HELP! I don't know what's wrong with my fish

Larissa said:
okay, in answer to your original question, the black moor most likely has fungus and there are medications at Wal-Mart and the pet store made for that purpose. But here's the deal, though. Some websites say you can get by with less but what I have read the most is that goldfish need 20-30 gallons for the first fish and 10-15 gallons for each additional fish. Some people claim that that is not even enough room. Shocking, isn't it? I don't understand why they even sell goldfish bowls seeing how they're completely innappropriate. So basically, even a ten gallon will not safely house your goldfish. When goldfish "grow to the size of the tank" such as a 10 gallon they are stunted and will always be prone to illness. They will most likely not live very long either. Also, I just had to get rid of my pleco because he outgrew my 55 gallon tank. They do eat algae but they poop so much that all they do is make your tank nasty. They can get over a foot long so as you can see, he's not appropriate for your 5 or 10g either. Also, the reason why you are not supposed to mix goldfish with bettas or plecos is because the food and temperature requirements are different for goldfish. They are coldwater fish and the others are tropical fish. Oh, also bacteria enhancers, to my knowledge, the only one that actually works is biospira. Unfortunately, you are somewhat limited on what you can put in a 5 gallon tank however I'm sure plenty of people would love to give you some stocking suggestions. My advice is to get rid of all those fish, take them to the pet store (unless you want to keep the betta), cycle your tank and start over with some different fish. That may not be what you want to hear and I hope you're not too disappointed. Welcome to aquaria central and I hope we've been some help.

No. I'm not too disappointed. The 20 gallon tanks are not much more expensive than the 10's at Walmart, and I'll get one of those instead.

though.... Is a five too small for even a generic goldfish? when I was younger we used to have three goldfish in a 5-9 gallon octagonal tank and they lived a very long time even without the care that I'm giving my current stock of fish.

I'll definitely see to it that my current fish get proper homes. I would feel guilty taking them back to the store because the tanks they're housed in there are even smaller than a 20 gallon and it's SEVERAL medium to large sized fancy goldfish to one tank.

Thank you for taking the time to answer some of my questions and aide me in seeing to the wellbeing of my fish.
 
The best thing that you can do for your fish is research tank size, compatability etc. before buying your fish. Does that mean that everyone does that as a newbie? Of course not, but you should. I've done the same thing, I kept three goldfish in a 10g before I knew better but I would never do it now. All goldfish get too large for your 5g, or rather, they're supposed to get too big for it. The comet should actually get the biggest if I remember correctly. I love goldfish but seeing how you could only keep three of them in a 55g tank(following the 30 g for the first goldie and 10g for each additional goldie rule)I can't really afford to house them properly right now either. The reason why the petstore and Wal-Mart have so many fish jammed into tiny tanks is because they're usually young fish(so they're smaller than full size) and the fish are not supposed to be there very long.
 
You know, just like the fish you kept in that octagonal tank, all my daughters friends seem to have goldfish that they won at a carnival or bought at the dime store that they keep in little bowls and that live for three or four years, even though everything I read says it can't happen. What's up with that?

And here we are, doing everything we're supposed to do, and our fish still die.

Sorry not to be able to offer advice -- only moral support, but I am new to all this and am just trying to make sense of it all. Hang in there (with the rest of us!) :hang:

Thank you to all the company out there and I will shut up now.
 
Larissa said:
The best thing that you can do for your fish is research tank size, compatability etc. before buying your fish. Does that mean that everyone does that as a newbie? Of course not, but you should. I've done the same thing, I kept three goldfish in a 10g before I knew better but I would never do it now. All goldfish get too large for your 5g, or rather, they're supposed to get too big for it. The comet should actually get the biggest if I remember correctly. I love goldfish but seeing how you could only keep three of them in a 55g tank(following the 30 g for the first goldie and 10g for each additional goldie rule)I can't really afford to house them properly right now either. The reason why the petstore and Wal-Mart have so many fish jammed into tiny tanks is because they're usually young fish(so they're smaller than full size) and the fish are not supposed to be there very long.

It's not a comet, just a generic gold fish. I labeled it incorrectly while I was typing the first post. It doesn't have the long comet tail. I just feel really bad for the BIG goldfish that the petstore has. sometimes I wish I could take all the goldfish from the petstore and give them a proper home. I had to cut myself off with my bettas because the past three times I've looked at Bettas I've picked one of the sickliest ones and given in a nice big home. lol

thanks again! I'll be sure to update everyone of my fishkeep exploits.
 
Fish Kate said:
You know, just like the fish you kept in that octagonal tank, all my daughters friends seem to have goldfish that they won at a carnival or bought at the dime store that they keep in little bowls and that live for three or four years, even though everything I read says it can't happen. What's up with that?

And here we are, doing everything we're supposed to do, and our fish still die.

Sorry not to be able to offer advice -- only moral support, but I am new to all this and am just trying to make sense of it all. Hang in there (with the rest of us!) :hang:

Thank you to all the company out there and I will shut up now.

haha you don't have to "shut up" I'm glad there's other newbies on the forum as well. You may know more than you think you do. I think I irritate the people buying bettas because I make it a point to tell them that they can't keep them in the bowls with the plants, and you can't keep them in those **** itty bitty bettahex things. People usually shoot me a dirty look and walk away (but it's reasuring to see them guiltilly put down the small betta jar they intended to buy).
 
Fish Kate said:
You know, just like the fish you kept in that octagonal tank, all my daughters friends seem to have goldfish that they won at a carnival or bought at the dime store that they keep in little bowls and that live for three or four years, even though everything I read says it can't happen. What's up with that?

And here we are, doing everything we're supposed to do, and our fish still die.

Sorry not to be able to offer advice -- only moral support, but I am new to all this and am just trying to make sense of it all. Hang in there (with the rest of us!) :hang:

Thank you to all the company out there and I will shut up now.
Fish Kate, I really do understand what you are saying. My three goldfish lived for several years in my 10g but goldfish are actually supposed to live much longer than that.
Whitneybsu, yes please keep us posted and good luck. If we rescued all the fish we wanted to we'd all be homeless, carless with a bunch of fish tanks,lol. ;)
 
it's hard to be a beginner in fishkeeping because you're surrounded by things like the "inch per gallon" rule, and the idea that fish won't outgrow their bowls, and lots of misinformation at fish stores (by both labels on tanks and employees who just want to make a buck). some fish only have a lifespan of a couple years, and some live ten years, but some kinds of goldfish, well taken care of in an appropriate sized home, can actually live decades.
 
wataugachicken said:
it's hard to be a beginner in fishkeeping because you're surrounded by things like the "inch per gallon" rule, and the idea that fish won't outgrow their bowls, and lots of misinformation at fish stores (by both labels on tanks and employees who just want to make a buck). some fish only have a lifespan of a couple years, and some live ten years, but some kinds of goldfish, well taken care of in an appropriate sized home, can actually live decades.


I'm glad to hear that if I care for my fish correctly they might last me all the way through gradschool. ^_^
 
I'm a newbie too and if weren't for this board and others the internet offers, i too would have made too many mistakes and killed too many fishies. Thanks to these people on here, my tank is healthy. I have found there is always more to learn and it is addicting. The research is as much fun as the fish sometimes....never ending.

Good luck in your fish endeavors :o
 
whitneybsu said:
And please don't insult me by linking to condescending posts. I do not view my fish as a commodity and DID research before purchasing my fish. I've never seen it anywhere nor been told that I can't put bettas with goldfish. If you're referring to the pl*co, it was in the same tank with my oranda at the petstore.

I asked for help, you insulted me and offered no solution to my "no-no"s. That's not what I was asking for.
I do again apologize for my link, I meant to post this one on Cycling.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26051
But in defense of the Read This Post Before Getting Fish thread, it is filled with alot of good information and stories from beginners like yourself. Basically, learn from their mistakes and I am just pointing you in the right direction, cause I dont want you to do the mistakes I have made.
One of the big problems with newbies and some times us oldtimers is that we get to excited and want to place our fish in the tank before it cycles. Again please read the link to know more about cycling. We then place all these fish in our tanks and find out a few days later they are sick, with ick or fungus.
Healthy fish can come down with these illnesses if they are stressed, a non cycled tank can cause this. Plus having that many fish in a 5 gallon aquarium will stress out those species of fish pretty fast. Goldfish and plecos will and can out grow a 55 gallon aquarium when they are adults and that can happen with in a year or so.

Here is a link for treating fish from the site.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36876
also here is the link to our Article page, filled with lots of info from fellow posters.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/announcement.php?f=2&announcementid=18
 
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