gasping goldfish

K

kitana7383

Registered Member
Nov 4, 2005
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Hi there,

My sister (against my advise) had bought a 5 gal "goldfish" set up for her children. I am not sure why they even sell those but I have read here that they should have at least 10 gal per fish. I think they were behind on water changes and this last one left the tank cloudy and the fish is gasping at the surface. I am not sure what to do. They are not going to buy a new tank. I can either bring his whole setup here to try and fix OR put him with my fish but they are tropical. I have a 10 gal with 6 guppies, 1 ADF, mini pleco & a snail. In my 20 gal I have 2 cory cats, 2 penguin tetras, 3 blueberry tetras, 2 Platies & a snail. I just read on one of the forums that you CAN put a goldfish in a heated tank. Any suggestions other than getting him in his own tank? I am unemployed at the moment!

Thanks much,
Debbie
 
Try your luck for a larger freebie tank for the goldfish?.
 
If it's gasping at the surface it can be two things.

1) Ammonia and nitrite buildup burning its gills. Have you read up on cycling a tank? The first thing to do is to do a large 80% or so water change. Then take the filter from the established 10 or 20 gallon and squeeze it into the tank. The bacteria will detoxify the wastes.

2) Lack of oxygen in the water. Does the tank have a filter? airstone? anything to move the water? Goldfish are large thick bodied fish that require high levels on O2 in the water. If you don't have one get one.

Do not put the goldfish in the tropical tank. If other fish have died in the 5 gallon you could have a disease and it will kill all the fish in the tropical tank. If the goldfish is a fancy breed (two tails). You can keep two in a 30 gallon. Do not put goldfish in less than a 30 gallon long term. If it is a singled tailed fish then the minimum increases to 55 gallons for 2 fish. However with goldfish the larger the tank the better.

I've got 6 goldfish in my 125 gallon tank.

There are lots of fish that do well in a 5 gallon tank. They just stay 1-2 inches long unlike the goldfish which can grow up between 8-16 inches. Most adult goldfish average out in the 10-12 inches range. A fish that size can't even fit in a 5 gallon tank.

A large rubbermaid container can hold a lot of water and doesn't cost much if you want to keep it cheaply until you have funds to buy a bigger tank.
 
Thanks for the advise. There is a mini filter that came with the 5 gal tank, but there are no air stones or anything like that in there. There were no other fish, just him. When I went there, their vacuum had broke so they have not been cleaning the substrate, which caused the problem. I have tried explaining "cycling" to them. Tots, the fish, is currently in a container since he was showing red streaks in his tail & red blotches (which is from oxygen deprivation if I remember correctly). He is doing much better today but we still need to figure out where to put him since this container he's in is not all that large. The tub is a great idea, but I don't have an extra filter to put on it for him and the one from his tank just sucks. I will discuss this all with them. I will make sure he gets into something more appropriate!

You mention that there are fish that would be ok in this 5 gal size tank, what fish would those be? Like little tetras or guppies? Please let me know. Next question is if it is a tropical fish that can go in this 5 gal, it's plastic; would I still be able to put a heater in it? I have never used a plastic tank before.

Thanks again for the advise and suggestions. Someone told me I can ask on Craigslist if anyone would "donate" a tank, but I really would need the whole setup, filter & all. Or if I go the tub route, just a filter. I am just happy Tots is alive today and showing signs of improvement!
 
In an event that you do not have a filter yet, what you can do is add some live plants that are undemanding and very easy to grow such as Egeria densa. Be sure to have a backup supply because goldfish relish plants a lot and I mean a lot. My goldfish demolished all my Egeria densa before although they spared my crypts and vals. Aside from the plants, be sure to monitor your water parameters and do daily water changes by as much as 80%.

Plastic tanks tend to scratch and discolor easily. I'm not sure about using a heater in plastic tanks since I have not tried that yet so I cannot answer your question about it.

For tropical fish in a 5g, there are plenty of options. You could go with a betta by itself, snails and shrimps, a trio of guppies, a pair of dwarf puffers, a trio of sparkling gouramis or some Endlers.
 
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