bad case of cloud water

[da1fishman]

i am cleaning a friends tank that is 55 gal. with 3 goldfish that are about 8". it has had cloudy water for about 2 months now. i take about about 10 gal every month, and i told them to do like 5-10 gal every 2 weeks. ammonia is high 4.0 to 8.0 somtimes off the charts. i told them a while go that they need a bigger tank. they have a a penguin 330 and a 170. wht should i do??? thanks please respond asap:confused:

[pinballqueen]

They need a bigger tank, more filtration, and fewer fish.

Tell them that if they don't do something about it, their fish WILL die. In no time at all. The bacterial colonies in the tank obviously can't handle the wastes that these fish produce.

In the meantime, when water changes occur, make sure that 20-25 gallons gets replaced, every week at least. This will help with the underfiltration and ease the stress on the fish. (When I kept goldies, I did water changes of this size 3 times a week...) Tell your friend that if he/she can't do that, then they need to think of another fish species to keep. I've never seen ammonia that high on an established tank...

I know it's harsh to tell someone they made a mistake in their choice of fish, but this is one of those times that this sort of thing needs to be said. Goldies of that size need to be in a pond, not a tank.

By any chance, are you replacing the water with dechlorinated tap water, and telling your friend to do the same? Chlorine will kill bacterial colonies, and if they are pouring straight tap water in without treating it, this could be part of your ammonia problem..

[da1fishman]

were replacing it with pH 7 spring water, thanks fo the quick responce,and othrs please respond i lie numerous opinions

[wetmanNY]

pinballqueen is right. I'd only add that the amount of ammonia and waste is related to the amount of food that's being fed.

Chances are, that besides being overfed, these goldfish are also being kept too warm. Even in a tank without a heater, an overheated American house and bright aquarium lighting may have these fish in the low 70s...

[da1fishman]

what is their ideal temperature? i thought it was in the low 70's.?

[OrionGirl]

60's is a better temp range, especially for fish that are overcrowded.

[KateA.]

Here's another tidbit we use: fish's stomach is only about as big as their eye, so feed accordingly, once a day. In the wild fish may not eat that much or even every day, so you don't always need to feed more than once a day. Ignore the label on the can of fish food. You want the food to be eaten in like 15-30 seconds. Feed small amounts at a time.

And we tell our customers, for every inch of goldfish, they need at least 5 gallons of water. The bigger they get, the larger the girth on the body, that need is even greater, ideally at least 10 gallons. I seem to remember TFH or Aquarium Fish magazine had an article about this recently with an accompanying chart about how much ammonia large goldfish produce. Very informative.

[thalassic park]

hi,
It sounds to me like your filter isn't working. If the ammonia isn't being processed then that may be why you didn't offer a reading of Nitrites. Only if the flow is blocked should it be cleaned out thoroughly. If it is flowing, just a gentle rinse in tank water for cleaning. But don't clean it thoroughly. Its the bacteria in the filter that clean the water, not the mechanical action of water passing through a sieve. You need to keep the bacteria in the media alive. You may need to research the idea of bio-filtration. (I could have misread your experience).