goldfish health question

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JMullen

AC Members
Dec 14, 2011
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Canisteo, NY (Just N of PA line ;)
Real Name
Julie E. Mullen
I have a 40 gal. FW tank housing a koi and a comet. The tank is decorated with plastic plants, medium gravel (shallow layer) and a 'castle' that will soon be coming out due to sharp edges. I don't know the ammonia but the ph usually runs a tad on the high side (7.4 or so) Temp. is currently 70 deg. (no heater)

The tank has been set up for two years now, ran empty for three months before I added the comet about 18 mos. ago and the koi last Dec. The comet is about 5 in. long (of which his tail accounts for almost 1.5 in!) while the koi is about 9 in.


Currently, I'm running two gutter cleaners (both the walmart kind- tetra? I think) One rated for 46-60 gal. and the other 30-40. I only light half the tank, on at 7, off at 9p. There is no direct sunlight on the tank and it's not in a high-traffic area. I confess to not vacuuming the tank more than a couple times per month, although I rinse the filters regularly. Vacuuming the tank end up involving about a 1/3 volume water change.

The fish are fed a commercial 'pond fish' food, once per day . . . probably more than they need.

I treated the fish two weeks ago for parasites when I noticed little, white threadworms floating in the water. This is the second time I've seen them (the first time was last summer).

My questions (finally!) are twofold:

1. Having read in the forums that commercial fish food is nutritionally inferior, what should I be feeding them?

2. Over the last couple of weeks, the koi has been having these 'fits' occasionally (not every day but sometimes more than one per day) where (s)he swims frantically back and forth, breeching the water so hard (s)he bumps the lid, then lays amid the plastic (floating) plants, upside down or sideways for a few seconds. This is followed by a short period of inactive 'rest', after which the fish resumes normal activity.
 

reptileguy2727

Not enough tanks, space, or time
Jan 15, 2006
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Northern Virginia
1-That tank is WAY too small for those fish. to have comets in an aquarium you need a 125 bare minimum, ideally a pond. Koi definitely do not belong outside of a pond considering they should hit two to three feet. I am guessing they are severely stunted, like keeping a kid locked up in a closet. You need to rehome them immediately. Either buy a huge tank, build a pond, or give them to someone who can.

2-Not all commercial foods are bad. New Life Spectrum fed exclusively is by far the best diet out there IME. Low quality food is very bad for them. The good thing is that a high quality food will also help minimize waste in the tank.
 

JMullen

AC Members
Dec 14, 2011
5
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Canisteo, NY (Just N of PA line ;)
Real Name
Julie E. Mullen
Since I own the largest aquarium in my social circle, that leaves only a pond option. It'll have to wait until spring to re-home them, though because I live on the Allegheny plateau in NY state and it would be cruel to put them in a pond now (although safer from the bald eagles that prey on Koi all summer.) In the meantime, any suggestions?

SN: it is illegal in New York State to put goldfish (referred to as 'golden carp' by the DEC) in ponds with an outlet, lakes, brooks, streams, creeks or rivers.
 

reptileguy2727

Not enough tanks, space, or time
Jan 15, 2006
1,799
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Northern Virginia
It is probably illegal everywhere to release fish.

Keep the water quality as high as possible, lots of water changes.

To protect ponds from birds, raccoons, etc. you can criss-cross fishing line across to top of the pond. They can't see it the way they can see a net so they don't know what is stopping them,, so they just stop visiting the pond. It also looks good to you, much better than a net. Use tent stakes to anchor the fishing line.
 

JMullen

AC Members
Dec 14, 2011
5
0
0
Canisteo, NY (Just N of PA line ;)
Real Name
Julie E. Mullen
Thank you. I know a guy with a koi pond- didn't want to rehome there on account of the bald eagles, but the fishing line idea is worth looking into . . . of course, with bald eagles, not much short of deep-sea quality line is going to stop them but hey, worth a try, right? The only other option is a farm pond owned by a friend- either way, gotta wait til spring.

Okay, so plain goldfish are out of the question for my tank and I really hate the look of the 'fancy' golds . . . they just look twisted and deformed to me. How big are rosy reds supposed to get? The Koi actually belongs to my youngest (who was remarkably accepting about the rehoming option!) and she wants to know what fish we CAN keep. I've seen other people's heated tanks and they're not for me, I guess. Pretty, but I'm a geek at heart and plain goldfish are about as 'geek' as fish get- brains and personality! (I'd say neon tetras are the cheerleaders of the fishy high-school crowd while oscars are like the goth set . . . LOL)
 

reptileguy2727

Not enough tanks, space, or time
Jan 15, 2006
1,799
0
0
Northern Virginia
There are some pretty plain goldfish. Even if you aren't a big fan of them your kids might be, making it worth it.

There are a number of other fish that can go in an unheated tank: rosey reds (about 3"), white cloud mountain minnows (and all variants), zebra danios (and all variants: blue, gold, leopard, longfin of each, glofish, etc.), platies, mollies, swordtails, guppies, and more. The best place to check for accurate info on the real natural temp range for fish is fishbase.org because it is used and maintained by scientists, not a hobby site that regurgitates the last hobby site.
 
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