10 gallon tank with 1 goldfish

Hi

Another newbie here. I purchased a tank with 2 goldfish about 6 months ago. One died yesterday and quite frankly I am surprised he lasted that long. I clearly have a lot to learn. I have a filter running - I think it's a big one for the size tank. Is it possible to have too powerful a filter for a tank and if so how do I know what size it is and what size is appropriate. I have been doing a partial water change every week or so but really know little else about what I need to be doing in terms of general maintenance. If someone could briefly explain the basics to me I would be appreciative. Additionally I have read on these forums that a goldfish isn't really suited to this size tank but I already have him so want to know what's the best course of action from here. Thanks for any help.

 

Welcome to Fishlore!

The best course of action is reading up the Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle its very good to know to have a healthy tank.



Ok back to goldfish really you need to buy a bigger tank.What kind of goldfish? Most need a Min of 29 gallons per fish!

 

Do you know the filter? For a HOB filter, flow rate should be 10x the water volume minimum. So a ten gallon should move 100 gallons per hour, and so on as tank size increases.

Speaking of which, 10 gallons is small for a goldfish. They produce a lot of waste and will outgrow it. Best course of action if you plan on keeping him is to upgrade the tank to a larger size.

 

Thanks Will definitely read up on the nitrogen cycle. I have realised this tank isn't really big enough for the goldfish and have written down some better options as I won't be buying a bigger tank at this stage. Horrible but I am assuming he will die before too long I have no idea what sort of goldfish he is. Is it necessary to vacuum the stones of such a small tank?

The filter is an Aleas IPF-1508 submersible. I haven't been able to find out much information about it.

 

Yes, it is necessary to vacuum the gravel. That removes all the excess waste, which is the primary source of ammonia.

Why not contact your local fish store (LFS) to see if they'll take the goldfish off your hands?

 

Look up Fancy Goldfish, Comet, and Common.

Is he round in the belly area?

Yes, I would vacuum. Poop and leftover food can end up between the stones. I've heard goldfish like to move the gravel at times.

*edit* Beaten on the post for the vacuum bit. Getting used to new forum version.

 

No worries. It is great to see two posts saying the same thing. It gets so confusing when people don't agree.....makes life very confusing for us newbies. I think I will ask my LFS about taking my goldfish...seems to be the most humane thing to do. (well not my LFS - will go a bit further afield. I went to my LFS to ask for advice about my filter. Her response...."That's what happens when you buy stuff on the internet - you get no instructions" And then she walked off!! Thanks for nothing!!) My thinking at this stage is to replace the goldfish with 6 neons.

 

You should buy a liquid test kit before adding any new fish. That will let you know if your tank is fully cycled and you don't have any ammonia in your tank which will cause issues for future fish. If you've had the tank 6 months and haven't gravel vaccuumed it is safe to assume you will have ammonia showing as goldfish are very dirty.

 

Right... one goldfish safely dispatched to the fish shop. They said he wasn't too healthy but would be fine. They also tested my water and said it was perfect so that's promising. Have bought some real plants and some stress coat so will vacuum, add the stress coat, wait a week and add some neons (maybe tropical ones if I can hunt down my heater in the garage). Thanks for all the help.

 

Did they give you the actual results, or just say it was perfect? I don't think I could trust a pet store simply saying my water was perfect myself, especially considering the state of your aquarium. Also, how did they test it? Strips are basically useless. IMO you really need to get your own liquid test kit before getting any fish...

 

They didn't give me the actual results. As I had just given them my last goldfish, I told them I was going to empty the tank and start again so wasn't really a big deal that they didn't tell me. They didn't use strips - used test tubes etc. I am letting the water sit and will get them to test it again next week and decide at that point about what I am going to put in it. I will also buy a test kit at the same time.

 

Throw some fish food in your tank asap, about a teaspoons worth. It'll decay and release ammonia, allowing the beneficial bacteria colonies you have to survive and keep your cycle going.

 

Welcome to FishLore!

The bacteria that keeps a tank cycled lives primarily in the filter media. It's food source is the ammonia produced by the fish. Once you take all the fish out of the tank, there is no food for the bacteria to live off of, and it dies off.

So you'll want to add an ammonia source as soon as possible to keep that tank cycled. This ammonia source can be pure ammonia (i.e ammonia & water solution with no detergants, perfumes, surfacants etc added), fish food, a piece of shrimp or fish. (Fish food and a piece of shrimp would be less desirable, because it takes time for them to break down and start releasing ammonia).