New and discouraged...

flgatorsgirl

flgatorsgirl

Registered Member
Jul 15, 2006
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South Carolina
I have tried twice to raise goldfish in a 10g tank. I had a basic setup, filter and aerator... I didn't have a heater because the folks at the pet stores said that goldfish didn't require one...

Anyway, I started with two basic goldfish, a bubble eyed goldfish, and an algae eater (I'm sure it has a fancy name). Within about 4 days i started noticing a couple swimming at the top of the tank gasping for breath, but i couldn't figure out why. Well then i started noticing a cotton-like fungus growing in their gills and about their bodies... I went to the pet store and they directed me to buy something called "Melafix". I treated the tank exactly like it said on the bottle and within a couple more days the fish were all dead, even the algae eater.

I waited a couple weeks before trying again. I cleaned the entire tank out and boiled the gravel and the decorations to kill any fungus that may have still been there... I was told by the people at the pet store to set up the tank and wait about 5 days while running the filter before putting the new fish in the tank... I did that. The exact same thing happened again. The same white cottony fungus killed the 2 new goldfish I put in there.

What am I doing wrong? I am really new to the whole thing but I did just what they told me to do and for some reason i haven't had any luck. :confused:

-Amanda
 
I am also sorry to say that goldfish need atleast 30 gallons per fish to live properly.

some water changes would help out too, about 30% weekly and 50% biweekly ought to work
 
clean tank, clean everything, new filter media, hmm are you dechlorinating your tap water just out of curiosity? when you add fish do you float the bag so that the temp or the bag can become the same temp as the tank this is usually 15minutes, and then you should get an ice cream pale, place a fish net over it and dump the contents into the net and then release the fish into the tank via using the net, this helps avoid dumping that pet store water into your tank.

if you can try getting the fish from a different store. and if that happens you could look on aquarium central for instruction on how to treat the tank with salt.
 
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Exactly..

With the tank not being cycled you're subjecting your fish to ammonia and nitrite poisoning. The bad water quality is the reason for the cottony growth.

If all you have is the 10 gallon I'd look for other fish then goldies as they need alot more gallons per fish.

Read the cycle article, if you have any questions post them and we'll walk you through it.

If you know anyone with a tank you could ask for some of their filter media and shorten the cycle.

So what you need to do is:

1. get the tank cycled
2. While cycling, research some fish you'd like
3. Ask us if what you're wanting will work so you don't overstock the tank.
 
IceH2O said:
Exactly..

With the tank not being cycled you're subjecting your fish to ammonia and nitrite poisoning. The bad water quality is the reason for the cottony growth.
Click to expand...



Well the "expert" (HA!) at the pet store (I went to two different ones, by the way) said that running the tank for the 5 days would give the tank time to develop its own bacterias and should solve my problem, but apparently it didn't. (Don't ya just hate people who are supposed to know what they're doing and don't? ) I wonder how much money people have spent on fish that these folks helped to kill???

Thanks for the help everyone, I need all I can get.

-Amanda

PS.... I used aquarium salt too just as directed to prevent illness... did no good. =(
 
I agree that goldfish do need a bigger tank, but that isn't the problem your having right now. Something to consider though for you in the future maybe(a bigger tank)

Here's some tips that may help you out.

- Clean everything: the tank, gravel, decorations, filter, buy a new cartridge for the filter.

- Set the tank back up: If you have "city water" make sure you dechlorinate it. Let the tank cycle before adding fish. If you have "well-Water" test it. See what it's like straight from the tap. I have well water and it's a little hard but I have never had problems with my fish in it. Most pet stores can test your water for you.

- When the tank is cycled and your going to add your fish float the bag first to let the temperature equalize. Next either scoop the fish out of the bag(you'll probably need someone to help with that). Or as said, dump the fish into an ice cream pale/small bucket and scoop 'em out of there. You don't want the store's water in your tank. Most store's almost always have some sort of disease. Better to play safe than sorry.

- Once your fish are in observe them for the next few days. If you see anything develop treat it as soon as you can. The earlier you catch things the better.

- Goldfish don't need a heater, if you decide to get a different type of fish you'll need a heater. Goldfish also should have a filter for double or triple the size of the aquarium(so I have read). You may be better off buying a heater and trying a fish like barbs, platies, mollies, gourami's. Small fish that are generally good "entry" fish.

Hope this helps and whatever you decide, try and keep at it. Once you have a tank up and running it's a real pleasure to watch your fish.
 
I pretty much agree with what everyone has said in regards to cycling and the tank being too small for a goldfish. But now, I'd like to mention that "algae eater". Can you tell us what it looked like? If it was small and greyish/black, it's a pleco... a no no for a goldfish tank, I'll tell you why after my next guess. My next guess is it would be a chinese algae eater. These two are the most common "algae eaters" sold from the LFS to unsuspecting/new fish hobbyists. They are most often sold in error. The first reason is the pleco gets too big for the tank, can get from 18 to 24 inches... the chinese algae eater will be fine for a while until it matures and begins attacking. They get pretty aggressive with age, especially in tight quarters such as this. These 2 bottom feeders are also tropical fish and need warmer waters than goldfish as well as a different diet.
 
Unless you are just incredibly bent on having goldfish, get a heater and go tropical (freshwater warm water fish). I think it is easier than dealing w/goldfish waste and ammonia production as stated. I used to have a couple of goldfish when I was younger and they were a mess to take care of.

For a 10 gallon some good tropicals to look into/research might be: some species of tetra, some species of rasboras, livebearers- (I don't like livebearers, but some folks do) some people keep danios successfuly in a 10 gallon. I would advise starting your cycle, then visiting the fish store and looking in the tanks and make a list of the fish you see that you like. Then, take your list home and research the fish on the net and rule out those that won't work, etc. Sometimes fish aren't appropriately labeled in store- so you gotta be careful. and as you have learned, some employees (not all) don't know anything about fish. While it cycles, you can plan what kind of fish you want:)

Post and let us know if you would consider going tropical as opposed to goldies so that folks can post you some more ideas. Don't get discouraged, I know I had a rocky start in the beginning ...
 
I am not determined to have goldfish per se, but I just always assumed they were the most easy to start with... heck, when I was a kid we kept goldfish in a fishbowl and they lived forever... I never suspected I would have such a hard time with them.

I wouldn't mind going tropical, i hadn't really thought about it... the whole thing started because my sons wanted a couple goldfish. haha. Can anyone give me a link to a site that could teach me how to do the ph readings, etc? I know I sound very uninformed about the hobby and its because I am. Teach me. LOL. Thanks SOOOO much for the replies....

The little betta I have been babying is doing fine... I know that sounds silly but its a big accomplishment for someone who's had such bad luck with fish... :o
 
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