newbie question

J

Jetalone30

AC Members
Nov 5, 2006
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so lets start out by saying i have zero experience when it comes to proper aquarium care, i say proper because i have had one or two aquariums when i was younger and had no idea what i was doing

anyways, i recently accquired a 55gal freshwater tank from my girlfriends mom with a single goldfish living in it, the tank had no filter and was dirty when i got it, but not too bad

i transported the tank and fish to my house, cleaned the tank, bought a new filter for it, and then read up on cycling a tank properly

my question is, how should i go about cycling this tank now that i have it set up?

i mean, everything ive read about fish in cycling says its a big no no, and i cant exactlly do fishless cycling

any help anyone can give me would be great, basically im looking for a step by step guide on how to do this, for a complete newbie beginner

also, i would like to get more fish, but dont know whats compatible with the goldfish that came with the tank?

i dont know exactlly what kind of goldfish it is, but its large and looks exactlly like a typical goldfish i think of when i hear the word goldfish, if you know what i mean...

anyways, thanks in advance for all your help, im new to this, but wanna go about it the right way, so id really appreciate any help i can get...
 
how big is the tank, and how did you come opon it? it sounds like you weren't expecting to have an aquarium.... commons need a minimum of 55Gs for one fish. fishy cycles are great hassles, and more trouble than they're worth IMO. they do cycle the tanks faster, though. I reccomend returning the goldfish, and letting your tank cycle naturally. also, it would be good to buy a A/N/N test kit, and test your water daily to see how your cycle is coming along. I reccomend the AP freshwater master test kit.
 
its a 55g, and my girlfriends mom has had it forever
shes been trying to get rid of it
and i agreed to take it
because im an animal lover
and have wanted a tank for awhile
but just wasnt expecting to get one so suddenly

the goldfish was already in the tank
so i dont really have anywhere to return it too

im gonna buy a test kit tomorrow
can i get a decent test kit at petco/petsmart
or should i go to an aquarium specialty store?
 
Jetalone30 said:
its a 55g, and my girlfriends mom has had it forever
shes been trying to get rid of it
and i agreed to take it
because im an animal lover
and have wanted a tank for awhile
but just wasnt expecting to get one so suddenly

the goldfish was already in the tank
so i dont really have anywhere to return it too

im gonna buy a test kit tomorrow
can i get a decent test kit at petco/petsmart
or should i go to an aquarium specialty store?
Click to expand...
are you sure it's not already cycled? even so, buying a test kit is a good idea.
 
Last edited:
well yeah im sure, because i completely emptied it, cleaned it thoroughly, transported it to my house, then refilled it and added the fish

so if it was cycled, which it probably was, it isnt now
but i did all this before i knew about cycling
and the water was pretty nasty anyway
so...

but yeah, ill get a kit tomorrow
should i get maybe one more fish?
just to get the cycle moving a lil faster
something hardy like another goldfish?
or should i just leave the one fish in there for now
till i get it fully cycled?
 
well, buy a test kit and test the water daily. anytime you get ammonia readings, do a small water change (about 10-15% of the water) until you start getting nitrites, ect. the point is not to expose the fish to ammonia concentrations higher than about 0.50 PPM and nitries of no more than 1.0 PPM. do not add any more fish after it is cycled. 1 common goldfish is the max for a 55G.
 
are you serious about it being the max?
maybe it isnt a common goldfish then, i mean this thing is maybe 2 and a half or three inches long, and they told me theyve had it for probably 5 or 6 years.
so i know im not an expert, but shouldnt it be past full grown by now?
or is their something i dont know? i mean i dont wanna overstock the tank, but it just seems crazy that this lil guy is all that can be in there.
 
Yeah, well, Fish22 is right here. One goldfish is it for that tank. If I'm not mistaken they never stop growing. If they've had it for 5-6 years and it's not any bigger it could be stunted from poor water quality. Most Goldfish I've known have grown rather rapidly. Honestly if I were you I'd find someone with a pond that you could give it to, or take it to a local fish store and see if you can trade or get store credit.
 
Jetalone30 said:
are you serious about it being the max?
maybe it isnt a common goldfish then, i mean this thing is maybe 2 and a half or three inches long, and they told me theyve had it for probably 5 or 6 years.
so i know im not an expert, but shouldnt it be past full grown by now?
or is their something i dont know? i mean i dont wanna overstock the tank, but it just seems crazy that this lil guy is all that can be in there.
Click to expand...

If you could post a picture of the fish that would be really helpful. Fish never really get "full grown" they will keep growing until the day they die. They do slow down once they reach a certain size, but they don't stop growing. Goldfish are very messy fish and it's usually recommended between 20-30 gallon of water for the first fish and 15-20 gallons for every other fish added depending on species. There are a lot of variables to this though.
 
ok cool
ill see what i can do

i guess my next question would be why are goldfish so uncompatible with other fish? and how big can these things get? like i said im new to this, so im not trying to say you guys are wrong or that i know any better than you guys, i just dont understand

and like i said, i wanna do this right, so ill take any advice you guys give me

thanks
 
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