Goldfish help

Silverfish

Hi,

I bought two goldfish at the weekend, they're about as energetic a pet as I needed. However, despite the info I received in the shop, it seems the bowl they're in is a) wrong and b) too small.

Its just a glass brandy glass type 10L bowl, I've since heard that goldfish don't thrive well in bowls, and that 10L is way way too little for goldfish.

What would be the best place to look for a proper tank for these guys, and what size would I realistically be looking at? I'm calculating at least 75L, would that be correct?

evilmonkee

Hey, its great that your doing some research into your fish, so many people dont bother because they dont complain !

The rough size guide is 3.75 L to every 1 inch of fish you own. You'll also need an air filter/pump for the tank, there is some speculation on how much air you need, my own (12 YO) fish got scared when I switched to an air pump the correct size for their tank :eek: so I put the one from their old tank in and now 10 years later they're still swimming

Any good garden and aquarium center will be able to give you most specific advice, they usually have starter kits too which include the tank, air filtration system, stones, ornaments etc. if you want to get it all at once.

Your better off going to one of them rather than a pet shop as the fish tend to be better kept and can give you specialized advice.

hope that helps and the best of luck with your new friends

Silverfish

evilmonkee wrote: »

Hey, its great that your doing some research into your fish, so many people dont bother because they dont complain !

The rough size guide is 3.75 L to every 1 inch of fish you own.

That's a lot lot less water than I'd thought. I think I might still get them a reasonably big tank anyway, as that way more fish are an option assuming I can keep these ones alive

Okay so I reckon the 10L they're in at the moment will do them til a bigger tank is found at the weekend. I'm throwing in oxygenating tablets every 2nd day or so in the meantime.

evilmonkee

Yeah that sounds like a perfect solution for the moment, I dont really know about the tablets as I've never used them.

It does seem like a small amount of water, but goldfish will only grow as large as the environment allows so they cant outgrow their tank they can only be too large for it when they're initially put there. So if you want them to grow big get an extra large tank, and like you said you can have the possibility of getting some more.

Just to warn you to be careful about any new tank-mates, some breeds dont get along and will kill each other, and sometimes fish can have diseases before you get them which can affect your fish. But if you do some research on breeds and on reputable sellers everything should be fine.

Fishyfreak

evilmonkee wrote: »

It does seem like a small amount of water, but goldfish will only grow as large as the environment allows so they cant outgrow their tank they can only be too large for it when they're initially put there.

This is a common misconception, it's totally untrue. Goldfish can and will grow to a foot long.

I can't believe nobody has metioned the "Nitrogen Cycle". Get a tank, a filter & a book.

Fish produce Ammonia, they swim in it, it's highly poisonous to them especially in a 10ltr tank.

A filter will eventually build up a colony of bacteria that breaks down Ammonia to less toxic Nitrite, it then converts Nitrite to less toxic Nitrate. The fishkeeper then dilutes Nitrate by doing weekly water changes.

1 Dump the bowl
2 Get a decent sized tank with a filter.
3 Dechlorinate your water for every water change.
4 Get a slab of sponge off another fishkeeper that already has a colony of bacteria on it. Place it in your new filter.
5. Do 10% water changes every 2 days for a couple of weeks. After that do 20% a week. (Use dechlorinated water)

Bowl are not suitable for fish and they are banned in many EU countries, there is already a "Ban the Bowl Ireland" group trying to get them banned here.

Hope this helps.

Silverfish

Thanks fishyfreak, we're off out today to buy a proper tank with filters etc for the lads, and we'll get as much advice as we can.

Jinxi

My first goldfish died last week aged 12 and about 5 inches long.
He had no fancy anything, just changd the water every 5 days and fed once.twice a day. He(?) survived many mates and would look for food whenever anyone passed his tank. FOr the last few years of his life he lived very happily in the salad drawer of a fridge we threw out. Once or twice a month we would buy some of the fresh grass/weed stuff you can get in petshops and he would nibble it, move it about and hide under it.

AS for a bit of advise, be careful about the water in the area you live. WE also had two other fish that we had in our dublin house who were 5 when we moved to Kilkenny and they thrived there and for a few transition weeks in my parents house (with the fish above). Again they never had a filter, we just changed the water frequently. Because we lived in the city I was worried about the water so we use water neutraliser and also a stress reduction slimey stuff that was good for their scales.

But when we moved thm to Kilkenny they both died within a week. Apparently the water here is practically poisonous. Thats when we started to buy bottled water for ourselves!

I remember reading somewhere that the more room a goldfish has the bigger they grow. Def remember that my first glodfish went threw a growth spurt when it got the big salad drawer all to itself

Silverfish

Okay, they now have a 110L tank, with an air filter and heater, I put the old stones in with the new stones in the tank, got water dechlorinator and a bottle of stuff to assist the nitrogen cycle.

Hopefully this keeps them a bit happier.

The Sweeper

Hee hee hee, the obsession begins...

Silverfish

The Sweeper wrote: »

Hee hee hee, the obsession begins...

Yeah, we noticed that.

What started out as 7.98 euro for two fish cost us in the region of 260 euro today, excluding the 40 off euro spent on bowls and stuff the first few days.
And what was 'If we get more fish...' is now 'WHEN we get more fish...'


I think we'll focus on keeping these lads alive for a few months first!

evilmonkee

Fishyfreak wrote: »

I can't believe nobody has metioned the "Nitrogen Cycle". Get a tank, a filter & a book.

Fish produce Ammonia, they swim in it, it's highly poisonous to them especially in a 10ltr tank.

A filter will eventually build up a colony of bacteria that breaks down Ammonia to less toxic Nitrite, it then converts Nitrite to less toxic Nitrate. The fishkeeper then dilutes Nitrate by doing weekly water changes.

1 Dump the bowl
2 Get a decent sized tank with a filter.
3 Dechlorinate your water for every water change.
4 Get a slab of sponge off another fishkeeper that already has a colony of bacteria on it. Place it in your new filter.
5. Do 10% water changes every 2 days for a couple of weeks. After that do 20% a week. (Use dechlorinated water)

Bowl are not suitable for fish and they are banned in many EU countries, there is already a "Ban the Bowl Ireland" group trying to get them banned here.

Hope this helps.

Sorry if I gave some wrong advise! I can only speak from experience. But admittedly Ive never done any of those things and they're still going strong so I must have just gotten lucky.

Cherry Blossom

I see you have bought your tank now, but just incase anyone else uses this thread as 'research' buy a good book on cold water fish before you even consider buying fish. It's not really a matter of how many litres, its the surface area that counts which is where the exchange of gasses takes place. The stocking calculation is 30 square inches of surface area per square inch of fish (12 square inches of surface area for tropical fish as they require less oxygen to drive their body processes)

Multiply the length x with of the tank to get the total surface area of the tank.

Source: (The Aquarium Owner's Handbook)

godtabh

He doesnt need a heater. He is a cold water fish

Silverfish

No, but it keeps the water at the right temp for them.

godtabh

Silverfish wrote: »

No, but it keeps the water at the right temp for them.

They can live in freezing ponds.

Jackob

MAke sure you buy a STINGRAY filter, they are brilliant, I have had many filters over the years and my goldfish is 25 years old and going strong thanks to the last filter I bought which was this one!!

The Sweeper

Guys have you got links to good fish resources for first time keepers?

Cherry Blossom

The Sweeper wrote: »

Guys have you got links to good fish resources for first time keepers?

http://www.petworld.ie/aquatics/about_aquatics.htm

http://www.fishlore.com/Beginners.htm -Tropical fish

Nothing replaces a decent book! Are you interested in tropical or coldwater fish?