Questions About Goldfish And Black Tetra

There's no need to argue about these things! That's the whole point of asking, because you don't know! Silly people lol

haha NO I wasn't arguing with MissRuthless , I actually agree with what they said. I was saying that I've gotten into some arguments with other users because they believe goldfish can be kept at 76f and above which is some what true but for a short period of time, long term it could have terminal effects on the Goldie, they shouldn't be kept at anything above 70-72f.

but in your situation your tetra can't be kept at the goldies natural water temp, so that's why to reach a some what ideal temp for both would be around 72-74f.

 

Ever since I have turned off the LED lights in the tank Sharkfin is swimming all about! So I'm going to change the lights.

I'm not sure what kind of hood you have, but I dimmed the lights on my tank by applying a strip of blue painter's tape to the "window" separating the light and the tank and my fish seem to like the dimmer light better ( I don't have live plants). You could try that if you don't want to get a new light.

 

haha NO I wasn't arguing with MissRuthless , I actually agree with what they said. I was saying that I've gotten into some arguments with other users because they believe goldfish can be kept at 76f and above which is some what true but for a short period of time, long term it could have terminal effects on the Goldie, they shouldn't be kept at anything above 70-72f.

but in your situation your tetra can't be kept at the goldies natural water temp, so that's why to reach a some what ideal temp for both would be around 74-75f.

Oh I know that!! For sure, no you rock! I was just interpreting what you sad, I didn't mean it towards you my friend! Whoever argues about the topic seems to have a case of stubborn for not wanting to admit they need to change things up! But no all is good, sorry for the misunderstanding <3 I apologize.
Okay! Thank you! I currently have the temperature slowly but surely dwindling down. Thank you, again!!

 

In regards for food, I would recommend feeding New Life Spectrum the best fish food out there in terms of quality. Get some sinking goldfish formula for your goldfish. Also, don't soak the food as that causes most of the nutrition to leach out, thus just feeding your fish mush instead of actual nutrients.

 

In regards for food, I would recommend feeding New Life Spectrum the best fish food out there in terms of quality. Get some sinking goldfish formula for your goldfish. Also, don't soak the food as that causes most of the nutrition to leach out, thus just feeding your fish mush instead of actual nutrients.

Thank you! I will definitely do so. <3

Any other recommendations of solutions I should put in their tank? The water is a bit cloudy and very hard, with some traces of nitrite.. very little though. Going to the store soon and looking at this forum, but i'm wondering f there is anything else I should do for the water? Besides get the API masterkit and take a grand test.

So my list looks like this : API Freshwater Aquarium Salt, Seachem Clarity Water Clarifier (tank is cloudy) & Seachem Stability or API Quick Start, as well as Seachem Prime. Looks good??
Also when I'm adding it should I just go with the safe start first and then add the other solvents throughout time or?
How do you suggest I do this?

 

I personally use omega one goldfish sinking pellets and I ALWAYS soak them before giving them, I don't want to cause swim bladder disease, also once a week boiled de shelled peas and I also feed a home made food which is made up of broccolI ,zucchini,spinach,squash, carrots, red bell peper, green beans, little bit of oranges, little bit of garlic and tiny bit of paprika, I fine this really brings out the color in my goldies , their like floating highlighters lol.

 

I personally use omega one goldfish sinking pellets and I ALWAYS soak them before giving them, I don't want to cause swim bladder disease, also once a week boiled de shelled peas and I also feed a home made food which is made up of broccolI ,zucchini,spinach,squash, carrots, red bell peper, green beans, little bit of oranges, little bit of garlic and tiny bit of paprika, I fine this really brings out the color in my fancy goldfish , their like floating highlighters lol.

Gooood stuff!! Thank you for sharing. I will most definitely be adding more of a fresh variety to his diet. Love the floating highlighters hahah!

 

We are going to need to see Sharkfin's birth certificate.



Seriously though, I wouldn't get him any new friends until he is healthy. Tetras can be a little ruthless about the pecking order thing. If the pack view him as weak he could get picked on.

 

We are going to need to see Sharkfin's birth certificate.

Hahahah!!! That's what I was thinking lol that soooo needs to be a thing! They should have always done that to be honest! I know I'll be making a note the next time I get new fish.


So!! I got a few things. I even found an illuminated bubble bar, so I don't have to use the bright LED's.
In order from left to right I have test readings for
High Range pH
Ammonia
Nitrate
& Nitrite.

I just added safe start and will check the water again after 24 hours.

 

I would do a water change to get ammonia and nitrite to 0.25 oe below and nitrate to 20 or below

I'm shocked that no one has pointed this out yet - goldfish and black skirts do not belong in a tank together. Skirts are tropical fish and need 75-80f water, whereas goldfish are cold water fish and need 68-73f. Best thing to do would be to separate them - the vast amount of waste the goldie is producing in that small tank is polluting the water and probably irritating the poor tetra, but beyond that long term compatibility is an issue. I get that they have lived together for this long and have managed to survive, but it is far from ideal. The new tank is great for just the goldie (I love the tree by the way, very cool scape!) but in my opinion the skirt would be better off in the 10 gallon with 4-5 same species friends (though a bigger tank would be better, the 10 is better than where he is now). It's possible that because he is old and looks different they'll pick on him so you'd need to keep an eye on them, but chances are he'll be relieved and happy to have a school.

I have to disagree with you here. Black skirt tetras need 70-75f, 80 is way too warm though I agree that they are not compatible with goldfish.

 

Throw some Prime in there if you haven't and dose the entire tank volume. One cap full is good for 50 gallons. It doesn't matter if you overdose Prime. You are looking at a water change soon.

 

I would do a water change to get ammonia and nitrite to 0.25 oe below and nitrate to 20 or below

I have to disagree with you here. Black skirt tetras need 70-75f, 80 is way too warm though I agree that they are not compatible with goldfish.

Their tank was never temperature regulated, and was at 80 originally. It is now at 77. Slowly but surely. I'm thinking of keeping a medium for the both of them at 76. If not stay at 77 because my goldfish is okay with the temperature. I just don't want it to drop too low for my Tetra.
I just added new water 3 days ago, i've been letting it filter and adjust. They haven't even been in the tank for 24 hours yet. I added some API SafeStart and Seachem Clarity. Everything seems to be OK, nothing out of the ordinary behavioral wise.

 

Their tank was never temperature regulated, and was at 80 originally. It is now at 77. Slowly but surely. I'm thinking of keeping a medium for the both of them at 76. If not stay at 77 because my goldfish is okay with the temperature. I just don't want it to drop too low for my Tetra.
I just added new water 3 days ago, i've been letting it filter and adjust. They haven't even been in the tank for 24 hours yet. I added some API SafeStart and Seachem Clarity. Everything seems to be OK, nothing out of the ordinary behavioral wise.

The tetras will completely fine a few degrees lower than that and make it much easier on goldie.

 

The tetras will completely fine a few degrees lower than that and make it much easier on goldie.

Awesome!! I'll let it do its thing then. <3

 

I would do a water change to get ammonia and nitrite to 0.25 oe below and nitrate to 20 or below

I have to disagree with you here. Black skirt tetras need 70-75f, 80 is way too warm though I agree that they are not compatible with goldfish.

You guys/gals are not wrong of course. Goldies and a tetra aren't a perfect match. She'll probably get another tank in the future. But for now the 10G media is in her 20G filter as she tries to cycle her first tank properly. Let's try to not make this overwhelming. She'll be busy enough very soon doing WCs on one tank if things get spiking hard. I predict the nitrite will make her life hard within 48HRs.

 

must of been a pretty penny for all that in one shot lol, but in the end your fish will definitely appreciate it, going through a cycle is probably the most stressful time but things get easier once it's over.

but as suggested a 50% water change should be done asap and dose with PRIME, check parameters in 24 hours and come back and show us the results.

also your temp will be fine at between 72-74f , they will both actually appreciate it.

also want to mention , you'll make a great fishkeeper! going out their buying everything at once shows you care for the well being of them , which is aswome.

 

must of been a pretty penny for all that in one shot lol, but in the end your fish will definitely appreciate it, going through a cycle is probably the most stressful time but things get easier once it's over.

but as suggested a 50% water change should be done asap and dose with PRIME, check parameters in 24 hours and come back and show us the results.

also your temp will be fine at between 72-74f , they will both actually appreciate it.

also want to mention , you'll make a great fishkeeper! going out their buying everything at once shows you care for the well being of them , which is aswome.

Awe thank you!! That means a lot to me. I love these fish. Spent over 400 dollars these past few days just for them. New tank & the whole spah-zaz! Only the best. Thankfully now, I am lucky enough to be able to do these things. Life is crazy, pets make it better.

I'll keep an eye on the water & update you guys! I'm taking another test tomorrow. I'm going to take it slow because they've been living in that type of environment their whole lives, (I also checked their old tank water before throwing it out) so I feel like a sudden change wouldn't be the best.. Slowly but surely.

 

Life is crazy, pets make it better.

couldn't agree more, I'm addicted to pets and absolutely adore animals, if it wouldn't be for my girlfriend I would have much more (happy wife , happy life), currently have 6 aquariums, 4 dogs , 1 cat and 1 turtle.

my biggest dream is to one day get a house on a large plot of land and get a variety of farm animals such as pigs, chickens , cows, horses. To give them the life they deserve even if it's just a few of each.

 

couldn't agree more, I'm addicted to pets and absolutely adore animals, if it wouldn't be for my girlfriend I would have much more (happy wife , happy life), currently have 6 aquariums, 4 dogs , 1 cat and 1 turtle.

my biggest drean is to when one day get a house on a large plot of land and get a variety of farm animals such as pigs, chickens , cows, horses.

That's awesome! I love that, the perfect family. My boyfriend and I have a dog & 2 cats and now my fish! My boyfriends not really a pet person, he's never had any until he met me. I started bringing puppies and kittens home oh my he didn't have it. But those cute faces can win anyone over!

Ranch style homes are the best!! That's amazing. Ooooh!! I would suggest getting a goat! They are such funny little creatures full of personality. I had one, named him billy bob Sweet animals.
I hope to have a giant aquarium one day. Maybe, maybe! If I work hard.

Good luck to you, sounds like a wonderful future you've got planned. So sweet.

 

That's awesome! I love that, the perfect family. My boyfriend and I have a dog & 2 cats and now my fish! My boyfriends not really a pet person, he's never had any until he met me. I started bringing puppies and kittens home oh my he didn't have it. But those cute faces can win anyone over!

Ranch style homes are the best!! That's amazing. Ooooh!! I would suggest getting a goat! They are such funny little creatures full of personality. I had one, named him billy bob Sweet animals.
I hope to have a giant aquarium one day. Maybe, maybe! If I work hard.

Good luck to you, sounds like a wonderful future you've got planned. So sweet.

yes hahah Billy bob, if I ever do get a coat I'll remember this and for sure name him the that!!

My girlfriend loves dogs and cats but when it comes to fish she doesn't understand , that's why I come to this forum to discuss fish with people who care and have knowledge, I've been keeping fish for over 5 years successfully but I still learn everyday regardless the subject.

You seem like a positive person , and positive things happen to positive people so I wouldn't be to surprised if you get your hands on a larger aquarium in the near future. How many gallons would you want?

just curious what kind of dog so you currently have?

 

yes hahah Billy bob, if I ever do get a coat I'll remember this and for sure name him the that!!

My girlfriend loves dogs and cats but when it comes to fish she doesn't understand , that's why I come to this forum to discuss fish with people who care and have knowledge, I've been keeping fish for over 5 years successfully but I still learn everyday regardless the subject.

You seem like a positive person , and positive things happen to positive people so I wouldn't be to surprised if you get your hands on a larger aquarium in the near future. How many gallons would you want?

just curious what kind of dog so you currently have?

Oh my goodness if you actually did that, that would be so absolutely cool!!

All animals have their own different advantages. That's what makes them all unique, I don't believe in favoring some over others. You know what I mean? But to each their own! Knowledge is your best asset. I entirely agree with you, if it weren't for this forum I would be eaten up with worry right now. But you and everyone else on this site has made me feel much, much more confident.

I'm a very strong believer that if you think positive and are positive, you will be surrounded with positivity in your life. Just like how everything happens for a reason. I'm just a very happy person though! Life is too short and beautiful to stay upset or be negative. Thank you so much! My dream is to get a custom designed aquarium being about 50g. Maybe even bigger! With lots of fish that like each other and live plants they love.

I have a German Shepard/Yellow Labrador Mix! His name is Bear and he's my sweet boy. He turns 3 this July actually. What about you?

 

yep, I completely understand you. That's exactly what I say, life is to short to over complicate things and stay upset. It is indeed a beautiful place and we should be thankful for everyday giving to us. everything indeed does happen for a reason.

yess a 55 gallon is a great size tank keep visioning it and it'll happen. I have a 65g with 5 fancy goldfish, but my biggest tank is a 75 gallon , I want to soon upgrade to a 125g. If my girlfriend allows hahah


"Bear " hahah but the question is can he fetch bears? love German sheperds one of my good friends has 2 of them but 1 recently passed at a young age unfortunately, he tried everything in his could , spent almost 4000$ at the vets but didn't make it in the end.
I have a purebred blue nose pitbull named Rhino , don't let the name fool you he is a huge baby and a daddy's boy!! I also have 3 shithzu, the father and mother had a baby so we decided on keeping him making 3. Love em all like they were my own children.

one of my favorite quotes "The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible , and achieves the impossible"

 

yep, I completely understand you. That's exactly what I say, life is to short to over complicate things and stay upset. It is indeed a beautiful place and we should be thankful for everyday giving to us. everything indeed does happen for a reason.

yess a 55 gallon is a great size tank keep visioning it and it'll happen. I have a 65g with 5 fancy goldfish, but my biggest tank is a 75 gallon , I want to soon upgrade to a 125g. If my girlfriend allows hahah


"Bear " hahah but the question is can he fetch bears? love German sheperds one of my good friends has 2 of them but 1 recently passed at a young age unfortunately, he tried everything in his could , spent almost 4000$ at the vets but didn't make it in the end.
I have a purebred blue nose pitbull named Rhino , don't let the name fool you he is a huge baby and a daddy's boy!! I also have 3 shithzu, the father and mother had a baby so we decided on keeping him making 3. Love em all like they were my own children.

one of my favorite quotes "The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible , and achieves the impossible"

Exactly! I enjoy that we both agree on that. I'm highly optimistic, you seem to be as well. Good stuff!

Wowww that's amazing! You have such nice tanks!! Taking care of them must be difficult. That's a lot of water. Still absolutely awesome, talk about goals!

Bear couldn't kill a bug if I wanted him to. Lol way too much of a sweetie. His original name given to him was Grizzly Bear but I went ahead and changed it to Bear. When he was a puppy he looked just like a bear cub, hahah so it's stuck! But in Russian we call him "Misha" (mee-shuh) He comes to both I had a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Madison. She was my big bertha lol I loved that girl. Now she could hunt! Not a girl to mess with. No joke she's protected me more than once from bad people when I was little. Bless that dog she was awesome. But she was really old and got diagnosed with cancer, we lost her 2 years ago but her memory lives on. <3
Awee bless their heart. It's always horrible to lose a friend.. I'm sorry for the loss, so heart breaking to hear about that. At least the sweet baby is in puppy heaven!
I LOVE pits!!! My friend has one her name is Dallas, she is the sweetest dog I have ever met. Loves to cuddle and chew on everything! Hahah such sweet personalities. Seriously awesome dogs.
My mom had shih tzhus, they were already old when I was little, but they were so chill! Cute little fluffballs hahaha

Very nice quote. I enjoy that a lot & will remember it. Thank you.

SO, I went ahead and checked the water levels again after adding in some QuickStart and the ammonia was still high, same with nitrite. So I got some purified drinking water from the store, tested it out, and it came up with great results (of course) no ammonia, nitrites, anything like that. So I went ahead and took 5 gals out and replaced it with the fresh water and then added in some prime. (about 2mL) I only added 5 gals fresh because that's all that was at my house currently.
So far so good?
The fish are doing good, no unusualness.

 

I just want to say I admire your positive attitude. It's encouraging to hear someone talk the way you do. I have a lot of negative people in my life and it's difficult for me to try to be positive myself, but I try. You are doing a great job helping out your fish.

 

I just want to say I admire your positive attitude. It's encouraging to hear someone talk the way you do. I have a lot of negative people in my life and it's difficult for me to try to be positive myself, but I try. You are doing a great job helping out you fish.

Awee!!! That makes my heart happy, thank you so very much
It's hard to stay the optimistic bubble in a world surrounded by pessimists. Trust me, I deal with it as well. I have found that it's best to be the good you wish to see.
Love your kind words, very sweet of you.<3 I hope only the best comes your way! & that you filter out those negative people clogging up your life. You seem like a wonderful soul, better will come to you.

 

Hey is there any way you could PM me? I have some very important questions to ask about Goldie. Thank you!!!

yep, I completely understand you. That's exactly what I say, life is to short to over complicate things and stay upset. It is indeed a beautiful place and we should be thankful for everyday giving to us. everything indeed does happen for a reason.

yess a 55 gallon is a great size tank keep visioning it and it'll happen. I have a 65g with 5 fancy goldfish, but my biggest tank is a 75 gallon , I want to soon upgrade to a 125g. If my girlfriend allows hahah


"Bear " hahah but the question is can he fetch bears? love German sheperds one of my good friends has 2 of them but 1 recently passed at a young age unfortunately, he tried everything in his could , spent almost 4000$ at the vets but didn't make it in the end.
I have a purebred blue nose pitbull named Rhino , don't let the name fool you he is a huge baby and a daddy's boy!! I also have 3 shithzu, the father and mother had a baby so we decided on keeping him making 3. Love em all like they were my own children.

one of my favorite quotes "The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible , and achieves the impossible"

Ooops well I meant to tag you, is there anyway you could PM me? I have some very important questions about Goldie!

 

Ooops well I meant to tag you, is there anyway you could PM me? I have some very important questions about Goldie!

sure definetly , sorry been little busy last couple days.

click on my username and then click start a conversation.

 

You need to have 50 posts before you can PM someone

 

You need to have 50 posts before you can PM someone

Well no wonder!

 

How are things with Goldie and Sharkfin?

 

If you want to tag someone put the @ in front of their user name and it will tag them in a post. Like this Alina and it will notify them that you tagged them and lead you to your posting.

 

How are things with Goldie and Sharkfin?

Sharkfin is good! No issues with him thankfully! Very happy about that.
Goldie is having serious issues with his swim bladder.
They're both stressed right now poor babies.
I changed 50% of the water and my test levels are looking a lot better! If they get through this cycling stage with me, I'll be set and so will they! Just hoping for the best right now. Watching my water quality and fasting Goldie.
I'm wondering if I should place Sharkfin into a small 3 gal tank while I fast Goldie these next 2-3 days. After I move I'm getting another tank for my Tetra and some friends.
I'll break Goldies fast with some boiled pea.

AllieSten Ohhh!!! That's how!
Thank you <3

 

Might not be a bad idea to separate him so you can still feed him - goldfish are pigs, if you put anything in the tank he'll figure out how to get to it and eat it lol. Goldie can probably handle a good amount more stress than Sharkfin at this point, since Goldie still has a bunch of years ahead of him and Sharkfin is already past his life expectancy - so it might be beneficial to remove him from the stress of cycling. Is the small tank cycled? If not then keep him where he is, and I suppose you'll have to corral Goldie out of the way and slip him a few flakes here and there. I just realized you got prime YAY so as long as you're dosing the tank while it's cycling they'll be protected. I think it was already said but just in case, if ammonia/nitrite is high (over 1ppm) do a 50% wc and dose prime for the entire tank volume, if it's just a little bit then dose for the tank volume (I do double anytime I see nitrite). Test daily and just keep an eye on things. We don't often realize how stressful switching tanks is for fish, and I'm having to keep reminding myself how freaking ancient this dude is. So it probably is best to just keep him where he is for now, get cycled and then get him into the 10 when you can have your media back. They've lived this long with you knowing nothing of how to actually meet their needs, so they're obviously pretty tough fish - now that you have all the important stuff and know what to do, all they need to do is get through this cycle and having prime makes that way easier for them. If you have space in your filter I'd throw an extra piece of sponge or something in there right now, just so there's more surface for the bacteria. I know I got excited when my new tank finally looked cycled and ripped the media I had used out, and instantly sent the tank into a minI cycle... so as much bacteria as you can grow will help you avoid that.

About goldie and the swim bladder, I had a black moor with bad swim bladder problems (he was one of my first fish and lived with tropicals for months) - sometimes I'd have to cradle him in my hand to feed him his peas if he was too wobbly to hold himself up to eat, it was really sad and hard to deal with. He'd get better, and then be sideways again days later. I think the problems were that back then I only fed dry stuff (flakes, freeze dried bloodworms/shrimp etc.) and not as many veggies as I should have, and that he was always eating from the surface and gulping air. I like the idea of sinking goldfish pellets because it eliminates that, and I never, EVER feed any sort of freeze dried anything to any of my fish anymore because ew. I get packages of bloodworms in little ice cubes that you pop out (they have them in the little freezer at the pet store) and they're gross, but the fish love them and they're more nutritious than freeze dried. I also feel like if I'd known how much vegetation and fiber goldies need in their diet, I would have fed him greens 3-4 times a week and maybe things would have been different... at the time I interpreted it as fancy goldfish get swim bladder problems, fish is bloated and swimming funny, must be swim bladder - and it was partially that, but a good portion of it was constipation from improper diet too, and the peas would help him start pooping again and then the bad diet would get him backed up again, and again and again. I suppose I'll never know for sure which killed him, but I suspect it was a combination of both and a cumulative result of a lot of things I did wrong. A healthy, well rounded and well presented diet would have gone a long way for him though, even in my tropical tanks where he didn't belong. I always feel bad about that.

Gotta give you props for going out and buying literally everything you were told you needed - no one ever does that. Especially when they've lived this long without - it doesn't make sense to most people why they'd suddenly need to spend all this money when "the fish look happy" or "they like each other". They really do deserve the best we can give them though, just like any other pet we bring into our homes. It's awesome when people actually get that! I feel horrible saying it, but I kinda was one of those people who thought fish were fancy decorations, just because of the way I was raised (mom had a tank, her mom had a tank, pretty sure neither of them thought the fish had brains or feelings until I taught my mom right) I got really sad when the pleco sucked our angelfish to death when I was five, and when my grandmother's giant kissing gouramis finally died and everyone else was like umm... they're fish? We'll buy new ones, it's not a big deal? They're only supposed to live a few months anyway?? Things were different then and fish people didn't know what we do now, but a lot of the fish industry and the general public is still stuck in 1989 in that way. So when I got tanks as an adult, it was really just that my fiancé wanted them and I allowed it because every room looks nicer with a fish tank in it. Then I learned how horribly wrong I was doing it, had to buy and cycle a bunch of way bigger tanks for all the fish I crammed in there, and I guess it made me recognize them more as equal to other more intelligent animals as I learned about their needs and quirks and how personality often matters as much, if not more than species. Fish are great. You're great. Goldie and Sharkfin are both doing incredibly well for their circumstances, and you're doing what needs to be done for them, so all is as it should be

OnTheFly don't you know it's rude to ask an old man for his ID?

 

MissRuthless I guess that was rude lol.

The age of her fish concerns me. I don't cycle with fish anymore but when I did I had comets and blackskirts in the tank at one point or another and they seem very resilient. Cycle has to be tougher on any fish more than a few years old.

 

Might not be a bad idea to separate him so you can still feed him - goldfish are pigs, if you put anything in the tank he'll figure out how to get to it and eat it lol. Goldie can probably handle a good amount more stress than Sharkfin at this point, since Goldie still has a bunch of years ahead of him and Sharkfin is already past his life expectancy - so it might be beneficial to remove him from the stress of cycling. Is the small tank cycled? If not then keep him where he is, and I suppose you'll have to corral Goldie out of the way and slip him a few flakes here and there. I just realized you got prime YAY so as long as you're dosing the tank while it's cycling they'll be protected. I think it was already said but just in case, if ammonia/nitrite is high (over 1ppm) do a 50% wc and dose prime for the entire tank volume, if it's just a little bit then dose for the tank volume (I do double anytime I see nitrite). Test daily and just keep an eye on things. We don't often realize how stressful switching tanks is for fish, and I'm having to keep reminding myself how freaking ancient this dude is. So it probably is best to just keep him where he is for now, get cycled and then get him into the 10 when you can have your media back. They've lived this long with you knowing nothing of how to actually meet their needs, so they're obviously pretty tough fish - now that you have all the important stuff and know what to do, all they need to do is get through this cycle and having prime makes that way easier for them. If you have space in your filter I'd throw an extra piece of sponge or something in there right now, just so there's more surface for the bacteria. I know I got excited when my new tank finally looked cycled and ripped the media I had used out, and instantly sent the tank into a minI cycle... so as much bacteria as you can grow will help you avoid that.

About goldie and the swim bladder, I had a black moor with bad swim bladder problems (he was one of my first fish and lived with tropicals for months) - sometimes I'd have to cradle him in my hand to feed him his peas if he was too wobbly to hold himself up to eat, it was really sad and hard to deal with. He'd get better, and then be sideways again days later. I think the problems were that back then I only fed dry stuff (flakes, freeze dried bloodworms/shrimp etc.) and not as many veggies as I should have, and that he was always eating from the surface and gulping air. I like the idea of sinking goldfish pellets because it eliminates that, and I never, EVER feed any sort of freeze dried anything to any of my fish anymore because ew. I get packages of bloodworms in little ice cubes that you pop out (they have them in the little freezer at the pet store) and they're gross, but the fish love them and they're more nutritious than freeze dried. I also feel like if I'd known how much vegetation and fiber goldies need in their diet, I would have fed him greens 3-4 times a week and maybe things would have been different... at the time I interpreted it as fancy goldfish get swim bladder problems, fish is bloated and swimming funny, must be swim bladder - and it was partially that, but a good portion of it was constipation from improper diet too, and the peas would help him start pooping again and then the bad diet would get him backed up again, and again and again. I suppose I'll never know for sure which killed him, but I suspect it was a combination of both and a cumulative result of a lot of things I did wrong. A healthy, well rounded and well presented diet would have gone a long way for him though, even in my tropical tanks where he didn't belong. I always feel bad about that.

Gotta give you props for going out and buying literally everything you were told you needed - no one ever does that. Especially when they've lived this long without - it doesn't make sense to most people why they'd suddenly need to spend all this money when "the fish look happy" or "they like each other". They really do deserve the best we can give them though, just like any other pet we bring into our homes. It's awesome when people actually get that! I feel horrible saying it, but I kinda was one of those people who thought fish were fancy decorations, just because of the way I was raised (mom had a tank, her mom had a tank, pretty sure neither of them thought the fish had brains or feelings until I taught my mom right) I got really sad when the pleco sucked our angelfish to death when I was five, and when my grandmother's giant kissing gouramis finally died and everyone else was like umm... they're fish? We'll buy new ones, it's not a big deal? They're only supposed to live a few months anyway?? Things were different then and fish people didn't know what we do now, but a lot of the fish industry and the general public is still stuck in 1989 in that way. So when I got tanks as an adult, it was really just that my fiancé wanted them and I allowed it because every room looks nicer with a fish tank in it. Then I learned how horribly wrong I was doing it, had to buy and cycle a bunch of way bigger tanks for all the fish I crammed in there, and I guess it made me recognize them more as equal to other more intelligent animals as I learned about their needs and quirks and how personality often matters as much, if not more than species. Fish are great. You're great. Goldie and Sharkfin are both doing incredibly well for their circumstances, and you're doing what needs to be done for them, so all is as it should be

OnTheFly don't you know it's rude to ask an old man for his ID?

That is SOOO helpful. I'm going to come back and read this more than a few times. Thank you for your wonderful advice and I will @ you if I need anymore help. Thank you so much!

MissRuthless I guess that was rude lol.

The age of her fish concerns me. I don't cycle with fish anymore but when I did I had comets and blackskirts in the tank at one point or another and they seem very resilient. Cycle has to be tougher on any fish more than a few years old.

I did another 50% water change today and added prime. So far, so good.