Goldfish keep dying...help

[TommyB1129]

My son has a 10 gallon tank that we put 2 goldfish and an algea eater in. After about a month, one of the goldfish started lying on the bottom or breathing air at top. It died a couple of days later. The other goldfish did fine for a couple of months then did the same and died. Any ideas on what we did wrong. we would like to get more...

Thanks

 

[Kakashi]

They most likely died from ammonia poisoning......ie swimming in their own waste and got sick and died. Goldfish have a very heavy bioload, 2 goldfish and an algae eater in a 10 gallon is very much overstocked. Might want to do some research on tank parameters and proper filtering/size for said goldfish. I don't really know much about goldfish but there are a lot of people here who can probably elaborate.

 

[Rbishop]

Take a read on this...

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?84598-Freshwater-cycling

Do you have a good liquid test kit? If not, you definitely need to get one and find out what your tank parameters are.

Using a good water conditioner like Prime?

How often and how big are your water changes?

What kind of filtration are you using? Most stock small aquarium kits heve poor performance filters.

 

[TommyB1129]

Bob, it is an Aqueon filter. It came with the tank. I do a water change once a month at about 25%.

 

[BettaFishMommy]

25% once a month is not a large enough water change for any species of fish, in any size tank.

i would suggest rehoming the 'algae eater', if you still have it, reading the link that Bob provided on fishless cycling, and starting over with fish that are better suited to a 10 gallon.

 

[Rbishop]

Two standard goldies in a 10 gal, with them being the messy fish they are is a lot of load.

Are they standard feeder goldies..ie...comets? Or Fancy's? How big?

Fancys need 30 gal for the first one, and 10-15 more for each additional one.

You should be water changes of 40-50% minimum per week, with a good gravel vac going on.

Aqueon isn't bad, but a lot better filters are out there.

 

[Rbishop]

Also, our coldwater forum has plenty of threads to read on goldie care and tank maintenance..

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?26-General-Cold-amp-Temperate-Water

 

[StarSapphire22]

Everything RB said is spot on here. Fancies need 20-30 gallons for the first fish, with 10 for each additional. Any of the singletailed varieties need 30-40 gallons for the first fish, with 20 for each additional...this includes the "feeder" goldfish. Goldies should have 10x filtration. So say if you put them in a 55 gallon tank, you will want a filter (or filterS) rated for 550 total gph. You should do a minimum of 40-60% water changes weekly. As far as filters go, aquaclears work great on my goldie tank and I highly recommend them. A liquid test kit and a siphon to clean the substrate is also essential. Goldies are great and very rewarding fish to have, but they are a little demanding. I'd take all that into consideration if you are going the goldie route again. You WILL need a bigger tank for goldfish.

If you'd like to restock your 10 gallon and NOT upgrade tanks, first rehome the algae eater. That tank is probably much too small for it. I would pick out a pretty betta and a few mystery snails/an apple snail.

 

[finsNfur]

That is a shame, but definitely don't get anymore goldfish for such a small tank. They get positively huge in a short amount of time, and produce insane amounts of waste. Most people don't realize this, and pet stores don't help because they don't tell the customer this, they just want to sell fish and make money. Even if you did water changes every single day with just one goldfish in a 10g it would only be a matter of time before it died. Common feeder/fair/carnival/comet goldfish grow to over 12" in length, and the fancy-tailed goldfish grow 6"-10" in length. Goldfish live 25 or more years, too. As stated above you should have a minimum of 20 gallons for the first goldfish and 10 for each additional, and that's the bare minimum. Comets need even larger tanks, preferably a pond. You'll need to do one or two partial-water changes weekly for goldfish, one or so if you stick with tropical fish. Read up on the difference, tropical fish require a heater, and very few tropical fish can be mixed with goldfish. I know it's a lot of info to take in when you are new to fishkeeping, but the rewards are healthy, and happy fish. It's no fun for you or the fish if they die.

 

[StarSapphire22]

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