my goldfish keep dying! help!?

Question

For my daughters 4th birthday she wanted some goldfish so i got 2 and also a cheap little plastic bowl + accessories.
A couple of months later she saw a proper tank with a filter etc in one of the main petstores and she wanted it, we bought it, got it home, followed the instructions on settin it up and put the fish in. The filter was on the lowest setting and seemed to be sucking the fish towards it. Next morning one fish was dead, we went out & got 2 more fish and within 24hrs they were dead 2!
Can someone advise as Ive read the leaflets, followed instructions and even when i was younger my fish used to last longer than that!!!!
Pleeeease help, my 4yr old is absolutely devastated!

Answer 1

did you cycle the tank? the tank should be running for at least 2 weeks before you add the fish. read up on cycling the tank here:
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php

you may have over stocked, do you knwo what the proper tank is for a goldfish? goldfish are VERY dirty fish and need a lot of space. 10gallons for one young goldfish and 20+gallons for adults. so for 2-3goldfish you mention you would need a 30-40gallon tank.

how big is you tank? goldfish may not be the best option, if you tell me your tank size I may be able to recommend other fish that are gorgeous and I'm sure a 4yr old little girl would love.

Answer 2

If you had those goldfish in a bowl for 2 months, it's probable that they were on the verge of death already and the stress of being moved into the tank finished them off. The filter sucking them in is just a sign of weakness. No healthy fish is going to be swept up by a normal-sized filter.

You need to learn about cycling a tank and maintaining water quality in order to keep fish alive. Especially goldfish.

It will be a wonderful lesson in responsibility and compassion for your daughter to learn that it takes work to care for a pet. She's at the perfect age to be impressed by that kind of lesson, rather than to learn that pets are disposable (and therefore, that life is disposable.)

Please feel free to try again! But do research and ask some questions before you buy the fish. And don't get your advice from a fishstore because so many of them will tell you whatever it takes to sell you more fish. And killing fish off is a good way to sell you more. Once you've learned some on your own, you'll be able to better tell which stores are the ethical ones.

Answer 3

I work at a pet shop.
the best thing you can do is start all over again. empty your tank, clean the gravel and filter thoroughly and re-fill your water making sure you up the required amount of water conditioner in to the amount of litres it holds.

switch on your filter and leave running for at least 7 days with no fish. after about 4 days pop out and get a couple of real plants to oxygenate the water.
and feed the water everyday with a small pinch of fish food to help boost the good bacteria in the water ready for new fish.

do not start by putting more than one fish in for the first 2 weeks and make sure the fish is a good size and check to see if it is healthy - some pet shops won't tell you if a fish is sick and you may just be having bad luck.

Answer 4

First off, if your filter is too powerful, try placing an open, cleaned baby food jar around the intake. This will keep the fish from being sucked in. (I had that happen with an outside pond and smaller fish) If the jar is too heavy, find a smaller jar down to the size of a medicine bottle (Yes if it has been cleaned it will work safely) If they jars won't stay on the filter one of two things, you can extend the intake to sit towards the bottom of the tank and do the same thing. Or you can turn up the filter to accomodate the weight.

Good luck.
P.S. this trick will still allow debris to be sucked into the filter.

Answer 5

The first thing that you need to do is to empty your tank and then wash it out using NO chemicals at all, then set up the tank again following the instructions on the leaflet. Let the tank run for two days without any fish in it, then go back to the store where you got your fish and tell them what happened (if it was my store your daughter would let get two my fish free). When you get them home allow the bag to sit on top of the tank water for about half an hour then let them out mixing the two waters slowly. Do not feed them for the first day and only once a day after that. Only change about 2 inchs of tank water every week your daughters goldfish should be fine.

Answer 6

Try draining the tank and washing all accessories with warm water and basic table salt. Sometimes some forms of glues or detergent residues are not totally removed from the glass or filter casing. There are also chances of loose paint or other debris in the rocks.
The salt helps remove any of these and also kills any bacteria that may be of concern. Simply make a paste like material of salt and water to scrub the glass and filter with. Rinse well. But don't worry a small amount of salt in the water won't harm your fish. In fact it helps to heal tattered fins or scales.
For the rocks I prefer a colander. Put the rocks in and pour a generous amount of salt over them. Roll and shake the rocks around. This will help scrape anything excess off them. Use the facet to rinse well.
After you put the tank back together add some Chlor out or Start Right to your water. Both can be bought cheaply at Wal-Mart. They neutralize most of your chemicals that may be in your local water supply.

Answer 7

clean the tank every 3 weeks this can get rid of any bad bacteria in the tank clean out all the accessoriesfilter the tank bye getting a filter to get some air to the fish , buy only one this time or the other can be carrying diseases, buy a new tank clean it before use though, if not then there is a possible chance your not feeding it or looking after to it that much.feed them every day twice ive had this fish for 7 years now and hes realy heathey

Answer 8

Goldfish don't belong in bowls. One goldfish really needs a minimum of 15-20 gallons. They grow to 8-12 inches, and put out a lot of ammonia naturally and through their waste.
And as said before, did you dechlorinate the water if it's tap water?

Were these the common feeder type goldfish? Usually they're not very hardy, and not kept properly at the store, so they don't last long-usually.

Did you float the bag with the fish for about 1/2 hour to adjust to the temp and add tank water slowly for them to adjust to the ph?

And lastly, what's probably happened, was your tank wasn't cycled, and the ammonia levels were too strong for them to handle. Here's a link, do a search for cycling a fish tank.

http://www.webmd.com/hw/womens_conditions/hw61046.asp

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art3503.asp

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/startupcycle/Step_5_The_Cycle.htm

Answer 9

I have a goldfish too I had 6 but now their is 1 left I had him for over 3 weeks.what I do is when I clean the tank is, I leave the water for 2 hours then I put it in a tank. but their is more easy fish to care like Guppies,or sordtails and so much more.

Answer 10

You don't say when you bought the fish..most reputable aquareists will not sell goldfish between early november and april..reason during this time the fish go into a dormant state,due to getting ready for the spawning season.any change in the fishes environment causes stress and it will die of shock..some live..some die..read up on keeping a goldfish as a pet..water also has to be as near to the type off water they were living in before you bought them.most of the tropical fish come from the seas and is therefore slightly salty..not cooking salt..check before putting the fish in water..where they come from and what chemicals can be used to make their environment as natural as possible..oh..and it's best to use a glass bowl or aquarium..not plastic..as it is now found that plastic has toxic emmisions ...