Newbie saying hi!

[TheLupinLady]

Hello! Hmm, what to say, what to say. Factoids?
My name is Nora and I joined for some advice on the potential recovery of my eight-year-old comet goldfish, who may or may not be on his way out... :'(

Whether the ever-so-creatively named Goldy pulls through or not, I'm planning on setting up a tank to breed some guppies. A family friend did that many moons ago and apparently it was quite fun and he ended up with some interestingly coloured fish.

I'm very, very new to fish raising, I've had the same remarkably hardy fish for eight years, but that's the only fish I've ever had.

Everyone else on here seems to have posted a million things about their fish, so I'll give you some little facties about mine.

As I've said, I own an eight-year-old comet goldfish named Goldy, I know because I got it around my birthday when it was just a wee 28 cent feeder fish, the theory being that it would be a rather short-term venture. No. This fish has been alive and well up until very recently, and had just been moved to a twenty gallon tank last week, although it's currently living in the ten gallon because it's sick and the general consensus is that the new water is the problem, though it had been stressed out before. I also had a Plecko, but it was returned to the pet store last night because that's the other possible cause of the illness.

[livebearerfreak]

welcome! and for a comet goldfish, i would have atLEAST a 55 at min with a 75 being alot better with maybe one other friend, at 8 years old i would assume its about atleast a foot if not more? if not its most likly stunted, and yes plecos ARE known to eat the slime coating of goldfish.. so that could also be the problem...

[Rbishop]

Welcome to AC!

[missmeliss]

OK.... You may NEVER see this again, but I agree with livebearerfreak haha. Goldies can live a very long time (my friend had one who was 15years old) if they are well taken care of. He/she definitely needs a much larger tank, although it may already be stunted beyond help. Stunting is what it sounds like, you prevent the fish from being able to grow correctly by putting it in a tank that is too small. Worst case scenario is that the spinal cord gets forced into the back of the brain, which ultimately kills the fish. When you purchased the fish, it is quite possible that you were given horrible information (this is/was the case in a lot of box pet stores), so don't kick yourself too hard. Best information I can give you is keep the water in the tank SUPER clean.

Good Luck!

[Mgamer20o0]

Welcome to AC.