New goldfish owner

**Crazyponyy** · 04-04-2012, 07:01 PM

Hello everyone!!
Im new to the whole goldfish world. I work at my local petsmart, and saw this beautiful black moor, but i want to say he is a mix ( if that is even possible!) I will try and post a photo, but he has bubble eyes, and the top half of his body is black and the bottom half is orange. I know the moors eventually turn to gold, but i didnt think having a split like that was possible! So of course i had to purchase him! He is currently in a 15 gallon tank with a rated 45 gallon filter. he wont be in that for long, im currently in the process of looking for my first apartment (WOOHOO) so i didnt want to get anything to big, so once i move he will be in my 50 gallon tank. Anyways, he does have a fungus that im currently treating with "fungus guard" I did the first treatment yesterday and he already seems to be improving! But i was wondering if anyone has any advice on goldfish. I know some of the basics but i dont know alot, and i want to make sure this little guy lives for a very long time! I know a decent amount about ponds, i have a 2500 gallon pond full of beautiful Koi. Any information about ponds that people might have or advise would definetly be appriciated!! :)
THANK YOUUU

**MLBfan** · 04-04-2012, 07:27 PM

Just wanted to say...

Welcome to the AC

**rmiller** · 04-04-2012, 08:05 PM

Welcome. I'm sure you are already aware that goldies are coldwater and very dirty. Did you cycle your tank before puting him/her in? With out lots of beneficial bacteria in that filter you will have a very unhealthy fish. Make sure you are testing your water parameters often, as you will need to do more water changes in the 15 gallon than you would expect. Also make sure you feed fresh veggies such as peas to keep things flowing. Goldfish get constipated very easily. Peas are a great way to keep things unclogged.

**Crazyponyy** · 04-04-2012, 08:39 PM

Yep! I let it cycle through for 4 days before bringing him home. I even treated it with a bacteria enhancement just for safety. I brought him home about 2 weeks ago, i already knew about the fungus before i bought him, and i knew it was easy to treat. I do one 50% change and one 10-30% change every week. Along with one filter pad change every two weeks, and every 5 days the water gets tested (Its easy to do that working at petsmart with free water testing

) I never knew that about peas! Now would frozen peas do the trick?? I will wait to do that for him once he kicks this fungal issue! He really doesnt do much right now but lays on the bottom of the tank.

**rmiller** · 04-04-2012, 08:58 PM

Laying on the bottom is very concerning. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? The basics of it are that beneficial bacteria eat the waste that the fish put off (ammonia) and turn it to nitrite. More bacteria eat the nitrite and turn it to nitrate, which we remove through water changes. If you are changing filter pads every couple weeks, you are throwing away your bacteria. The petsmarts near me use test strips. These are notoriously inaccurate. If that is what you are using please get a liquid test kit like the API masterkit. You should have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and some nitrate. You want to keep the nitrate less than 20 parts per million, lots will tell you that 10 or less is a better goal.

I have used the bacteria suplements before, and they can help, but with something as heavy bioload as a goldfish, I wouldn't trust it. So let's make sure your tank is cycled and stop changing those filters. A quick rinse in dirty tank water after you do a water change will help keep your bacteria healthy. When you het a moment, please post your water parameters and method of testing so we can advise any needed adjustments.

**Crazyponyy** · 04-04-2012, 09:04 PM

And this is why i joined! Unfortunetly, right now, thats all i can use is the test strips. I have work tomorrow so i will be able to post all of that information for you. Last time i check which was saturday, everything was perfect on the strip. I dont remember numbers, unfortunetly.

**rmiller** · 04-04-2012, 09:15 PM

You might check with the dept manager or store manager and let them know that the strips don't work well and recommend opening an API kit for store use so you can give customers more accurate readings. I can't tell you how many times I had petsmart or petco say oh your water is fine. Then I had it tested at another store that used liquid tests kits. My water quality was very poor. So I had pmart, petco, and an lfs all test the same water sample. All gave very different readings. Both big box stores used strips, one said it was good, one said it was ok, but I needed new filters. The lfs said it was so bad they were surprised I still had fish alive.

I can tell you really love your goldie, and it sounds beautiful. Let's make sure it is poisoning itself on its own waste.

**Tiari** · 04-04-2012, 11:30 PM

The test strips do NOT test for ammonia in the 5 in 1 test strips. I hate to inform you, many a new fish owner has taken water in for testing at a commercial pet store using strips and told "everything is fine" when the ammonia is skyrocket high.

Ammonia is the #1 killer of fish, and is quite likely the #1 cause of most of the disease outbreaks in new tanks. If it isn't being tested for, it is a huge disservice to aquarium owners.

**PhillipOrigami** · 04-05-2012, 03:22 AM

You "cycled" it for four days?
Ideal cycling with optimal conditions takes a minimum of 2 weeks.
Test strips, as said above, are very innacurate.
Get an API kit as stated above.
I don't know, I doubt goldfish are fish to cycle with... Do you have a knowledgeable friend that you can temporarily house your goldfish at?

**Crazyponyy** · 04-05-2012, 03:34 AM

I know the 5 in 1 strips dont have ammonia we have a seperate test for that. I was able to locate a local store that does the liquid test so i will be doing that on friday! Unfortunetly i dont have anyone that has a tank available for a few days. I did purchase though an API Goldfish success kit. It has a protector and a cleaner. I didnt actually read what it does, but it said goldfish so i didnt think it could hurt!! I do know that goldfish are extremely dirty, thats why i have a bigger filter attached hoping that would help even just a little bit, and i do my 2 water changes a week, with a gravel vac to get under the rocks as well. A gentleman i work with who apparently is very fish savy, told me that if i used a bactiria enhancement that it would speed up the cycling process, so i would be able to add my new little fella to the tank. Also i appricate all the help, but im still learning i have never had a goldfish before, and i had the tank before to hold only two mollies for 6 months before the great october storm made my state loose power for almost 12 days so i lost them. So please be kind :)