Care and Feeding of an Algae Eater and more noob questions...

[milsurp]

Hello all, my girlfriend and I are setting up a 10 gallon aquarium. We 'rescued' a couple of goldfish from the fair shakehead and we've got them and an algae eater in a gallon bowl until the aquarium is good to go. We've been changing the water daily on the bowl and feeding them flakes twice a day. They've been in the bowl for about three days.

First, I'm wondering about the algae eater. Since it's a new tank, there's no algae, is he getting enough nutrition? I noticed at the pet store they dropped those algae discs in the tanks, should I be using those? I didn't want to ask at the pet store because the answer to 'should I buy this?' is always YES.

Sometimes he(she?) wigs out and darts to the top of the tank, then back to the bottom. Is this normal behavior or is there something wrong?

Finally, our aquarium. It's a 10 gallon with a incandescent light hood, the generic waterfall type filter, some gravel, and some little Amazon Sword plants. We just filled it up with tap water and water treatment goo at about 9:30 tonight and are planning to transplant our fish at about 9:30 tomorrow night. How does this sound? Any recommendations?

Thanks everyone. I'm sure what I've told you is making some of you grind your teeth...sorry!

Here are some pictures of the critters:

 

[THE V]

First off Welcome the AC. It's good that you are asking questions.

Now for the bad news.

Forget about the 10 gallon aquarium. With the fish you have a 75 gallon is the minimum amount. The goldfish will get up to 12-14 inches in size and the 2 of them will need at least a 40 gallon tank. The plecostomus (algae eater) that you have will get up to 2 feet in length. You probably should return the pleco to the pet store ASAP and start looking for a much larger tank for the goldfish.

It is a very good thing that you are changing the water in the bowl constantly. Please read the stickies about cycling you tank. In a new tank you need the establish the benificial bacteria to break down the wastes.

Do transfer the fish to the 10 gallon as soon as you can (it's much better than the bowl) but keep up on your daily water changes. It can take up to two months before there is enough microbes to meet the needs of the fish.

 

[NeonFlux]

:iagree:

Don't worry. I have made the same mistake like you before;so as my dad.

If you cannot afford a 40 gallon tank, I would then suggest taking them to the pet store and ask if they can give you store credit or exchange for some good hardy small fish like Neon tetras or colorful platys. They do not grow very large and they are perfect for a 10 gallon sized aquarium. I recommend it. Good luck!

 

[milsurp]

I appreciate your advice, but please consider:

1. My girlfriend and myself have both kept goldfish and algae eaters in 10 gal or smaller tanks in the past and they have lived for years.

2. The countless other people who don't frequent aquarium forums who keep goldfish and algae eaters in 10 gal or smaller tanks that live for years.

3. If I were to take them back to the pet store, they would be in a very crowded 10 gal aquarium and would either die there or probably end up in someone else's 10 gal aquarium or smaller.

I have no doubt that these fish would do better in a larger aquarium, but I wouldn't even consider a 75 gallon aquarium for some ping pong ball game goldfish.

I am looking for tips and tricks for maintaining my 10 gallon aquarium. Things like "don't buy that thing, it's a gimmicky POS" or "most people don't realize it but you should do this." Thanks!

 

[echoofformless]

I appreciate your advice, but please consider:

1. My girlfriend and myself have both kept goldfish and algae eaters in 10 gal or smaller tanks in the past and they have lived for years.

2. The countless other people who don't frequent aquarium forums who keep 1goldfish and algae eaters in 10 gal or smaller tanks that live for years.

3. If I were to take them back to the pet store, they would be in a very crowded 10 gal aquarium and would either die there or probably end up in someone else's 10 gal aquarium or smaller.

I have no doubt that these fish would do better in a larger aquarium, but I wouldn't even consider a 75 gallon aquarium for some ping pong ball game goldfish.

I am looking for tips and tricks for maintaining my 10 gallon aquarium. Things like "don't buy that thing, it's a gimmicky POS" or "most people don't realize it but you should do this." Thanks!

Sigh.

1 Just because you and other people have had fish live for long periods of time in certain conditions doesn't mean those conditions are good for the fish's health.

2 But if you're determined to keep these fish in a ten gallon tank, please change the water and vacuum the gravel very often. Keep very strong mechanical filtration which is also maintenanced frequently. Preferably two filters so you can alternate when to change the media.

3 Plecos like driftwood. Get him or her some. Feed good quality algae discs - very sparingly.

4 Consider giving the fish to people who want them and have the right facilities to care for them. People give away fish on craigslist all the time.

5 Get some fish that would be very happy in a ten gallon tank. Bettas and otocinclus love playing in ten gallon tanks.

 

[kelly82]

i understand your frustrations at being told that you are over stocked, and i dont agree that you need a 40 or 75 for 2 goldies,i would say 20-30 would be more than ok (hoping no-one shouts at me,this is just my opinion) but, i really really would recommend rehoming the algea eater, he is going to suffer in that tiny tank, maybe get some snails instead to take care of the algea. i am considered over stocked to most people on here but i keep on top of my water changes and gravel vacs and all is well in my tanks. one of my friends has 4 comet goldfish and 1 dojo loach in 5 gallons,they have lived for about 4 years now,but the stunting in the goldies is obvious i think,they dont look happy and are starting to look odd shapes-dont know if its bad breeding or stunting but either way it doesnt look good,and the dojo is still around 3 inches long,and it barely moves, just sits and waits for flakes to pass by.

 

[ct-death]

Sigh.

1 Just because you and other people have had fish live for long periods of time in certain conditions doesn't mean those conditions are good for the fish's health.

2 But if you're determined to keep these fish in a ten gallon tank, please change the water and vacuum the gravel very often. Keep very strong mechanical filtration which is also maintenanced frequently. Preferably two filters so you can alternate when to change the media.

3 Plecos like driftwood. Get him or her some. Feed good quality algae discs - very sparingly.

4 Consider giving the fish to people who want them and have the right facilities to care for them. People give away fish on craigslist all the time.

5 Get some fish that would be very happy in a ten gallon tank. Bettas and otocinclus love playing in ten gallon tanks.

:iagree: 110%

Also, how long did your Goldfish live?

Just FWIW - Goldfish will routinely live well past 25+ years in poor conditions and are known to live well past 50+ years in ponds and more ideal conditions...

The exact same goldfish kept in poor water, unfiltered and small tank typically last only 5-6 years and suffer from severe stumping

 

[-KT-]

I appreciate your advice, but please consider:

1. My girlfriend and myself have both kept goldfish and algae eaters in 10 gal or smaller tanks in the past and they have lived for years.

2. The countless other people who don't frequent aquarium forums who keep goldfish and algae eaters in 10 gal or smaller tanks that live for years.

3. If I were to take them back to the pet store, they would be in a very crowded 10 gal aquarium and would either die there or probably end up in someone else's 10 gal aquarium or smaller.

I have no doubt that these fish would do better in a larger aquarium, but I wouldn't even consider a 75 gallon aquarium for some ping pong ball game goldfish.

I am looking for tips and tricks for maintaining my 10 gallon aquarium. Things like "don't buy that thing, it's a gimmicky POS" or "most people don't realize it but you should do this." Thanks!

I had a Goldfish in a 10 gallon for 10 years until she died.Thats practically young for a Goldfish and she only grew to be about 4 inches which is not even close to her full potential.Just because they CAN live in a ten doesn't mean they should.

I really hate when people come onto a forum and recieve sound advice only to shoot it down because they think they know better, it really is very frustrating.

 

[milsurp]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm sorry if I came off sounding like a know-it-all, because I definitely don't know it all.

After some further reading, I found out that goldfish can live up to 50 years! I now know that mine didn't live more than a few years probably because of living in a 10 gallon tank. However, I think a few years of life is better than a week in some kid's mayonaise jar. It sucks that these fish are bred in large numbers and sold to be kept in bowls and small tanks.

I didn't know that plecos could get up to two feet! I will definitely consider passing them off to someone with a bigger tank. The girlfriend and I will talk it over. It sounds like some smaller tropical fish would be a better (and more interesting) fit for our tank.

So while this fish are in the 10 gallon...

Is it ok to use driftwood and rocks I find on the ground and just rinse them off?

Any basic plant tips?

Any links for further reading?

Thanks!

 

[lucy42083]

It sounds like you are trying to find out as much info. as you can, so thanks for asking questions and educating yourself!

I would agree with the other posters that there are a bunch of interesting, colorful, small tropical fish that would do great in a 10 gallon (IMO much prettier & interesting than goldfish anyway), the only thing you'd need different from a goldfish tank is a heater. It is unfortunately common that people keep goldfish in a tank way too small, but as you've learned, they actually grow to over a foot, are very messy, and therefore need large tanks. It is also really common for stores to sell cute 2" plecos and tell people they are great for any size tank, conveniently leaving out the part where they grow 18" to 2 feet, are super messy, and that many don't even eat algae as adults.

As for the rock and driftwood off the ground, they are usually okay, I believe the recommendation is though to boil them (rather than just rinsing them) to make sure to kill any organisms that could be living on them. I don't have live plants so I can't help you with that question.

I'd search around this site, there are a lot of threads with people who have cool 10 gallon tanks. Some possible suggestions for fish that would do well in a 10G (obviously not all of them together...): betta; tetras; oto catfish (though they need to eat algae so not a good idea to put them in brand new tanks); smaller corys; platies or fancy guppies if you can get just males so they don't breed; sparkling gouramis; endler's livebearers; african dwarf frogs....and I know there are more.

I'd also recommend to read the sticky on Cycling if you are not already 'in the know' about cycling a tank. And always feel free to ask more questions, people are here to help and generally glad to do so!