new tank or old?

[rosie T.]

I have a friend who just recently lost all his fish. This tank contained tropical fish, and his loss ocurred only about 2 weeks ago. The tank itself is still running... although fishless.
He asked me if he could use the exact same tank with everything the way it was for goldfish ( without the heater of course). And I couldn't answer him! I wasn't too sure if it was ok to expose new fish to the same bacteria that was floating around with the old fish. What is reuseable?

 

[Alien Anna]

Given that goldfish even survive my sister's fish keeping skills (Hint: my sister does things like clean out the filter with dilute bleach) they'll probably be fine, provided your friend does regular water changes.

Do be aware that goldfish ideally require about 5-10 gals each and will eat plants.

 

[aernympha]

maybe he should stick with tropical hardy species like platies cheaps fish so hes doesnt waste alot of money if they die..... what went wrong how come all the fish died???

 

[Kossy]

More info is needed what were the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels? Did he add the fish immediately when he got the tank? did he cycle the tank? More info is needed plz

 

[rosie T.]

I think that he did the whole "new tank syndrome" and got too fish happy when he first got the tank. They all died little by little. I'm not too sure what happened.

Should I let him know that it is ok for him to house goldfish in the tank? Do you guys think that he needs to change anything like the gravel and decorations? Or can he just house them right away? Or can he just wash everything down and reuse them?

 

[lordmoose]

First of all goldfish require a LOT of space (as AA said 5-10 gallons each would be ideal) IMO goldfish are for ponds.

Secondly the tank probably isn't cycled yet, so no he can't put fish in yet. Tell him to test the water.