Overcrowded fish tank??? - HELP!

paperlady123

Hi all,

I have 3 goldfish, one is a comet goldfish and the other two are shubunkins,and i only have a 5 gallon tank.... so foolishly, i didnt research prior to buying them and am reading all over google that its really bad to have the fish in such small confined spaces and that you need to keep EACH fish in about 5 gallons!!!!

I feel awful but will not be able to buy a bigger tank for a couple of weeks and am just wondering am i doing the fish a lot of harm by leaving them there for a couple of weeks til i get a new tank?

I dont want to have to give fish away in the meantime...

Please help!

Velocitee

Not sure about the capacities but check out adverts.ie (boards site) and ebay for tanks, lots of people give up keeping fish. Make sure you clean and rinse them well before using though. (just to avoid any possibility of disease/illness),

Cookie_Monster

adverts.ie has lots of tanks and other bits at good discounts.

make sure you change the water frequently if over-stocked, as this will help remove all the toxins. Do you have a filter running?

paperlady123

Yeah i onlt got them on Saturday, and have cleaned the water out daily since... i have been emptying all but 1/4 of the tank then refilling, and i have a filter running, it seems to get quite dirty though, as i have changed it once already... do you think they will survive for 2 weeks until i can afford to buy a tank? Or am i being cruel keeping them that long in confined spaces?

Thanks for replies both...

Silverfish

I'd hazard a guess that they'll be ok for a few weeks at that, we had our two goldfish in a 30L bowl for a few weeks til we got the tank.

My dad has a goldfish 8 years in a crappy plastic bowl, despite my protestations, so I'd say they'll hang on just fine.

Just watch for them gasping at the top - is it an air bubble filter, or a water (sponge) filter you have?

paperlady123

Hi Silverfish - thank you I feel lots better now...

i think its a sponge filter - its one of the ones you just replace the white sponge on the top... they go to the top for air occassionally but nothing that i would notice to be too often... I was a little worried as my comet godfish was swimming into the side of one of my fan tails, and when i googled it, i read that if goldfish dont have enough space they can tend to get territorial...

I had 4 initially and one died earlier on today which is what made me panic a bit, but i have a feeling he may have been sick since i got him as he was quiet since i brought him home, i think i did all the right things and removed him from main tank and main fish early enough to avoid the other fish catching the disease too... The remaining three seem to be fine now though...

Im a new starter with the whole fish thing and i hope to keep them long term and expand eventually... I love having them there...