What Should I Do?? I Dont Want Goldfish Anymore 40 Gal

Ive had this 40 gallon tank for about 4 months now. It has 2 penguin 350s and 1 up to 80 gallons sponge filter. It contained 5 fancy goldfish (2 orandas, 2 fantails, and 1 black moor.) About 1 month ago one of the fantails lost and eye I don't know how. Then a few weeks later and oranda died. Also when the black moor eats, he always floats up upside down. This has been going on for 2 months. I feed peas atleast 2 times a week or more but its not really helping. It usually takes him about a few hours to get back to normal again. Everyone in the tank is under 5 inches. I've performed 65%-80% weekly water changes since I first started the tank (first ever tank btw.) Now I'm not really feeling the tank. Should I get rid of them? If so how? Take them to petco/petsmart? Craigslist? Give them away free or $$? I really like the schooling fishes. They entertain me more than theses bigger fishes. If I do get rid of them what should I get. Community tanks look really awesome. Id also like to have shrimps on the bottom and corrys if possibles and some schooling tetras or barbs? Ive also heard that if I do chose these smaller fish that I would also perform smaller water changes? The only live plant I'm intending to keep in the tank is moss balls. Everything else I intend to keep fake. Thanks! And tips are appreciated!

 

Where did you get the fish? That should be your first port of call for rehoming. Some Petcos have fish adoption tanks. Call and ask if yours does. Move on to local lfs after that to see if they will take them in trade. If that's a no go then craigslist/freecycle etc. There's the classified ads on our barter board as well. Maybe a fishlore member has room in one of their tanks and is close enough you won't have to ship.

Once you get them rehomed then go back to the books and figure out what fish you will love. Forty gallons makes a wonderful sized tanks for tetra and cory. You have many options and can go temperate or tropical (but not both at the same time!)

Good luck!

 

I bought 1 from petsmart and the rest from petco.

What should I do? I won't be able to add in a heater though. The temp here is around 72-78. So...

I'm looking for a community tank.

 

Depending on your climate you can try finding a home with an outdoor pond! Or if you want a pond yourself an easy-ish way to have one is to get a stock watering tank and put them in that. Fancy goldfish are actually hardy, you just need to protect them from predators like raccoons and herons

 

I'm only 17 and in High School though. That's not an option.

 

Then I would find someone with a pond. They'll be a lot happier there with all that room to swim!

 

Ok lets say I find a home for them. How long do I have until I need to add in the new fish before bb dies? And also am I in an advantage because goldfish are so messy that the filters will be able to take a lesser load easily? And when I add them in do I need to fully stock it at once? or start small like shrimps+ tetras then wait a week then add corrys etc? 1 more question will I be able to keep smaller fish like those mentioned above without a heater?

 

Some kinds can handle not having a heater but no sure which ones. I know WCMM are OK. Ask Anders247 !

 

Yes, WCMM and zebra danios are fine without a heater. As far as cories go, you could do peppered cories.

 

Neon tetras, emerald rasbora, leopard or zebra danios are just some of the fish that do fine in temperate water. Panda, metae, bronze, pepper cory also don't mind cooler temperature.

Your tank is established. There is fish waste in the substrate that will keep the bacteria going for long enough to choose your new fish and add them as you find them.

Don't rush. You want a tank you love, not one that is an obligation to maintain .

 

The only corrys ive seen at my local pet store is the albino corry.

So would that be ok? I'm looking for get 3-5 of those corries and 10 ghost shrimps for the bottom section, and for the middle maybe neon tetras/tiger barbs or even both? and maybe another type that's bigger for the "center peice" as people call it

 

Get more than 3 cories. Preferably 6 at minimum. You've got a big footprint in a 40B so go for as many as you can afford! But ask at your LPS if you can order different cories. I am pretty sure the albino cories are aeneus and prefer warmer water

 

Tiger barbs seem to do best in a species only tank. Also, I believe they need tropical temperatures. A nice school of neons would be very pretty, and at least six of the panda or albino cory. In a 40 gallon, you could have both.

 

That's what I was saying maggie.. My parents are saying that I should keep them until they die on their own and then I should get something else until then. But I disagree. They said its up to me though. So yeah I want a tank that I love and enjoy staring at all day and not keep it because its an obligation like you said.

 

Plus if well-kept goldfish can live decades! Even the fancies get quite large so I would advertise for someone with a large pond, indoor pond preferably

 

So corrys and tetras are ok for my tank. Whats another fish I can add. Not looking for plecos.

I agree aqua, Ill post and ad in the newspaper if anyone is looking for any with a pond. There was a flood that happened here not to long ago though so idk if any ponds are still running. My uncles neighbor who live close to me had a backyard pond with coments and kois and he said the flood took all of them. No one was expecting a flood and coudnt save any in time. Floods have never occured in our area.

 

You have 4 fancies? Anyone with a 55+ gallon tank could take them.

 

I'm sorry to hear that Well, if anyone wants a pond it would be fairly easy to set one up aboveground using the aforementioned stock tank!

 

Ok lets say I find a home for them. How long do I have until I need to add in the new fish before bb dies? And also am I in an advantage because goldfish are so messy that the filters will be able to take a lesser load easily? And when I add them in do I need to fully stock it at once? or start small like shrimps+ tetras then wait a week then add corrys etc? 1 more question will I be able to keep smaller fish like those mentioned above without a heater?

Do NOT add them all at once! It's best quarantine each fish you get in a large plastic tote, not your shrimp, though, as most medications like Paraguard will kill them. I bought a koi from PetSmart that was a customer return and later found out it had two small aquarium lice. My fish ended up being okay, but I had to put him in his own tank with meds and the others in the largest container I could find while I scrubbed down the main tank. You do EVERYTHING right, but end up watching your fish pay the price once you afford too much trust into incompetent staff. :/

 

Is this a 40 gallon or a 40 gallon breeder?
I really like neon tetras and celestial pearl danios. Also another bottom feeder option are kuhlI loaches. Kuhlis need to be in schools just like corrys, and the more you have the more active they will be. I'm not positive if they would be ok up to 78 degrees so please wait for others to chime in!

 

It's a 40 gallon breeder. I'm looking to have a tight schooling fish and some type of bottom feeder. I want everything to look nice like complement the tank if you know what I mean.

 

I found Neon Tetra's colorful but boring.

First question need to ask:. Do you want a peaceful (boring) school of fish or active schooling fish? One clarification, you can get active peaceful or active aggressive schooling fish.

Example: Serpae Tetra and Tiger Barb's are aggressive schooling fish while Ruby and Gold Barb's are active playful fish that you can keep with smaller Tetra's.

I have a 55 gallon with Ruby + Gold Barb's and RummyNose Tetra and everyone gets along fine. The Barb's are very active but in a playful manor.

 

I'll take your goldfish if you're looking into rehoming them! We'd just have to organize a way for them to be safely shipped to me. What state are you in?

 

I love corydoras as bottom feeders. You still have to feed them algae wafers, and they get a decent size. Very cute and interesting looking. Lots of colors/species to choose from! Just make sure your get a school of at least 6 of any species--they will school ONLY with the same exact type of cory.

I like them much better than plecos, which hide a lot, are giant when grown, territorial, and are very messy.

I also am a fan of loaches! KulI loaches are super neat! The more you have, the more active they are. If you only have 1-2, they will just hide buried in the sand. (they require sand instead of gravel ps) I don't know much about loaches, but I want a bunch someday!