Lonely Angel

This morning one of my goldfish was just hovering beneath one of the fake plants instead of swimming around. A little while later another goldfish was there too. I went to look at them, but they saw me and, thinking they were being fed, all swarmed up (including the sick two). I assumed they were okay, but now they're all (goldfish and koi) just resting on the bottom of the tank. This seems really strange since I've had the tank for a week and a half and they've always been swimming around actively. The only thing that has changed is that on Tuesday night I changed their water for the first time since I've had them. I took out about 15% and replaced it with tap water treated with Tetra-Aqua AquaSafe water conditioner. I also added a new plastic plant then but I rinsed it thoroughly first.

Does it sound like something is wrong with them, or am I just being paranoid?

ShaynaB

You certainly have a lot of fish for that tank... Sounds like it's going through a cycle. You should probably be changing the water more. Have you tested the water yet? I'd suggest doing that if you haven't yet. Getting an API master test kit would be a good place to start.

SereneReyn

i could very well be mistaken but here are my thoughts:

first, you said you've had the tank a week and a half - this tells me that unless you used bio-spira, etc, your tank is not cycled at all.

secondly, you have far too many fish in your tank. goldfish, koi and plecos are all very high-waste producing fish.

thirdly, a pleco should not be in there at all. he likes warmer water.

test your parameters. get rid of some fish. do major water changes frequently. make sure you have uber filtration.

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

I think part of the problem is that you have too many large fish in the tank. A pleco needs 55-75g, goldfish need 20g for the first and 10g for each additional one and koi need a pond. That much waste production will cause water chemistry problems.

You'll want to use Prime for your water conditioner if you can and do 25-40% water changes every 1-2 days.

Lonely Angel

The Koi aren't full grown. One is about 2 1/2 inches and the other is just under 5 inches. And the tank wasn't really new 1.5 weeks ago, I bought it used with all the fish and brought about half of their original water home with me to keep in the tank.

So does it sound to you like the fish are not sick? Just crowded? The small goldfish have started swimming around now but the bigger ones are still pretty inactive.

COBettaCouple

If there are toxins in the water, that can cause all kinds of illnesses. It does sound like an overstocking problem, but we could be more sure with pics of them.

Lonely Angel

Here's a pic that shows all but the pleco:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1.../aquarium1.jpg
There are no longer turtles in the tank. I took them out the first day and moved them to another tank. As I said, the koi are approx. 2 1/2 and 5 inches, and the goldfish are the following sizes: three small (1 1/2"), 2 medium (3"), and four large (4")

Here's the small koi since he's hard to see in that pic:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...eper/Baker.jpg

And here's the pleco, who's about 4 inches:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...eeper/Inks.jpg

I hope that helps.

susitna-flower

HI, WELCOME TO FISHLORE!

I think the consensus is that your tank is too small for the fish you have, but no one has explained that the reason we say that is that our "rule of thumb" for stocking is 1" of ADULT fish size, that is the size your fish WILL GROW into....per gallon of tank.

They did however tell you about the regular stocking rules for goldfish and pleco's (both huge waste producers), and that koi need to be in a pond, not a tank. I am not sure what you are calling a koi, is actually a koi however, it looks like a koi colored goldfish to me.

Everyone also understands that the fish are smaller right now, but the amount of waste they are producing is still more than the bacteria currently in the tank, can handle.

Just speculation, but if you just got this tank, with the fish, someone else became aware of the problems they were facing with this overcrowded tank, and sold/gave their problem away....

I'm sorry if you weren't aware of the problems before hand, but now we will try to help you through.

The first thing you need to do is get that API Master test kit!

Test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. While Ammonia and Nitrite remain above 0 you HAVE to do 25-50% water changes EVERY DAY! This will be until the tanks nitrogen cycle is finished.

You will know this has happened because the ammonia and nitrite go down to 0 and the nitrate goes up to 5+......

Read all about the nitrogen cycle by opening up "ARTICLES" at the top of this page and go to the link on nitrogen cycle.

To research the exact needs of all your fish, go to Fish Profiles under the "ARTICLES" heading. You will have a much better idea of why people here are telling you the tank is overcrowded.

Good Luck.

Lonely Angel

Thanks for explaining about the adult size rule. And you could be right about the koi, the original owners said there was no sign on the pet store's tank when they bought them but that they looked like koi.

I'll definitely get the test kit tomorrow so I can check readings and change the water as often as needed.

The fish are actually looking better, so I'm not sure what was going on earlier. They're very active now, swimming around and playing. I want to make sure they're as happy as they can be, so I'm glad to get everyone's comments and do what I can to improve their conditions.

Thank you to everyone who helped!

hssea

am i seeing things or is that a TURTLE in the tank!!!!

ok i just went back to read that the turtle is no longer in the tank. "if it looks like a turtle then its a turtle"

Lonely Angel

Yes, the previous owners actually had two turtles in there with all the fish, but I moved them to a different tank right away.

susitna-flower

Any new tank in sight? We just want you to be able to enjoy your fish without problems.