Goldfish deaths and suggestions for other fish?
My daughter got three fish at a fair (not her school–I’d have asked why the **** they were giving out live creatures as game prizes). Two were orange goldfish and the third was an entirely gray one (could this still be a goldfish?).
We got a small starter tank and a filter and gravel and goldfish flakes and water conditioner. All three fish adjusted well for a couple of weeks.
Then the gray one’s eye swelled up a lot and we figured it would die. I put conditioner in the water, and over time, the eye has come back to normal. This is now the sole survivor.
One of the orange goldfish died on Monday. On Sunday night I had put [the right amount of] water conditioner in the tank. The fish seemed fine on Monday morning but was dead when I came home on Monday night.
This morning, the biggest fish was dead.
Any ideas or suggestions?
How many flakes per fish is enough if you’re feeding two times a day?
Does location possibly hurt fish? The fish are not near a window but may get a little direct sunlight for short periods of the day.
Am I supposed to remove the fish when I use water conditioner? I don’t. On the bad-fish-owner side, I have not changed the water since getting the tank about three weeks ago; the instructions say to replace one-quarter of the water when you add the conditioner. I just add the conditioner each week.
Finally, what fish are easy to care for, attractive, and might live a little while in a small starter tank?
Thanks for your answers.
And, no, I was not there when my daughter “won” the fish at this fair.
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The fish died because the water was too dirty. You should have done water changes and followed the instructions. If you get more fish, they will also die if you don’t do any water changes. Your other concerns are minor, just change the water every week, and your fish will do better. If you can handle the water changes, you need to find another hobby.
Why are you adding conditioner to the water like that? lol. You ass it in the bucket of water you’re putting into the tank during a water change
Your fish probably died from ammonia poisoning from an uncycled tank that was probably too small and underfiltered. Common goldfish found at fairs need at least 20 gallons of water each as a minimum and are sickly to begin with. You would have needed at least a 60 gallon tank that’s double filtered to keep these guys until they got too big for THAT tank and needed a pond ideally.
There are way too many answers to your questions to type here. I’ll give you some links to get you started with fish and give you info on goldfish
The bigger your tank, the easier to keep. Small tanks are not good for beginners
TAKE CARE OF THE WATER AND IT WILL TAKE CARE OF THE FISH!!!
Fishkeeping is more of a hobby than like having a pet. read up as much as you can before getting any more fish!
Well, kudos for caring and trying to take good care of the fish that were thrust upon you. Most people just toss them in an unfiltered bowl.
Goldies are one of the worst fish to be given out as prizes, but they are colorful, cheap, and draw in customers- so are still used. They are one of the messiest fish you can get. They produce a ton of ammonia and this is probably what killed the other 2 fish. The grey one is probably still a gold fish- they come in a variety of colors.
Feeding 2 times a day is too much. Feeding once a day, or even every other day is much better. A well fed fish will go 2 weeks or so without eating or showing any loss in mass. Flakes are all different sizes- so “how many” is hard to answer. A good rule of theum is “Feed what the fish can eat within 1 minute.” after that minute, use your net to get out what is left over to avoid excess waste both from over fed fish, as well as uneaten, decaying food.
The sunlight may cause an algae issue for you- but is not harmful to the fish. Adding water conditioner to the water while the fish are present is just fine. Most aquarists do it this way. It would probably cause the fish more stress by removing it nad replacing it than adding the chemicals does.
Finally: Goldies are cold water fish, and can get very large. If you want a small tank with easy fish, I suggest you trade your goldie in. He will most likely need a 30-45 gallon tank by the time he reaches adulthood. Most small aquarium fish are tropical. If you trade in your goldie and get a heater you could have a nice little community. What tank size do you have? 10 gallons? If so, I would suggest a few neon tetras, a betta, and a handful of ghost shrimp for an easy, but busy little community.
The fish died of “new tank syndrome”. In other words, they died of accumulative ammonia and/or nitrite poisoning. This isn’t your fault – you weren’t expecting your daughter to come home with the fish, but it does mean you didn’t have time to cycle the tank. Sadly, the goldfish as prizes trade causes literally 1,000,000s of deaths in this manner.
However, there’s still hope for the 3rd one. Carry out an emergency 50% water change ASAP, using dechloronator, followed by daily water changes of 15-25%. Reduce feeding to once every other day, being careful to remove any uneaten food after 3 minutes and DO NOT add any more fish just yet, although, to be honest, there’s not that many fish that are compatible with goldfish. Small fish such as White Cloud Mountain minnows will become tasty snacks once the goldfish are big enough, and Hillstream loaches need a river set up, and are extremely difficult to care for. One option is the Weather Loach.
You need a test kit. I recommend the API liquid based test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. You can get it cheaper on Ebay than on the highstreet. Once you get it, start testing the water for ammonia and nitrite on a daily basis before carrying out the water changes. Of course, once ammonia and nitrite are 0 (indicating that the tank is fully cycled) you can reduce water changes to 10-15% weekly.
What’s the name of the water conditioner and how many times have you been adding it? It’s possible that it’s dechloronator – which is what you need, but using too much or using it for other than treating tapwater for water changes could result in poisoning. If it’s something that’s supposed to reduce or eliminate the need for water changes – put it on the shelf and leave it to collect dust – it’s worthless, and potentially dangerous.
The grey fish had Pop-eye. A common symptom of many underlying problems. In this case, I suspect water quality.
If the grey fish survives (assuming it’s a goldfish colour-morph) it will need a minimum of 30gal, with enough filtration for upwards of 60gal. This increases if it’s a common – they really need tanks upwards of 55gal.