Should I Adopt/give Away My Goldfish?

Currently I have a 20 gallon tank with 2 fancy goldfish and they have been living for about 6 months now. One goldfish (Susan) always seems healthy despite bad tank chemistry, and my other goldfish (wapooshe) has had a swim bladder issue for 5 months (I've done all sorts of treatment, and its not working). I'm starting to think that while they might survive they won't be happy and to be honest having wapooshe look like he's dead all the time isn't appealing to the tank. I'm pondering adopting wapooshe, but I doubt anyone will take care of him well due to his problem. Anyways I can't upgrade as of now and would appreciate your opinions and recommendations.

P.s. For swim blatter I did the pea treatment I you know another treatment please say so

 

The peas only act as a laxative and won't treat it. Fasting the goldfish for 3 days usually makes it better, but there might be better treatments that I don't know of.

 

I recommend rehoming as ur tank is too small. For a fancy 40 gallon is required and 10 gallon per fancy thereafter. What r ur parameters?

 

You've done all of this???


Treatment
Do not feed for 3 days, then feed skinned peas
Increase water temp to 80
Lower the water level to make it easier to reach the surface
Hand feed during treatment, if needed
Use broad spectrum antibiotic if indicated

 

You've done all of this???


Treatment
Do not feed for 3 days, then feed skinned peas
Increase water temp to 80
Lower the water level to make it easier to reach the surface
Hand feed during treatment, if needed
Use broad spectrum antibiotic if indicated

No I didn't do the temp rise, nor antibiotic

 

What do you mean by bad tank chemistry?

It's a lot of work, but sometimes you can make a tank 'bigger' short term by doing greater than normal water changes. Get your fish healthy with the improved water quality, then adopt them out, and get more appropriate fish for your 20.

 

I recommend rehoming as ur tank is too small. For a fancy 40 gallon is required and 10 gallon per fancy thereafter. What r ur parameters?

I definitely would if I could but a 40 gallon is too big for my room and I can't afford to buy a new stand and aquarium :/ this is why I'm pondering on adopting away one fish so that the waste is decreased.

What do you mean by bad tank chemistry?

It's a lot of work, but sometimes you can make a tank 'bigger' short term by doing greater than normal water changes. Get your fish healthy with the improved water quality, then adopt them out, and get more appropriate fish for your 20.

By bad I mean its inconsistent. I do weekly changes of 50% (not enough ik) sometimes I get ammonia of .1-.2 and sometimes it goes up to 1.0-3.0! This all depends on how much I feed them. I'm sure if I took more responsibility and did daily water changes it would be better. Adopting them out is sort of a last resort thing and I'm sure my family members would disapprove, on the note of possibly keeping both fish is it possible if I started doing like 20% daily water changes I could keep them?

 

Goldfish do have a large bio load. With consistent water changes, checking parameters and adequate filtration u may be able to keep parameters stable but free swimming room for ur fish needs to be considered as well.

EDIT- If u can't keep parameters stable bc u do not perform consistent tank maintenance it would be cruel to keep ur fish. This toxicity is extremely stressful to ur fish lowering their immune systems making them susceptible to parasites, viruses and bacteria.

 

Currently I have a 20 gallon tank with 2 fancy goldfish and they have been living for about 6 months now. One goldfish (Susan) always seems healthy despite bad tank chemistry, and my other goldfish (wapooshe) has had a swim bladder issue for 5 months (I've done all sorts of treatment, and its not working). I'm starting to think that while they might survive they won't be happy and to be honest having wapooshe look like he's dead all the time isn't appealing to the tank. I'm pondering adopting wapooshe, but I doubt anyone will take care of him well due to his problem. Anyways I can't upgrade as of now and would appreciate your opinions and recommendations.

P.s. For swim blatter I did the pea treatment I you know another treatment please say so

try sinking the pellets when you feed it

 

By bad I mean its inconsistent. I do weekly changes of 50% (not enough ik) sometimes I get ammonia of .1-.2 and sometimes it goes up to 1.0-3.0! This all depends on how much I feed them. I'm sure if I took more responsibility and did daily water changes it would be better. Adopting them out is sort of a last resort thing and I'm sure my family members would disapprove, on the note of possibly keeping both fish is it possible if I started doing like 20% daily water changes I could keep them?

They would be happier if you did frequent water changes, and healthier. Their living conditions wouldn't be ideal, but it would be better for the living animals you're custodian of. The only question is whether you'd be able to keep up with the frequent changes, and you're the only one who can answer that. If you're using buckets maybe a Python water change system would help you out.

I know your family might not be happy if you re-homed your fish to a place with better conditions, but they shouldn't really be happy with sick, and possibly dead, fish, either. There are a lot of fish you can keep in a 20 (and by a lot I mean a lot of different kinds, not that you should keep a lot of fish in a tank that small ) and they'd be perfectly happy. And if you intentionally light stock it your maintenance time goes down.

I know you say you don't have room for a larger tank, but sometimes you can figure things out. You can check places like CraigsList and find people moving or getting out of the hobby who sell things cheap or give them away, and don't forget garage sales. Walk in, ask, "Do you have any aquarium stuff?" because sometimes it's too big to put out, but they really want it out of their rafters.

 

40 gallons isn't even big enough for one full grown fancy goldfish of any kind.

 

40 gallons isn't even big enough for one full grown fancy goldfish of any kind.

Fancy goldfish only need 20 gallons for each fish. If you don't believe me I get that information straight from professionals in the hobby.

Is your tank cycled? 50 percent per week isn't bad, 70 percent would be the best though. Maybe you just need some stronger filtration that all. If you are feeding them at the surface avoid that because that can cause buoyancy issues. Best of luck I would suggest getting an intex 90 gallon tub and getting a few more goldfish! Keep the tub in a garage with adequate heating.

 

professionals in the hobby would never give you that info. Fancy goldfish get big. Not as big as a common goldfish. But big enough. I don't think you really understand how small 20 gallons is.

some fancy goldfish can reach upwards of 10"+. Use some common sense in tank size. It would just as bad as trying to put an Oscar in 20 gallons

 

professionals in the hobby would never give you that info. Fancy goldfish get big. Not as big as a common goldfish. But big enough. I don't think you really understand how small 20 gallons is.

That's just what I heard from professionals. A 20 gallon long tank seems plenty for one fancy.

 

40 gallons isn't even big enough for one full grown fancy goldfish of any kind.

That is not true. A 40 gallon isn't suited for a common/comet goldfish but a 40 gallon is suited for one fancy.

 

That is not true. A 40 gallon isn't suited for a common/comet goldfish but a 40 gallon is suited for one fancy.

Agreed. Commons get very big and need at least 60-80 gallons. Practically koi.

 

Commons need ponds LOL

 

Commons need ponds LOL

That'd be ideal. Problem is with ponds is that when winter comes they need to be put somewhere inside.

 

If you take good care of a fancy, it will get big. 20 gallons isn't going to cut it

 

I agree with 20 gallon being 2 small..but 40 gallon is adequate for one...imo a 60 gallonwould be perfect for a pair...of course with adequate filtration and routine tank maintenance as we all now how messy goldfish r.

 

I think filtration is just key. Having a strong filter with lots of water challenges will keep your fish healthy. A long 30-40 gallon tank gives a lot of room to fancy goldfish.

 

I really don't think 30 or 60 gallons is adequate. Think about it. Many fancy goldfish reach or can reach 8-12" if not more. Think about a 10 inch fish in even a 60 gallon. A 60 gallon has a pretty thin depth. 12" maybe. With the fishes long tails and rounded body, they won't even be able to turn around. Even a 6 or 8" one. That's not going to make them comfortable. Goldfish should really only be kept in rather big tanks. I don't understand the goldfish mentality of people. Yes 30 or 40 gallons might be minimum. But really, is that fish gonna be comfortable and be able to turn comfortably? Goldfish get similar in size to a lot of medium to large new world cichlids. And you wouldn't try to put a red devil or Oscar in a 40 gallon tank would you? If you are a true fish keeper, you'll consider the needs of the fish. Not what you think looks good. It'll extend the life of your fish.

And just because your little goldfish is 1 inch long at the pet store. You can bet that fish will not stay small.

 

Wow that's crazy I thought fancys stopped growth at like 6 inches... I did not know they could go up to a foot in size! Though, I also heard that goldfish grow based on tank size and how much you feed them. Btw how many years does it take for a goldfish to reach like 10" as you say?

 

Wow that's crazy I thought fancys stopped growth at like 6 inches... I did not know they could go up to a foot in size! Though, I also heard that goldfish grow based on tank size and how much you feed them. Btw how many years does it take for a goldfish to reach like 10" as you say?

12 inches is rare for a fancy. Its usually 8-10 inches at most, and it takes 2-3 years to reach that size.