How can I take care of these fish with out making them die AGAIN?

Question

I have 2 one-inch goldfish in a 1 gallon tank.Here are my questions.Don't need to answer all,just the ones you know.

1)How often should I clean the bowl?
2)What is a filter and why do i need it?
3)How much food should i feed it and how many times a day?
4)How should i clean the bowl?(what soap or how to clean the gravel,etc.)
5)What kinds of products or items does the tank need to keep both the tank and gravel clean and the water fresh?(chemicals,gravel vacum,etc)

Thanks.

Answer 1

One gallon one inch ok,
clean the bowl 25% water change every other day.
No filter (better with a filter)

Feed 3 times a day (do not let anyone tellyou differently. Goldfish do not have stomachs and need to be fed 3 times a day)
Do not entirely clean the bowl. 1/4 of the water is fine

NO SOAP NONE
Gravel, different story. You are going to have to use a turkey baster to remove fish poo, or you will have to do a 100 % water change once a month. Making sure the dechlor water is replaced for your fish.

You do really need a tank with a filter to keep gold fish. Sorry bowls are bad but bowls with gravel are the worst

Only a dechlor is needed. DO NOT ADD SALT to your goldfish. They tend to suffer from dropsy and swimbladder. Adding salt to the tank adds to the water absorbtion and does not allow for proper water filtration of the fish. Salt will bloat a fish. If using any salt use epsom no other not aquarium not sea salt. none is best. They will retain water.

You really should reconsider a tank. 1 gallon for two fish will suffice for about three months. Your fish will quickly outgrow it. this will allow time for your new tank to cycle. you also need to feed your goldfish a well balanced diet. Not just flake ro pellet food. They need a high protein low fat diet. Check your fish food 48% or better protein and less than 5% fat. if it doesn't contain this you need a better food. Also supplement their diet with green veggies of all kinds, as well as kidney beans, pumpkin, oranges and watermellons.

To keep them from dieing again...get thema tank. Really.

Answer 2

First off your 1 gallon tank is WAY way WAY too small and that is why your fish are dying. I realize you dont want to invest a lot of money in an aquarium so ill say you can get a small one that is 10 gallons for pretty cheap.
Go to Petco and buy a 10 gallon combo tank. If the area you live has a special they will also give you a stand for it. Your Aquarium will come with the glass tank, A set of bulb lights and the light holder, a 10 gallon sized filter which pumps water through the tank cleaning out all the waste your fish makes.
Once you have this take um hope and set it up. You might also want to by StressZyme which will help keep your fish alive. StressZyme cycles your tank by removing all the wastes in your tank naturally and turning it into non toxic forms which are removed by 20 percent weekly water changes.
If you need any further help please feel free to message me also if you need help about prices i can help you i work at petco so i know these things



1-If you insist on using a bowl clean 50 percent of the water once a week and by clean i mean remove it and put new water in.
2-A filter is a pump that cleans your water
3-you should feed your goldfish twice a day in very small amounts. About 1 flake of food per goldfish
4-To clean your bowl simply remove half the water and put new water in thats it, also for the gravel leave it alone you dont wanna touch that.
5-You will need to buy AquaSafe dechlorinator, StressZyme, Stresscoat, and i would stay away from the Vaccumes since your tank is sooo small.

Answer 3

1)How often should I clean the bowl?

Keep it out of the sun and clean it when you notice any cloudiness or greenness. A guess is once a week with no filter.
2)What is a filter and why do i need it?

You don't really need a filter with goldfish but is should make life easier. It mixes oxygen into the water and removes toxins. You should be able to clean the bowl less often. I prefer a charcoal filter. (I doubt you need one with a 1 gallon tank)

3)How much food should i feed it and how many times a day?

only what they will eat off the surface without allowing any to settle to the bottom, 2 X.

4)How should i clean the bowl?(what soap or how to clean the gravel,etc.)

No soap. It's a small tank, use freshwater and lots of elbow grease. Put the gravel in a colander and scrub it against itself with your clean hand and rinse it well with as much pressure as your sprayer has.

5)What kinds of products or items does the tank need to keep both the tank and gravel clean and the water fresh?(chemicals,gravel vacum,etc

Get in the habit of leaving water out on the counter in an open container. This allows the chlorine to dissipate and the temperature to be "normal". You can add water when it's needed and have enough for a tank change. A 1 gallon tank is not enough water to mess with a vaccuum.

Goldfish aren't too picky, I don't think you need to worry about pH too much. You may want to buy a cheap test kit and experiment to find out how far off your aged (on the counter) water is from the ideal) Don't shock them with temperature changes (dumping them into new water without acclimating them) If they are in an open tank, watch your evaporation and be really careful with cleaners, perfumes, and cosmetics that could settle from the air into the water.

Answer 4

They are going to die no matter what you do. 1 gallon bowl is too small for 2 goldfish, they will die of ammonia poisoning. You should get a starter tank, I would really recommend going with a 10 gallon; it is not too big to handle and you can put a real filter on it. A real filter will keep the toxic chemicals that fish produce in check and therefore keep the fish from poisoning themselves. Only feed them as much as they will eat before the food gets water logged and sinks to the bottom, probably about 1 flake per fish (at the size you describe) once or twice a day. NEVER EVER use soap on the bowl or on anything for the fish. Soap has a way of staying around and a little goes a long way to killing your fish. Warm water should be enough to clean the bowl, if you need to add something abrasive to clean stubborn dirt, add a little salt to the water to clean it and then rinse real well. The only real chemical you'll need is something for de-chlorinating the water.

Answer 5

I can help:

1. You should try to change 1/3 of the water in the bowl once a week.

2. A typical filter is a tube with carbon granules at the top; water is pumped up through the tube and passes over the granules. This system helps keep stuff that the fish excrete, like ammonia and nitrates, from building up in the tank and killing the fish. However, with just two goldfish it is quite possible to keep them in a bowl of at least a couple of gallons with the regular water changes without needing a filter system.
3. Feed them a pinch of food twice a day; you want all of the food to be eaten within about 5 min. If there is any left over feed them less the next time.

4. Never use soap to clean the bowl, only water. Gravel can be cleaned easiest in your system by taking the fish out (carefully, and only with a net--don't touch with your hands), saving 2/3 of the water, washing the gravel with running water and replacing (about once a month or so). If you get algae you can scrape it off with one of those 3M scrubber pads.

5. For 2 goldfish you should really only need DeChlor drops to treat **any** water that comes in contact with the fish, and for water as a final rinse after you've cleaned the gravel. The other answer was also right--goldfish will grow larger as the bowl size is increased, so if you start with a 30 gallon aquarium you can end up with 6-inch goldfish, or sometimes bigger.

Answer 6

Well, since it's a tiny tiny tank. Once a week, take the goldfish out (scoop them up in a cup), empty out ALL the water. Rinse the gravel really really well. Fill the bowl/tank/thing back up with water that is the same temperature as it was (if it feels warm to your hand, it is too hot for the little things). Add in some water conditioner to take out the chlorine. You can buy it at any fish store, if you are in the country and on well water, you can skip that step. If you live in the city and skip it, you will burn your fishes eyes/gills and they will die. Add in your fish, and everybody should be happy.

It sounds like alot of work, but it's not that bad. Goldfish poop so much that actual goldfish breeders suggest 10 gallons per goldfish. They also grow very big. But that setup should last you two years or so.

You can use soap if you are paranoid about rinsing it all out. To clean the gravel you basically put it under running water and keep swishing it around so all the poop runs off.

Feed your fish once a day, 6 times a week. One day a week you can skip feeding them, it helps them digest everything and will not kill them.

A filter makes it so you don't have to empty all your water. It creates a little ecosystem of bacteria and everything to offset the ammonia your little fish produce when they poop. The bacteria eats the ammonia, turns it into something less harmful. In a bowl, that is impossible, and turns the water dirtier. You need that in 5 gallons or more...

Again, the gravel vaccuum is for larger aquariums where you don't dump everything out. Honestly, I think you'll find after the first 2 times or so you'll get into a routine that won't take you more then 15 minutes, and you will always have sparkly fresh clean water you can be proud of. Not some scummy bowl with water lines and filth on top of the gravel.

My mom keeps two goldfish in a large decorative glass bowl (for fruit...) with clear marbles in the bottom on her kitchen table. It's quite pretty.

Answer 7

hmm, I don't know any fish that really like a 1 gallon tank, not even bettas do honestly. The cheapo comet goldfish will grow to a foot in length. Goldfish can live to over 20 years if in the right sized tank and good water quality.

1) for a 1 gallon, you would have to change the water in the bowl constantly and eventually they will stunt which can lead to diseases.

2) a filter takes out not only physical waste such as poo and expelled/uneaten food, but takes in the ammonia that the fish produce when they breat and eat. This ammonia is eaten by a bacteria that builds up. The ammonia is converted into nitrite. Then a second bacteria develops and eats the nitrite and turns it in to nitrate. Nitrate is removed either from water changes or a very heavily planted tank. If you see your water cloud up in the beginning, this is your (good) bacteria cycle starting. To sum it up, the filter cleans the water of solid and chemical wastes and needs to have a flow rate of at least 10x the tank size (5 gallon tank = 50 gph filter).

3) only feed as much as the fish can eat in 5 minutes twice a day. Remove uneaten food. Hikari Micro-Pellets is great for smaller fish (like molly/molly fry).

4) never use soap. just rinse out. if you want to use something to help you, API makes aquarium wipes, it is safe inside and outside of the aquaria. A siphon is the best way to clean gravel, but 5-10 gallon tanks are usually a lot easier to use them with. You will suck all your water out of a 1 gallon before you get much waste out.

5) Basic bare setup for any fish tank ... heater to maintain constant temperature; filter to remove some solid waste, ammonia, and nitrite; dechlorinator (such as StressZyme) - never use water that hasn't been treated, it is harmful to the fish and kills the bacteria in the filter that eliminate ammonia and nitrites; gravel vacuum (siphon) to clean the bad stuff that collects at the bottom. With those, tank, water, and fish ... that is a bare bones setup.



If you want to maintain a smaller tank, I would say a 10 gallon with 2-4 mollies OR 2-3 dwarf puffers (freshwater). That would give you weekly to bi-weekly maintenance. Get something like an AquaClear 50 to run on it (preferably one with a bio-wheel), and a 100W heater. Never change out the bio-filter media or you will have an ammonia spike. I also recommend to someone learning proper fish husbandry to not use gravel until they get accustomed to how often the floor of the tank gets dirty and needs to be vacuumed.

I posted a link to learn more about goldfish, and a link about Bettas if someone tries to argue the point of their tank size requirements. Again, if you want to maintain a small tank, go for fish that are smaller adults.

Answer 8

Well First if you cleaned the bowl you have with soap you cant use it for fish ever again second A one gallon tank is too small if even one .Please forgive me but you need to go to your local pet store and have them teach you more about aquarium maintence I would do it if I didnt have a headache (not kidding )Or you can email me tommorrow thorugh the answer link and I will teach you what you need to know .Rick

Answer 9

They died because they are goldfish... and they're in a 1 gallon bowl! the double tailed goldfish should have at least 30 gallons with a filter!

check here - http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=957&N=0

Answer 10

you need at least a 30 gallon tank for them they can get huge and produce alot of ammonia

do NOT give me a thumbs down. The rule is 20 gallons for the first goldfish and 10 thereafter, goldfish get big and produce a ton of ammonia