Help!! Friend Gave Me Fish Tank

Right, I've never had a aquarium of any kind before. A friend of mine left me his tank and fish as he moved abroad. It is a aquaone Eco style 32 which I believe is 20 litres so about 5 gallons.
Now here is my dilemma!!
In this tank are 2 tiny(1inch) fantail goldfish, 2 small(2inch) oranda goldfish, 1 tiny(1inch) black moor goldfish, 2 tiny (1inch) danios, 2 tiny (1inch) guppies I think one male one female and one I think it's called a loach? Sucks onto glass etc which is about 2 inches...
I asked a local pet store if these would all be ok in the tank together and they said yes but keep and eye on them, I would also like to add they have been in there for about a month so seem ok ish with each other...
I don't really want to go out and buy bigger tanks or more tanks etc as I'm not a massive fan of fish but they are growing on me LOL
Plus this little tank keeps me busy enough let alone a big one!
Now the other day I noticed the tank was quite hazy so done a 30% water change.. Seemed to help then after a day or so it became the same again..
I then some how figured it was the gravel he had used (some grey slate pieces). I have now changed the gravel to standard white stones which I cleaned until clear water ran through them. Water quality seems a lot better now.
The guppies have now started to hide... One sort of sits behind the filter tube at the back bottom corner of the tank and the other behind the filter at the top. I asked my friend is this right as they seem a little scared of the light too and his answer was its normal I bought them not long ago they are slowly settling in... Is this right??
I'm just very confused..
Any help would be very appreciated

Thank you

 

That tank is way overstocked. The goldfish grow big. That size tank is only good for a betta or a couple tiny fish. Did you buy most the fish yourself and the fish store told you you could put all those fish in the tank?

 

You might consider returning the fish to the store, and ask for fish better suited to a nano tank, such as endlers', or the smallest of the rasbora group, possibly shrimp if you wish.
Pointing out that it was they who approved your current stocking might give you some leverage. Best of luck, rick

 

Welcome Fez! You came to a terrific place to get help with this tank and possibly learn to really enjoy keeping fish.


Some things to help:

Take ALL of the goldfish, the sucker fish(the one you think may be a loach), the danios and the guppies back. The male and female guppy alone will overstock your tank by breeding. The danios need more swimming space and the goldfish need LOADS more room because not only are they a somewhat messy fish because they produce a lot of waste, but they also get very large.

Some things to know:
Fish do not grow to the size of the tank. They will end up being stunted and die horrible deaths when kept in a tank too small
As stated previously, a 5 gallon tank is great for a betta or some fish that can tolerate the small space. I would suggest the Betta because you will have a fish that interacts with you, yet is happy to be on his own.
The water should be changed weekly, up to 50%. Ask the pet store for a siphon and get a bucket that holds up to 5 gallons. This will be the easiest way to clean the tank and I use the bucket to hold my fish items in one spot.
The hazy water is most likely caused by the tank cycling. This is a good thing and it may have been halted and restarted when you changed out the gravel. Please take a moment to read about the nitrogen cycle so that you can understand what is going on. There should be a hyper link on the words, but here's another link in case that doesn't pop up. https://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

What sort of filter does your tank have?

Some things you need:
Water conditioner (Prime is a great one to use and is highly recommended) This takes out any chlorine and chloramines in the water.
Fish net
Heater for a small tank, preferably one that is adjustable
Possibly a better filter depending on what you are currently using

I know it can be a little overwhelming when you are getting started, but you came to a place where information is quickly gained just by asking. We will do what we can to help and offer suggestions.

Best wishes with the return of your current fish. Please do this as soon as possible to prevent long lasting damage or deaths.

 

That tank is way overstocked. The goldfish grow big. That size tank is only good for a betta or a couple tiny fish. Did you buy most the fish yourself and the fish store told you you could put all those fish in the tank?

I didn't purchase any, just popped in the store to get some advice

 

I didn't purchase them from there, odd how they would give such advice when it's completely wrong. Feel like walking back in there and having a right go

I have the conditioner for tap water ..
The filter is the standard one that comes with the tank, I'm shocked it keeps it clean even though being so over stocked

 

I didn't purchase any, just popped in the store to get some advice

So are you saying your friend had all those fish in the tank before you got the tank from him?

 

So are you saying your friend had all those fish in the tank before you got the tank from him?

Ye he already had them, not sure why as I thought he knew a lot about fish keeping. Guess I was wrong. Not gonna be able to sort anything with them for a few days as am away for work but is bothering me now

 

Ye he already had them, not sure why as I thought he knew a lot about fish keeping. Guess I was wrong. Not gonna be able to sort anything with them for a few days as am away for work but is bothering me now

Can you get someone to do the water changes for you at least while you are away? Your tank is really really overstocked.

 

I didn't purchase them from there, odd how they would give such advice when it's completely wrong. Feel like walking back in there and having a right go

Welcome to the world of fishkeeping. Take it as an indirect lesson - 90% of LFS are going to give you poor advice, in favour of making you spend money. I believe they call that Human Nature now.

As everyone has suggested, you will do well to take all of your fish back. None of them are suitable for a 5 gallon tank.

 

Ye he already had them, not sure why as I thought he knew a lot about fish keeping. Guess I was wrong. Not gonna be able to sort anything with them for a few days as am away for work but is bothering me now

Something sounds strange here ... this tank is so overstocked and you say you had it with these fish for a month and your friend had it with these fish before that. These fish should be dying left and right. Have you had any fish die?

 

Right, I just called home to get them to do water changes etc, my sister just went up to the tank and has noticed one of the oranda goldfish alive but swimming in its side? What to do?

 

Like everyone else says, ask them to take them back(in some sort of a container, tupperware would work). They should call the LFS and ask if they would take some fish(make sure you take all the fish back though, I really think only a betta should stay in there). They most likely will, free livestock

 

Right, I just called home to get them to do water changes etc, my sister just went up to the tank and has noticed one of the oranda goldfish alive but swimming in its side? What to do?

It's probably an ammonia intoxication.

Maybe somebody else has better advice, but what I would do is put the fish in a big (like Ikea or those toy boxes) plastic container with treated water and an air pump (and a filter if you can get it). You might have to do it with all the Goldfish, but that would definitely alleviate your tank and they do well without a heater.

 

I don't mean to press, but... any news on the fish?

 

Hi,

Sorry all just got busy with work and didn't get a chance to update lol

I gave all the fishes to a place called world of water who said they would make sure all fishes are back to healthy and would then use them as display fish in display tanks not re sell them

I kept the male guppy and got one from them on the house as I gave all those fishes! The reason for this was I want to let the tank cycle and the fella I spoke to suggested keeping two little fish to help the cycle plus as it's been running so long now that the cycle should almost be done.

Also I bought to small plants for the tank as this helps with ammonia etc if I read up right?

Just an update on how the tank looks, the water has now become crystal clear...

 

Great job You just saved a bunch of goldfishes' lives.

I do fishless cycling, but a cycle with fish works too. Are you going to take the guppies back after the cycling? They should be a bigger tank, and if your new one is a female there's a chance of lots and lots of fry...

What plants did you get? I personally love live plants. They help out a lot with the water quality. Some are a lot harder to keep than others, though.

If I were you I would go get a gravel siphon for easier tank cleaning and the API master freshwater test kit, which lets you monitor the parameters without guessing.

After cycling, I suggest decided between a betta and some shrimp and snails. I have two bettas (in two different tanks) and I love them. They have a ton of personality , not to mention you'll be saving them from a cup in a fish store if you decide on one.

As for shrimp, I love ghost shrimp. They do need live plants.

Anyways, good luck!!

 

ehh I say re home all of them the gold fish are cold water fish. the guppies and danios are warm water the loach is actually probably a common pleco.

All of those fish need a much bigger tank at least 30 gallons the guppies alone would be ok for about a month or 2. Assuming you have a male and female you should have 3 females to 1 male guppy but like it has already been said they will fill the tank. The others outright need at least a 30g.

but I would say the best use for a 5 gallon is a shrimp colony or a betta tank...