HELP my goldfish!

[necromancer]

some weird white stuff has started to grow in my oranda's tumer thingy... my bubble eye had the same thing in its fins for about 3 weeks now and now my oranda has it in its head. what is this thing and how can i get rid of it?

[Fishguy2727]

Do more water changes.
What is the nitrate concentration?
What is the current water change schedule?

[necromancer]

i dont know the water concentration...
but i change water once every 2 week. The tank is a 40 gallon with 3 goldfish, oranda, black moore, and bubble eye

[Wild Turkey]

i dont know the water concentration...
but i change water once every 2 week. The tank is a 40 gallon with 3 goldfish, oranda, black moore, and bubble eye

Sounds like you have some stocking issues as well.

How much water are you changing?
With an overstocked tank like that i would be changing something like 50% twice a week at least.

Do you test your tank water? if yes, what are the params?

[necromancer]

how can a 40 gallon with 3 goldfish be an overstocked tank?

[Wild Turkey]

how can a 40 gallon with 3 goldfish be an overstocked tank?
Bare minimum for 1 goldfish : 30 gallons
With that in mind...
how can a 40 gallon with 3 goldfish not be an overstocked tank? Besides, thats only half the fish that are in the tank.
Most would say the black moor needs at least that by itself.

Again, what are the tank parameters?

[necromancer]

i read that we need 20 gallon for 1 goldfish, and 10 extra gallon for each extra goldfish... idk about the parameters, i never do the water tests....

[Wild Turkey]

i read that we need 20 gallon for 1 goldfish, and 10 extra gallon for each extra goldfish... idk about the parameters, i never do the water tests....

First, Id be glad to show you 50 websites that say 30 gal is a minimum.

I can however, find sites that say 5 gallons is fine for a goldfish. Any fool with a keyboard can post whatever they want, i assume you came to ac because you wanted some real advice, not species profiles.


Secondly, you have 6 fish in your tank, so even according to your findings, the tank is over stocked. Why dont you start a thread "How many goldfish can i keep in a 40 gallon tank?" I have no doubt what the responses will be. 2.

Lastly, if you dont test the water there is absolutely no way to know what is going on inside your tank or give you good advice on what to do. So, my first piece of advice would be to get some $$$ :hmm3grin2orange: cuz you need a new tank, master test kits, and probably quite a few other things you neglected to buy when you setup the tank if you want to keep those goldfish in any kind of decent home. Otherwise, probably best that at least some of them get re-homed.

Take a look at the free e-book if you would like to find out more about the nitrogen cycle and why testing your water is not only important, but crucial.

This is a great example of why you should research first.

[necromancer]

i only have 3 goldfish...

[Wild Turkey]

i only have 3 goldfish...

Its hard to tell from your posts whether you meant 3 comets + other goldys or 3 goldies total. BUT regardless, the tank is overstocked buddy. The black moore alone needs a tank that size.

Not to mention goldies are high waste producers, which is why even in most normally stocked goldy tanks people end up doing water changes twice a week, as opposed to once a week.

However, the main reason of changing water is to remove nitrates, the by product of the cycle. More ammonia means more nitrate, goldies produce a ton of ammonia for a fish their size. Without a test kit though, you have no clue what your trates are and i suspect they are way over toxic levels if you have only been doing waterchanges bi-weekly in a tank that is still, yes, overstocked with goldies.

Personally, i think that if you want to get away with only doing bi-weekly water changes...which seems to be the case, goldies are a bad choice.

[necromancer]

i'll go get test kits this week

[Fishguy2727]

The general guide for stocking goldfish is 20 gallons for one and an additional 10 gallons for every additional goldfish. Based on this guide the tank is full. Yes, there are many hardcore goldfish keepers who think that each fish should have even more water, but there are also other variables that must be considered.

One is the water change schedule. This is what determines water quality which is actually the most important thing, not volume. These fish in a 100 gallon tank that gets a 10% water change every two months is much worse than the current tank with adequate water changes.

Many of those hardcore keepers who think they need more gallons per fish also rely on more natural methods of keeping them (like minimal water changes in huge volumes of water, outdoor ponds with natural foods, etc.) all of these also effect how well the fish do overall.

Most important is the nitrate concentration. This will give you the best idea of water quality. The nitrate concentration should be kept under 20ppm. Do at least one water change per week. Whatever you are doing now probably needs to be increased. I would do at least 50% at least once a week. My 150 gets 80% at least once a week. Slowly step up to larger water changes, don't just jump into huge water changes if you and your fish are not used to them. Step up by about 5% each water change.

Take a look at the following threads for some more information on stocking, water changes, goldfish, and myths about goldfish:
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=23740
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=32662
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=30940
You may also want to check my blog for other articles that may help you out a lot.