottom in small brown pieces.

One of my greatest concerns at the moment is I notice the fish rubbing up against the glass and filter. They also occasionally have sudden bursts of energy and dart from one point to another. These things don't happen that often but I'm still concerned about parasites. Maybe the copepods are giving the goldfish trouble? Below is a picture of the fish and underneath that, I'll list some information about the tank as well as my maintenance schedule:

Specs:
- Tank is advertised to hold 180L.
- Two filters running simultaneously. Internal + External. Total of about 1400 lph filtration rate.
- Live plants which receive nutrients and liquid CO2.

Maintenance:
- Daily 20L water changes (about 15%)
- Weekly 30% water change
- Filter floss and carbon replaced/cleaned regularly
- Algae cleaned weekly

Water Parameters:
- Ammonia: 0ppm
- Nitrite: 0ppm
- Nitrate: 1-5ppm
- pH: 7.4

Another concern is that the smaller fish who has a more rotund body sometimes has buoyancy problems. At least it seems that way, I've never seen him floating helplessly but it does look as if he has to try a little harder than his friend to stay near the bottom.

I could just be a very paranoid beginner. I suppose that all the research I have done has revealed all the types of diseases and illnesses that fancies are at risk of and I'm always looking out for symptoms. There are other explanations for their behaviour, such as the heat in England at the moment and also how they seem to dart after the copepods to catch them at times.

Thanks for reading to the end If you have any comments about anything, especially the state of my fish or what I'm doing, I'd love to hear. If I'm just worrying about nothing then just tell me to shut up and I'll spend more time worrying about my exams instead <3

 

[fluttermoth]

Unless you cycled your tank (by adding ammonia or fish food) before you added the fish, you'll need to be testing the water every day for both ammonia and nitrite, and be prepared to do a large water change if you seen any trace of them at all. With two small fancies in a big tank, you shouldn't see ammonia or nitrite rise uncontrollably, but do watch out for it. Even a tiny amount of ammonia or nitrite can irritate fish, making them 'flash' (scratch themselves on things in the tank) and prevent them taking up oxygen properly

Try and make sure the fish don't gulp too much air from the surface while they're eating; this could possibly be the cause of the buoyancy problem you're seeing. It's sometimes necessary to soak the food for a short time so it sinks.

 

[Haywire]

-Shortebed-

I have cycled the tank, the fish that I notice has buoyancy issues does seem to be gulping air from the top but not from the food I give them (I always soak that). I think there might be little copepods resting at the top which he's getting at.