Question:Okay, I dont know what I am doing wrong!!
I have a 2 gallon tank. And I bought a fantail goldfish at first and I only had him for less than a week and it died. For the first 2 days it was okay, then for the last days he just started growing white spots out of nowhere. And I did hear from the Petsmart owners that their spots mean that its just natural or it could be ick. So I took a Tablet medication from PetsMart and it killed the goldfish immediately.
Then I bought a ryukin goldfish. He was also okay for the 2 days.. then he just started having black smudges on his face and stayed at the bottom of the water and didnt move anywhere...I also had him for a week also.
I really dont know what I am doing wrong! I put two drops of aquarasol and tap water conditioner before putting the fish in the tank. But they die anyways.
OMG somebody help. The store clerks say that the goldfish can fit in my 2 gallon tank for a year and I have to buy a bigger tank when they get bigger.but they die..
Answers:
The 2 days is a pretty good clue here. And 2 gallons is not big enough for them for very long. They have actually already outgrown it before you bring them home. What is probably happening is that your tank is not cycled yet and they are dying at the first ammonia spike.
Please see the following link for information on cycling your tank prior using it (it has ammonia rising on the 10th day but using a 10 gallon tank with a much smaller fish):
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html...
This link explains fishless cycling:
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pf...
How hot is the water?
The white spots could be ich(or rarly fungus).
Change 25% to 60% of the water. It could be the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate level being high.
It also could be water temperature check to see if its 33 to 50degrees Fahrenheit.
Hope this info helps
WT
The first thing I would do if I were you was to make sure that my water has no chlorine or bromine in it. The tap water at my place has chlorine in it so I have to add an agent that removes it. The next thing I would look into is your water hardness. Do you have hard or soft water? What does the store have? Also what is the temperature of the water you are putting them into. A goldfish thrives in 64 to 72 degrees F water. Are you slowly acclimating them to the water change. When you introduce a fish to a tank let the bag they are in float in the new water for about 15 minutes. The water temp in the bag will slowly change to match the temp of the water they are going into so as not to shock the fish.
hi, the white spots that ytou are talking about sounds like white spot which is a fish paracite.
maybe try completly cleaning out the tank and leave it set up for a few days and try putting either cycle or something simiular. these products put good bacteria into the water so the fish have a more stable environment.
Actually, to tell you the truth, I can't say that's right. I do not know of anyone who's actually had a goldfish for more then a year. Goldfishes aren't very promising to keep for a whole year, I had a few they all died. I don't think goldfish really live up to that amount of time, but it could just be me and my caring skills.
I can help you. You need to have your water tested. And I work at Feeders Supply and are rule is 1 inch of fish per gal of water. Say the fantail gets up to 7 inch's, Then you should have 1 fantail in a 7 gal tank. The only fish that is safe for a small tank like that is a BETA. Goldfish are messy so if you dont want to clean your tank out all the time get a bigger one. I have 3 Oranda Goldfish in a 55 gal tank. Even though I dont need one that big They seem to do better. Hope this helps you.
First off clean your tank and accessories out with atleast 1 part bleach with 10 parts water (just to be safe) this should kill any bacteria that is left from the previous fish. Replace old rocks with new. Next, make sure you have a decent filteration system, they do need oxygen in the water (bubbles) In this case in housing goldfish you wont need a heater for the tank, they can have a wide range of temperatures. Fill the tank atleast 3/4 of the way full using regualr luke warm tap water, let the water sit atleast a day with the water pump going. The following day add a liquid chemical (forgot what they call it) that nutrualizes all the "bad" chemicals in the water and addes a stress reliever. Wait atleast 10 minutes before adding your new fish. YOU MUST NOT just add the fish, even though they are just goldfish sometimes they need time to adjust to the new water temperature. Place the baggy into the water and wait 15 minutes, now just add your fish! If you keep on having problems with your fish I would HIGHLY sugest you purchase them somewhere else. Hope this helps! If you have any more questions PM me at KillMe5050
Here are a few things you might want to consider.
1. Change the water before you get a new fish. When you add chemicals to the tank, please follow the directions and add what you need.
2. Never clean your tank with soap. It could kill your fish.
3. Go to the library and read up on goldfish care and diseases. It is good to educate yourself because to me, it seems like the employees at Petsmart were not very helpful when it came to saving your fish.
4. Make sure your fish are healthy before you buy them. You may be buying fish that are already sick.
5. Consider buying your fish elsewhere.
6. Try not to over medicate your fish. Many times the tablets are designed for larger tanks. You may need to switch to liquid medication for your fish.
7. Do you have a filter?
OK First off throw out that 2 gallon and tell it to never come back. You believed a store clerk at petsmart? Those are teens looking for a summer job! 2 gallons is like what you get for a betta fish. You need at LEAST a 6 gallon tank. AT LEAST. I reccomend a 10 gallon tank. Once you get a bigger tank buy gallons of distilled water. dont put conditioner in them. Rinse your tank out with water and get a tank scrubbie. Then rinse your tank. Rinse gravel and put in along with any plants (rinse those too) Also get your water tested for ammonia, nitrate, acid etc. Make sure your tank has a filter! Cut back on feeding.
I had a fish that had the same thing. It's a sickness and it's usually on goldfish. Anyways there's no way to stop the spots from appearing, it's just part of the poor goldfishy's life.
r u feedin it alot or it could be a disease
Try starting over with the tank set-up. I have found on small tanks to just add your water let everything fiter through for about a week then introduce the fish by floating the bag for a good 30 minutes. It is always good to have a gallon of water out at room temperature to replace about a quarter of the tank water everyother week or so. milk jugs work great. do not over feed. Gold fish have very small stomachs and need very little food 2 or 3 times a day. The white spots you seen were Ick. which is a disease that can be brought on by stress, water conditions. If you see the white spots try to find Jungle Fungus Guard it has worked well on my goldfish And Koi's. It comes in tablet form 1 tab for every ten gals. So you will have to break it down by 5ths. treat for five days then clean the tank and put the water from the jugs back in the tank. Put the fish back in a Plastic bag with the water that it was treated in. float this bag just like before. Take a cup of fresh water from your new tank set up dump it in the bag wait another 5 min. for the fish to adjust then put the fish back in the tank without any of the treated water that was in the bag. The water in the bag will contaminate the tank so be careful not to get any in there.
goldfish kinda suck because the natually make amonia so if you dont clean your tanks basiclly every couple of days they will basiclly kill themselves from the amonia they created. i had the same problem. my goldfish killed all my other fish until i found the problem. if i were you i would just save a couple more bucks and buy a more expensive fish. less hassle
The only fish that should be put in a 2 gallon is a bettta, 1 Goldfish needs a minimm tank size of 10 gallon and bigger when they areolder.
You need to view the fish you are buying and make sure none of them have the white spots. That is ICK, a very dangerous disease. All fish in the ICK infested tank will die unless the tank is clean and started over or treated. I wouldn't put anymore fish inside the old tank.
Hi, I am sorry to hear of your losses-this just goes to show the appalling advice dispensed by some pet store employees who perpetuate the totally untrue Goldfish myths & folklore. This kind of behaviour blackens the reputation of the many knowledgeable & helpful employees.
The first thing you need to do is take back your tank & demand a refund because it was not of merchantable quality ie it did not perform the function for which you bought it & that was to properly house 2 Goldfish. I would also take back the medication you bought because that was sold to you on a similar untrue premise. The person who told you your 2 poor Goldfish could fit in the 2 gallon tank for a year is grossly misinformed as was the medication advice which was akin to shooting from the hip in the hope you will hit the target eventually. More often than not pouring copious amounts of chemicals willy-nilly into your tank is a recipe for disaster unless you are targeting a specific, known condition.
The minimum sized tank to reasonably house 2 Goldfish in is one that is at least 20 gallons, with a lid & filter. I would suggest the best place to get credible information about any aspect of Goldfish care is on here, join one of the many Goldfish forums where experts are very happy to share their knowledge or a specialist aquarium store (one that only sells fish) where even the most junior member of staff will probably know more about fishkeeping than your average Petsmart manager.
Before you get any more fish I would advise you to do some research into the basic needs of the Goldfish-there are very many good sites & the attached one is an excellent place to start-good luck for the future!
I have a fantail Goldfish. It ATLEAST needs 10 gallons to itself. The store clerk is an idiot. It stunts them if they're in a smaller tank. They need room to roam. It's like putting you in a little for 5-10 years, will you stop growing? Sorry I don't mean to sound so rude, but fish need room, especially goldfish. The ammonia in the water could have killed him too.
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biolog...
That is a good site for understanding the cycling process of your tank. This is the reason your fish are dieing. Also, tablets are not a good ich cure. Liquid is better.
Get your tank up and running. Let it run for about a week with no fish in it. have the store test the water to be sure the cycle is complete.
Also, float the fish do not just dump them into the new tank.
The clerk is correct you fish will be fine in the small tank for about a year but no more. And only one fish.
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