AggieYen

Hey there - new to the forum, just looking for help on my little goldfish(es). I have a 21L (5.5 gallon) tank, with an undergravel filter. I set this up about three weeks ago, with three goldfish and a little... not sure what it's called, it's a tiny bottom feeder? To help with the algae. I wasn't advised to cycle my tank beforehand, and after trawling forums, now understand that my tank is too small for four fish!

Having said that, apart from the initial gasping at the surface of the water, that stopped after a while with my water changes, they didn't seem to be in any distress. Ammonia levels weren't too high - not at 0, but not too high - around 0.50. Came home one day and one of them was not swimming - just resting at the bottom of the tank, on the gravel. It tried to swim a little but could only swim on one fin. Upon closer inspection, the base of the fin seemed red and inflamed, but the fin itself seemed absolutely fine. Worried about fin rot, so i did a partial water change immediately. Must have stressed it out too much because it died very soon after.

Now the other goldfish, a ryukin, has a little rip in its tail fin. The fin itself looks fine, and it's in good spirits, eating, doesn't seem in any distress. I'm a little worried about the rip because I know that it's a symptom of fin rot, but its fins look fine. The other goldfish, a comet, seems absolutely fine, apart from two dull spots on its body (I'm not sure if I bought it like that - I wish I had examined it better at the store).

Can I get some advice - does this sound like it's fin rot? Even if the fin itself looks fine, apart from the rip? I've gotten rather attached to my fish so it's quite upsetting to lose any of them.. but I don't want to get over-paranoid about them either.

Callum The Cat

well those kind of fish ur looking at a minimuim of about 200 litres

Rock On Callum!

jack11

If you can i would try and take the remaining goldfish back and look to get a betta because he could live with the catfish (do you know what sepcies) as long as you are willing to buy a heater aswell.

Jack

Callum The Cat

yep the catfish might be a species corydoras or oto and both of them are schooling fish and are both compatible with bettas

Rock On Callum!

Chief_waterchanger

I would take back the goldfish. Goldfish get 8-12 inches in length normally and need atleast a 30g for one and 20g per fish after that, I wouldn't do them in anything smaller than a 55-75g for the length, once full grown.

In a 5.5g the goldfish probably will not last 3-5 months, even with daily maintenance.

The common algae eaters sold in fishstores are tropical whereas goldfish are temperate water fish. The algae eater probably being tropical needs warmer water temperatures than the goldfish get uncomfortable with water temperatures over 70 degrees farenheit, anything over 75 degrees farenheit begins taking time off their lifespan.

I hope you stick with the hobby, but make sure to read up on reputable sites/books/etc about fish before purchasing. A lot of people make the same mistakes when starting out with the fishkeeping hobby.

Good luck in the future.

AggieYen

*sigh* I remember years and years ago back in uni when I babysat my friend's 6 fish. 6 goldfish in one goldfish BOWL. (Albeit, a fairly large one)... and I did everything that I now know NOT to do... 100% water changes every two weeks, took the fish in and out every time I did changes, and I even washed out the bowl with soap. Still they lived for the 4 months that I had them.

Bit disappointed with the petstore that I bought them from.. not only did they assure me the tank was big enough for the fish, they're actually giving away 2 free comets with each tank. They're a reputable store, too.. so... i trusted them. Granted, I should have done my research.. only found this site the night I got them.

Don't think I can take the fish back now, but I'll see how long they last.. and if they don't, I'll look into the betta. If they do, and get big, i'll have to look for a bigger tank. Anyone living in Melbourne wanting goldfish to add to their tank? :/

FYI - bottom feeder isn't a catfish - it's a loach.

armadillo

Goldfish are such a disaster. They're so mistreated because we, in all good faith, have seen goldfish in tiny little bowls all your life, and because the petstores just keep maintaining that myth as they've never seen a 30 year old 1.5kg goldfish (as they can get).

Instead, we reduce their lifespan and full size by an enourmous amount, and think they've had a good run if they live to 5 years. It's truely tragic. And it's so deeply ingrained in us that we would find housing them in the recommended size (20G for first goldfish, then 10G for any additional one) ridiculous.

Am dealing with this right now with my dad, who's gotten 5 goldfish for his 12G. I am livid, and have spent the week-end fighting their sneers. Negotiations are down to: keep 1 goldfish in the 12G. I think he's OK with that now, but not even sure.

I just feel so sorry for the poor creatures, and I absolutely do not blame you for making that mistake. They are the ever suffering victims of petstore misinformation. You just followed the advice you were given.

Our most reputable petstore in the area keeps bettas in small, unfiltered, unheated cups. I await the day when staff will be required to perform basic research on the care requirements of each species before getting it in stock.



Rant over.