8 Goldfish/30g/doublechecking

[Cathy G]

Hi All,
Let me start by saying that I don't know much about goldfish... and my sister-in-law has asked for help. (She gets most of her help from Walmart folks, so do I need to say more?!)

Here is the situation. She set up a pond in May, put 8 goldfish in. The fish are about 2-3 inches now. She told the Walmart folks that she didn't want big fish, she wanted smaller varieties. They look like veil tales to me - they have that tri-part tail. So, she said she would be bringing them indoors and putting them in a 30g kit they sold her. She said she was going to do this in about 2 weeks. Well, she didn't wait. She took the pond temp of 51 and brought them inside and plunked them in her new set-rup. (She did wait for the bucket of water they were in to gradually warm to room temp before she made the switch...)

Hubby and I rushed over there within 12 hours. I pulled dirty filter media from my filters, and my husband donated a large sponge filter which -hopefully- was well seeded. (It had been in his tank 2 weeks). I also put in a nylon bag of our dirty gravel. We tested her ammonia, there was less than .25, and we instructed her to test every day and do a water change - 35% - it is all she can physically do right now - if it climbs to the .25 mark.

Other than the above I don't suppose there is much to be done now. THe fish are not gasping for breath at the top of the tank anymore. So, how tough are these fish? I am used to dealing with sensitive soft water fish who can not take any ammonia. Is .25 a good number here? Or, should I tell her she can let it go a little higher? (YIKES).

Cathy

 

[fantail]

No, keep it at .25 if possible. Are you checking nitrites as well as these can be just as deadly though it may take a bit longer to show.
8 in a 30 gallon is pushing the limits, so she needs to do water change every day of 50% or get some tubs to lessen the filter load.

 

[Cathy G]

Yep, I told her to check those too. There are two filters running, an external cheapo one with two of my dirty carbon/floss inserts in front of her spongy thing. (The thing that the bacteria grows on). And a 30g sponge filter.

I also told her to only feed them every other day? - Ok?
Cathy

 

[fantail]

Theres no problem feeding them every day as it helps with the filter seeding as well. With you giving her some of your filter media it should cycle within three weeks.

Seems you have it all under control but keep us updated with the tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

 

[Dangerdoll]

8 goldfish in a 30 gallon? This is just too small for all those goldies. How big is the pond, how deep at it's deepest point and why aren't they keeping the fish in it for the winter. All they really need is a heater to keep the center of the pond warm enough not to ice to allow the gas exchange and things should be fine. As for the LFS telling your sister that these fish are a smaller type of goldfish is hooey. They sold her 8 goldfish and goldfish are goldfish. The roundbodies get softball size if in an optimal environment and the comets and other torpedo shaped goldies get at the very least, 10 inches unless they are stunted. I believe goldies grow too fast even to be wintered over in a 30 gallon tank, especially since there are 8 of them. The are one of the highest waste-producers in the fish world and the tank will be extremely difficult to keep the nitrates/nitrites, ammonia at the levels they are supposed to be to sustain healthy fish..... unless you are doing water changes every day..... but realistically, doing water changes evedry day for 6 months will get tiresome and played out.

 

[Cathy G]

Hi Dangerdoll,

You have just confirmed my worst fears. When she insisted that they sold her fish which stay small I thought 'yeh, right...' When they told her that a 30g would be plenty of space I thought 'yeh, right...' :thud:

There is nothing for it now I am afraid, she'll have to learn the hard way. She is doing daily water changes and now says that they are not going back in the pond. Ha, betcha that will change after daily changes for 6 mos.

I don't know the dimensions of her pond, maybe 6 x 8 feet or so, and maybe 18 inches deep. I do know our winters can get below zero. How cold can these fish get? If they survive until spring, perhaps I can talk her back into leaving them out there all year next year.

Geesh,
Cathy

 

[Dangerdoll]

ugh!!! sounds like a nightmare, Cathy.... *sigh* unfortunately, sometimes, there is no changing people and unfortunately, the fish suffer.

They are not going back into the pond, huh? I can guarantee you that she will tire of the changes once per day and evedntually believe that topping the tank off when the water evaporates will do the job well enough..... happens all the time.

Goldfish, they may stay a small size but the problem with it, is their outside may stop growing, their insides do and being kept in the tight conditions, will eventually kill them, It's been know to help by placing them in a bigger area after stunting but once stunted, always stunted. They still produce high high levels of waste and hormones and will never realy be able to have the conditions needed for a healthy group of goldfish.

18 inches is probably not deep enough to keep from freezing over, I believe the pond needs to be 3 feet plus+ to have some sort of area for the fish over the winter. With a heater in the center, they do just fine. The fish go into a dormant/hibernation state where they can survive the winter but that pond would need to be deeper.

 

[sarcare]

My parents have the same thing going on--they wanted to get a tank and put their pond goldfish in, but I told them there was no way the 10 feeder fish would fit in any tank they were willing to procure for the winter. Now my dad has decided to buy a trough heater which he says will keep the pond from freezing, and use a net to cover the pond. His pond is a bit deeper though, and the fish are bigger.

I still think a safer bet would be to catch them and give them to their lfs, which has a huge indoor pond. My mom said she'd only do that if the lfs would give them back.