# Help with Goldfish



## Bob&Jill (Aug 23, 2010)

Hi to all,
I'm new to this forum. I just started an aquarium (our first one) for my son, but I have to admit I always wanted one. 
We have a 10 gallon tank, two goldfish and a snail. We plan to add more depending on the health of the existing fish.
We got it last weekend (two days ago). The store we bought the fish from gave us three gallons of aquarium water and instructed us on how to cycle the aquarium with the fish in it.
The water has gotten a bit opaque, there are some surface bubbles where the water from the filter touches the tank, and the fish seem confined to a corner--very close to the surface.
Has any of you has any advice?


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## pinetree (Nov 29, 2009)

Bob & Jill, I suggest you repost your question in the goldfish section, it will get more attention there. :smile:


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Read the "new tank" stickies. You will need dechlor and water changes. Old aquarium water would not be my choice for cycling a new tank. It doesn't carry much filter bacteria (that's on surfaces) and can carry disease and will carry pollutants like nitrate that new water doesn't have. If you are going to cycle with fish, I'd suggest Prime or Amquel+ to dechlor and detoxify the ammonia, Stability or other "bacteria starter", and an ammonia test kit so you can watch water quality. 

If you are trying to do this as cheaply as possible, just get cheapest per dose choramine remover and do a 50% water change whenever the fish look bad, act strange, or twice a week whichever comes first.


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## chocolatecrunch (May 21, 2010)

Like Pine said, I would recomend posting this in the goldfish section...But I have to warn you that goldfish get HUGE and produce massive amounts of waste. the skinny little ones called commons or comets, get around 16 inches. The fancy goldfish (Ryukin, black moor, bubble eyed, oranda, pearscale...etc) get around 6-10 inches but usally stop at around 6 inches unless kept in a pond or larger tank. They can also live 20+ years.


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## FishMatt (May 12, 2010)

Ummm.. I think an Admin or Moderator has moved it, its in Goldfish, Koi, and Ponds area.


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## pinetree (Nov 29, 2009)

As was stated above, adding old aquarium water to a tank won't help it cycle. Not enough of the correct bacteria lives in that water. You would have needed old filter media.

Have you purchased a test kit to test your water parameters? If not, a good investment is an API Freshwater Master Test Kit. They run around $30 or so, or you can order online for cheaper. Whatever kind your purchase, make sure it tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Kits that use liquid reagent drops are more accurate than test strips. If you can't afford a test kit, many fish stores will test your water for free. Either way, once your aquarium water has been tested, please post the results here in numbers - not things like ammonia is ok, pH is good, etc. We need numbers to advise you properly.

I suspect the fish are acting the way they are because the water has high ammonia. As suggested above, please read the stickie on new tank syndrome. The first thing you should do is a partial water change. Make sure the fresh water that you add back in is treated with a dechlorination product such as Prime or Amquel. Most tap water contains chlorine and chloramines, which will make your fish sick or die and kill off any beneficial bacteria.

I would keep up the partial water changes daily until you have a way of doing daily tests on your water. You will initially have ammonia, which will eventually zero out and turn into nitrite, which will then zero out and turn into nitrate at the end. THEN your tank is cycled.

Also, down the road you will need a bigger aquarium. Goldfish are not like most tropical fish. They need much bigger water volume than something like a molly or gourami of equal size. The reason for this is goldfish produce a lot more waste and need more water volume to dilute that waste. They also need a higher rate of filtration than most tropicals. Ideally you should have a filter that turns over 10 times the water volume per hour. So a 10 gallon tank should have at least 100 gallons per hour filtration. Goldfish also grow quite large and need enough tank space for swimming. It is recommended that you should have at minimum 10 gallons per goldfish, so for 2 goldies you will eventually need at least a 20 gallon, although I'd recommend a 29 gallon. 

Good luck with them and let us know how they do.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

IMO every goldfish should be kept in a pond.


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## Peeps (May 24, 2010)

Goldfish get too big for a 10 gallon, each needs a 20 gallon due to the mess they create. They are very messy fish. Why don't you get a few tropicals instead. There are a lot of pretty ones out their. You should have cycled your tank before you added the goldfish. I would get a test kit for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/ph (liquid). With the cycling process you are going to have to do daily water changes.


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