Some tips from Goldfish addicts

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icemanx23

AC Members
Nov 30, 2008
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I've kept goldfish two to three years ago. I got 9-11 goldfish in 55g bare bottom(obiously overstocked). I've a lot of problems like coping with water changes, gold fish bellying up and floating. I've some questions-1. What do u guys feed ur goldfish? 2. Does fin clamping occurs in your stock? 3. How do u cope with all the mess the goldfish produce? Thank you for taking interest in my post.
 

Lexi_D

is *Magic*
Nov 25, 2007
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watershedrussiantortoise.blogspot.com
:iagree:

Fin clamping is not a good sign. It can be a symptom of many things that require treatment... also, most people cope with the mess by overfiltering and having large tanks that are easy to clean. (plus lots o' water changes)

Also, as Ichthius said, why so many fish?
 

euglossa

AC Members
Nov 9, 2006
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You know you're overstocked, so your choices are to rehome some of the fish, build a pond, get a (much) larger tank, or get several 55 gallon+ tanks and divide the school.

All but the first will involve more water changes. So if you want to continue as a goldy addict, embrace the water changes. Invest in a python if you haven't got one already (and make sure your sink hookup is metal or be very very careful when using the python). Water your garden with all that free organic fish emulsion.

Good luck,
E
Hi, my name is Ellen and I'm a goldfish addict...
 

Cliff Mayes

wirehair
Feb 19, 2007
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Western, NY
Pythons are almost a necessity for larger tanks

You need to do lots of WCs.

That is a lot of bioload for a 55. Frequent WCs are absolutely required to keep the fish healthy.

Any kind of sinking food is good for Goldfish. Morethan one type of food is good. You can use any type of vegetable, even fruit, preferably several times a day, if you can.

Fin Clamping is not a heathy sign the answer is WCs.

Goldfish do not produce anymore waste than any other large fish. The fact that Goldfish can get big and also live many years is surprising when you see the juveniles in the LFS but they can be very large creatures and put out an awful amount of waste, the least harmful is the solid stuff you can see. Bad chemicals in the water are largely unknowns but Nitrate levels, that should be kept under 30ppm with WCs, is an indicator that other noxious things are present. If you do not own a Nitrate test get one and use it.

Good luck with the last fish to own!
 

ITHURTZ

BIG BOSS
Apr 19, 2007
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Lake County IL (north of cook)
I've kept goldfish two to three years ago. I got 9-11 goldfish in 55g bare bottom(obiously overstocked). I've a lot of problems like coping with water changes, gold fish bellying up and floating. I've some questions-1. What do u guys feed ur goldfish? 2. Does fin clamping occurs in your stock? 3. How do u cope with all the mess the goldfish produce? Thank you for taking interest in my post.
1. cichlid gold and staple along with shrimp pellets and veggies
2. never had that problem with the 7yrs of having them
3. Easy throw them in a 180gal tank with a cascade 1000 canister for bio/mech (dumped into a barrel with pads and lava rock) and a quiet one 6000 for mechanical filtration.
 

reptileguy2727

Not enough tanks, space, or time
Jan 15, 2006
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Northern Virginia
I feed New Life Spectrum exclusively with amazing results.

I do 80% water changes at least weekly.

My main goldfish tank is a 150 with a Fluval FX5 that is doing an incredible job in there. I do have a powerhead and the whole back wall is bubbles, so there is more flow than just the FX5.

Are you using a Python or an equivalent or buckets?
 

JenniferLynn

AC Members
Dec 4, 2008
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I'm also a new goldfish addict and I made the over stock mistake too. I'm planning on upgrading the tank soon. If you want to keep them start looking in the local paper, ebay, craigslist for another tank 55 or larger. Now that I've got fish in one place I keep thinking of where else in the house goldies would look good...you have enough fish to do that if you want just get more tanks or if you don't want to multi tank you're going to need to go really big or find some of the fishies other home.

This is what I'm doing to deal with my mistake until the upgraded tank is in. I do a 50% wc every two to three days. I also love water and my fish so for me it's enjoyable. I also got a filter that is for the next tank up...others on here will have better filter ideas. I don't have that big of a tank yet. Better filter than came with the tank really helped. Make sure when your sucking out the water to get everything you can off the bottom...when I miss stuff my water goes yucky much faster. Another way to deal with how dirty the water gets is make sure the fish are eating all the food and that it is the right amount for their size ect. Left over food in the tank isn't gonna help the water at all. Make sure just one person is feeding or at least know when others feed. My husband and I were both feeding w/out the other knowing and I developed an alge prob that cleared up after we got back on track with feeding and a good cleaning. Hopes that helps a bit.
 

RodInCALIFORNIA

EBAY ADDICT !
Aug 5, 2008
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my goldfish tanks are filtered at least 20x a hour i only keep 3 fish per 55 gal tank and run 2 emperor 400's and a cascade 1500 canister filter on EVERY tank (i have 8 tanks smallest is 55 gallons largest is 150 gallons) do the weekly water changes and once a week for 2 hrs i run my system1 diatom filter on every tank my water stays crystal clear and very healthy and the goldfish all do excellent under these conditions. i am one of the belief you can NOT over filter a goldfish tank i have lemon to orange sized ranchu's lionheads black moors fan tails and bubble eyes and we all know how much goldfish poop and wait till they get large like mine and well you can imagine the amout of poop they generate.
 

kelly82

AC Members
Jun 1, 2007
1,108
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Lincolnshire, UK
i have a 50 gallon with now 5 goldies in (was 4 until a mum at the school who knows i have fish asked me if i could take in her teeny lil fantail goldfish that was living in a 2 litre tub thing-apparently her hubby brought it for their son-and i couldnt say no) so now im very very over stocked, but i just do 70-80% water changes once a week on each of my tanks, i run 2 filters on the tank, a fluval 4+ and a fluval 3+, plus a big airstone just for that little bit more movement in the water. i also have a 30 gallon with 2 male goldies in, that runs with a fluval 4+ and a fluval 2+ and an airstone. my tanks both have live plants in, just elodea as i dont have high lighting, but the fish seem to love them.

clamped fins i havent had to deal with in the past few years, since i learnt what cycling a tank was and that me taking the whole tank down every week and cleaning in tap water was the number 1 worst thing i could do. since my tanks have been cycled and properly cared for when it comes to dechlorinator and not being lazy and leaving the tank for 'just a few more days' i havent had any problems.

coping with the mess they produce- well having gravel on the bottom hides a lot of it i suppose, but i do do very thorough gravel vacs every week at water change, and it removes so much poop its unreal. i always vac until barely anything can be seen to be removed.

feeding, i feed mine mainly on fancy goldfish sinking mini pellets twice a day, they reduce air intake so the goldies tend not to get problems, but i also at least twice a week feed shelled peas,and also as treats 2-3 times a week either brine shrimp, daphnia, orange segments or blood worm. they always get at least 1 feed a day of pellets. my fish are growing well, no clamped fins etc, and have fantastic colour.
 
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