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Author Topic:   My beautiful goldfish - I need help!
irene81
Member

Posts: 14
From:Lynwood, CA USA
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 10-10-2003 03:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for irene81     Edit/Delete Message
Hi! Well, I bought my little goldfish (he's close to an inch) back in the middle of May. I consider it to be a sad story since I had bought him and another to feed to my turtle. I never have fed my turtle fish, I just can't watch, but this was my last desperate measure to see if my turtle would eat since he looked as if he was going to die any day now, and had not been eating. We'll he was so ill, he didn't eat them, and I decided to keep them as pets after 2-3hrs of trying to get him to eat. (Quick note, my turtle is still alive, and he's healthy) For some reason the other little fish died two days later. So I have this little fish of mine running strong so far. He started in a 5gal, then 6gal, and now he's in a 30gal all by himself. I intend to keep him by himself other than adding snails, and clams to naturally clean up the tank. Ok so this is my thing. He has the obvious gravel, an airstone, and filter in the tank. I just can't bear to watch him in that tank so I bought him a 60gal. I won't be able to set it up for a few months since I can't afford all the supplies to have it up and running at this time. I have also bought live plants, a heater, and a CO2 system that I plan on putting in his 30 gal. He also has lighting in the tank. I wanted to know if this is all ok for my little fishy. I am wanting to buy him decorative rock for when he is in his new aquarium, as well as adding glass gravel. I wanted to know what you all think of this, and if you have any tips, suggestions, etc. Oh and if you have any current fish books you are willing to sell. Not old ones though. Thanks.

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grnlemonade
Member

Posts: 194
From:Sterling Heights, MI, U.S.A.
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 10-10-2003 03:43 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for grnlemonade     Edit/Delete Message
WHOA, that is goldfish heaven what u have! most goldfish serve their life in a small bowl. dont be surprised if u end up with the fish being over 4 inches long after some time. i just cant beleive u bought all of that for a single goldfish, but good luck in keeping it.

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gr8fuljames
Member

Posts: 277
From: Indy
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 10-10-2003 04:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for gr8fuljames     Edit/Delete Message
well I guess so. Just a couple of thoughts.
1) On keeping the tank free of algea I would go with a pleco.Would advise staying away from the snails unless you what a whole bunch of them ( they reproduce very fast)
2) Watch how high your set your heater goldfish are coldwater fish.
3)Even with your clean up crew you also need to do water changes sucking the dirt from the rocks with a gravel cleaner.
4)wow what a lucky goldfish, good luck.

------------------
James (The Grateful One)

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Paul_1983
Member

Posts: 28
From:Minot, ND
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 10-10-2003 05:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Paul_1983     Edit/Delete Message
i know this great psychologist....

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pacuguy
Member

Posts: 200
From:canada
Registered: May 2003

posted 10-10-2003 08:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for pacuguy     Edit/Delete Message
i would only recomend keeping a Pleco until it gets big then trade it in and get another small one, my pleco was 12inch and had lots of food ate the algea waffers all the time but still would suck on the sides of my pacus(RIP) stressed em out major.

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jdevm
New Member

Posts: 7
From:
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 10-11-2003 01:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jdevm     Edit/Delete Message
If you are just having one goldfish, save your money and stick with the thirty. Get a 120 GPH powerhead and a power filter rated at 40 gallons. You could easliy get him a friend and still have plenty of oxygen. Actually, snails work fantastic for cleaning your tank. They wont use as much oxygen as a pleco. Dont get alot though because they do produce their own waste with higher levels of ammonia. Your chemical and biological filtration will take care of that though as long as you perform a 25% water exchange at least every other week. True the reproduce alot only if they are the same species. A Black and A Gold mystery snail wont breed, but two black mystery snails and two gold ones will. If you just have one you will have no problems and he will keep the tank perfectly clean. If you get two that reproduce you can simply scrape off the eggsacks of the sides of the tank, no problem. In the past I had my own dilema with snails and I let the sacks hatch and within a week 5 fish in my tank were toast and a week later every snail that we didnt transfer to another tank died because the PH went way to low. I have 2 30 gallon tanks with 3 goldfish in each. An Albino Bubble Eye telecope at 3.5", a Black Moor at 3.5", and a Calico Ryukin at 3" in tank 1 with a pleco at 5" and a spotted catfish at 1.5 ". Tank 2 has the trophy critters, a orange Ryukin at 5.5" (Thats right 5.5 inches, Guiness Book, here we come!), a gold fancytail at 4" and a new calico fancytail at 2" with a Gold Mystery snail at 2", an albino catfish at 1.5", and a pleco at an inch that I have seen in over a month, but he has hid alot since we got him 5 months ago so I am pretty sure he is still alive. Both tanks have power filters rated at 60 gallons and 150 GPH power heads incorporated into the undergravel filter system and all my fish are very happy and growing daily, colors are very bright and scales are very durable. Good Luck!

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jdevm
New Member

Posts: 7
From:
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 10-11-2003 01:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jdevm     Edit/Delete Message
also, stay away from live plants in freshwater tanks, they typically dont live very long and goldfish find them mighty tasty! They will produce some oxygen but your power filter will put much more in there.

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dianenm
Member

Posts: 183
From:austin,tx, usa
Registered: Dec 2002

posted 10-11-2003 02:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dianenm     Edit/Delete Message
I don't know about plants in a goldfish tank, but I have a few plants that are 4 years old, that have been with me from almost day one of my fishkeeping. Plants vary in hardiness.

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tuttifrutti
Member

Posts: 478
From:Dallas, Texas
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 10-11-2003 03:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for tuttifrutti     Edit/Delete Message
1 goldfish, not quite an inch long? stick with the 30, he would b good in a bowl!

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jdevm
New Member

Posts: 7
From:
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 10-11-2003 04:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jdevm     Edit/Delete Message
remember, PH is everything, you can have all the oxygen in the world go into that tank and your fish can be doing pretty bad, I would check your PH level if he is swimming at the top alot. PH typically should be 6.5 - 7.5, any lower than 6.5 and you have some problems.

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jdevm
New Member

Posts: 7
From:
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 10-11-2003 10:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jdevm     Edit/Delete Message
also, make sure you use a good water conditioner when you do your water changes. Water conditioners perform many different functions. They remove chlorine, neutralize chloramines, detoxify heavy metals, remove ammonia, and help replace the fish's protective slime coating they lose from stress. When you look for water conditioners try and find one that will perform all of these functions. Most perform all except removing ammonia. THis and PH are the most crucial, ammonia poisoning is the #1 killer of aquarium fish. look for these 2 products, BIO-Safe and BIO-Coat. They work excellent together. Nitrites (not Nitrates) are bad to so dont overfeed your fish, what ever they dont it within 5 minutes remove the leftovers with a brine shrimp net (or a very tightly webbed net). Also recommend you put some salt in your tank. Never put regular salt as it will contain Iodine which wont make your fish very happy. You can purchuse salt specifaclly designed for freshwater aquariums at your local pet store. 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of fish is the norm, but goldfish like a little more so I use 6 tablespoons for my 30 gallon tanks. A lack of sodium in the water will break down the slime coat of fish.

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katanas_edge
Member

Posts: 266
From:Canada
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 10-15-2003 08:31 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for katanas_edge     Edit/Delete Message
That's quite the set-up. Here's some advice on what you've got:
-heater: not needed, especially if you live in California. Generally, goldfish do best in cooler water. Will do more harm than good for your goldfish.
-plants: Goldfish like to eat them and dig up the roots. This shouldn't be a problem yet as you only have one small fish, but when he gets big (and he can get very big) the plants might suffer. My goldfish have gotten to the size now that they've effectively eaten off the softer grasses, etc. in my tank. The tougher plants are holding their own - for now. I just make sure they plants outnumber the fish, and everyone's happy (and I don't have to prune very often!)
-Algae eaters: in a planted tank, there ability to clean algae has to be weighed against the damage they'll do to plants. Common Plecostomos (Plecos) are voracious, and will keep your tank spotless. They'll also grow big and eat your plants like you wouldn't believe. I've heard mixed reviews about bristlenose plecos appetite for plants, but haven't raised one myself. Large snails (apple and trapdoor) will eat plants. My snail got into the habit of starting at the stalk, killing the rest of the plant without hardly eating much of it. Ottocinclus might be your best bet, although you'll need lots, and they have to be climatised to goldfish temps (they are warmer water fish). They seem to be doing fine in my tank though. Also, some cory catfish might keep the substrate cleaner.
-tank size - Congrats! I've read posting where people have 5-6 goldfish crammed in a 2 gallon bowl A 30 gallon will be plenty for quite some time though. If you set up the 60, you may want to think about getting additional fish. I started my goldfish in a 20 gallon and will be moving them to a 55 gallon sometime this fall. The plants will stay in the 20, maybe for barbs or danios. The more room, the more stable the aquarium environment.
test kits - a good thing to check with goldfish is PH and ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels. They are fairly hardy but will thrive in a PH of 7.2-7.6 Remember it's a logarithmic scale, so 6 isn't really all that close to 7.
- Other posts - goldfish can grow between 12-24 inches and live 20+ years. (generally fish over 12 inches have been ponded as the lack of room in a tank stunts their growth somewhat)
Salt is not a bad thing, but don't overdose! Only add more when water is physically removed from tank, as the salt won't evaporate like the water. Jdevm, 6tbsp/30 gallons IS 1tbsp/5gallons, isn't it?

Good Luck!

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