My cousin got 2 gold fish in an uncycled tank

[Nizam Ifaz]

My cousin just got two feeder goldfish and put them in an uncycled 5-gallon tank. I managed to convince him to grab a water conditioner. The tank has a sponge filter and a 50W heater. So everything is fine for now until the goldfish will outgrow the tank. Thing is, how long will they survive before there's an ammonia spike? Can I prevent them from dying by doing a 50% water change every day?

 

[kallililly1973]

Best bet is probably return them and get a betta for the 5 gallon. Feeder goldfish have the potential to grow up to 2 feet in size under the right conditions and are usually kept in giant ponds. They most likely don't need a heater as they are colder water fish.

 

[Flyfisha]

Yes Nizam Ifaz doing a 50% water change each day is your best chance of keeping the fish alive . That is exactly how you do a “fish in cycle “. /
That is how you build the colonies of bacteria IN the filters.

 

[FishDin]

I would get a water test kit. Without one, how will you know when your tank is cycled? You don't want to do daily 50% water changes forever.

As said. No need for heater.

 

[JustAFishServant]

I agree with kallililly1973; get a betta! They're $3 and up. I get how feeder goldfish are only 20¢ or so, but their sheer size makes them horrible pets, and even worse for the environment!

Try to inform your cousin about how big they get or have someone with a pond/big tank buy them from you. Tell them how they get bigger than the tank itself, and need a giant tank.

For a 5 gallon, I suggest tiny fish like guppies or endlers, bettas, dwarf platies, green neon tetras, etc.

 

[SparkyJones]

if not a betta, there's also feeder guppies, they are like 10 for $1.00 or something like that and won't grow huge if this cousin wants a cheap option.

 

[emeraldking]

Goldfish are not that vulnerable when a tank isn't cycled yet. That's one of the great things of goldfish. I wouldn't be worried about it... Just speaking out of experience...