Please Help! My Fish Are Suffering From Ammonia Poisoning- Should I Just Restart Entire Tank?

I was given 3 small common goldfish by my biology teacher after we cared for them all year. I set them up in a 10gal tank using tss and a filter and all that good stuff. Then, last Wednesday night it seemed there were a lot of bubbles on the surface and they were eating them so I figured something was wrong. I have them a water change without remembering that I needed a water conditioner. The tap water was in my tank for probably 2 hours which I'm guessing is enough time to kill the cycle. They lived in what I believe to be high ammonia levels for a couple days- one goldfish has longer fins and he has what I think are ammonia burns on the edges of his fins. I bought a vacuum and siphoned about 30% of the water yesterday and then replaced with aqua safe and tap water. Then today I did probably a little bit less than a 50% water change and added tss because I realized my cycle was probably killed but I also added stress coat (hoping to help the ammonia burns) and I'm not sure if that interferes with the tss. Then I went out and bought the API test kit which showed my water readings were at
Ammonia- 1.0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 5
Since I changed the water my fish have been kind of gasping at the surface every so often. After I put them back in they seemed very stressed and were pacing. They seem to be doing marginally better now but I'm still worried about them. Are their gills already too damaged for them to survive or if I continue with water changes and if I get some prime tomorrow and continue with that will they be okay? I'm especially worried because my tank isn't cycled I don't think. Should I restart the entire tank? Like 100 % new water and new tss and everything. I also changed the filter yesterday because I didn't know I wasn't supposed to. Are my fish as good as dead or is there still hope?

 

My filter also seems strangely loud right now compared to what it normally sounds like

 

common goldfish shouldn't be in a 10 gallon , you'll never fully cycle your 10 gallon aquarium with them, their huge water wasters and get to over a foot long and require a 125g minimum for 1 but do best in ponds. In a 10 gallon their growth will be stunt and life will be reduced dramatically.

but regarding your question every day 50% water changes will help with ammonia poisoning and yes get some seachem PRIME which will make ammonia and nitrITes up to 1ppm non toxic for a 24 hour period which you can dose daily.

 

common goldfish shouldn't be in a 10 gallon , you'll never fully cycle your 10 gallon aquarium with them, their huge water wasters and get to over a foot long and require a 125g minimum for 1 but do best in ponds. In a 10 gallon their growth will be stunt and life will be reduced dramatically.

but regarding your question every day 50% water changes will help with ammonia poisoning and yes get some seachem PRIME which will make ammonia and nitrITes up to 1ppm non toxic for a 24 hour period which you can dose daily.

Thank you! How long does it take goldfish to grow because my class have had these for the entire year and they haven't gotten much bigger from the time we got them

 

their most likely already stunt , how big are they currently ?


Depends on a lot of things such as genetics, food, tank size and maintenance.

a common goldfish in a year in a pond will get anywhere from 6" to 10" and by two years will most likely be full grown.

 

They're about an inch and a half I would say

 

They're about an inch and a half I would say

Their growth is most likely stunt already at 1 nd half " in a year they should be much larger, But that doesn't mean they don't have the potential to still grow some, I would highly recommend if possible trying to rehome them , find someone around who may have a pond.It'll be better for the fish and for yourself.