Goldfish and tanks.?

Question

I have resently bought 3 fantail goldfish and a sucker. I put them in a 10 gallon tank, with a filter for that size, but it doesn't seam to be cleaning the tank. The fish also have been very unintergetic; should i get a larger filter?

Answer 1

Most common fantails will never exceed 7-9" long and while a large tank would be a wonderful place for them, a 30 gallon tank would do nicely as well. Get a filter rated for double the tank size, or even better 2 filters rated for the tank.

I completely agree with fivespeed, the lack of energy sounds like an ammonia problem, which would be expected adding that many fish to even a cycled tank all at once. Check the ammonia or have it checked at a pet store and chance the water to keep it safe for the fish until the biofilter can catch up to the new fish load.

MM

Answer 2

In my younger days I had a ten gallon tank with fantail goldfish, while my brother had a ten gallon tank with tropicals.

My tank had a filter and air pump that was for a twenty gallon tank. When I bought it, the sales clerk said to get the bigger one if I was buying goldfish. I also had two airstones in the tank.

I didn't have any suckers, they're really for tropical tanks. All I had were some snails that would eat the algae on the sides. And fish, I had seven fantails. Seven - and though I had them for about 4 or 5 years, I don't remember, they only grew an inch or so in all that time. So they started out at about 3 inches and ended up at about 4 inches each.

We were told that they would only grow to a size that the tank allowed, then their growth hormones would shut off - and that's exactly what happened. I've heard that a number of times since then - even with the pond I have today, I was told that the fish would grow until they were crowded enough, then their growth hormones would shut off and they would no longer grow. We'll see.

As to cloudy water and all. I found the culprit to be me. I overfed my fish. You should feed them very little. And I mean very little. The best food is food that sinks. Don't use flake goldfish food because it floats. Give them about three small meals a day. And just a small - and I mean small - pinch of food for each meal. It should be enough that they can finish off in about 2 or 3 mouthfuls. That's it. No more.

Also, each week, change out 10% of the water. And don't forget to dechlorinate the water you put in the tank to replace the water you took out. That's very important. But, if you have well water - you can skip the dechlorination - instead, put an airstone in the water for about 15 minutes before adding it to the tank. Well water does not have any Oxygen in it. By your using the airstone, it allows the water to be oxygenated. That way, when you put the water in the tank, it won't lower the Oxygen rate in the water. That's important.

Oh - do you have a lid with a light on your tank? Goldfish like light - and it will make algae grow on your glass - and goldfish love to eat algae. And do you have any live plants in your tank? If you don't add some like Anacharis or Parrot Feather - plants that are good oxygenators.

Anyway - I've gone from having a 10 gallon tank as a youngster to having a 29 gallon tank as a twenty something - to having a 3,200 pond now. Today I have 12 adult Goldfish I bought back in March when they were 2.5 inches in length. They are not about 7 inches in length. They also produced about 20 babies that are now about 3 inches in length. So I have lots of Goldfish (time to give some away). I also have 5 Koi - and do they grow FAST! 3 I bought in April when they were 5 inches. They are not about 14 inches. 2 I bought the end of May when they were 4 inches. Now they're about 8 inches. Like I said, they grow really fast. Must faster than goldfish.

Good Luck with your tank and fantails!

Ken

Answer 3

For goldfish you need a very strong filter. But you also need more than a 10 gallon tank. What those stores never tell you is that A, those are TINY babies who will grow much larger, and get sick if they can't. And B, they give off a lot of waste so even as babies for that many you would want a 20 gallon at least with a good filter probably for a 50 gallon -- but you'd need to upgrade later since they get to about 8 inches long excluding tail. Good luck! PS< suckers aren't good for goldfish, they can kill goldfish by sucking on their slime coats, and add more waste than they clean up. You may do better without it and just getting a gravel vaccumm and watcthing that you only feed what the goldies eat. Suckers also grow a foot long.

Answer 4

You should get a larger tank to go with that larger filter. With goldfish, bigger is always better. Did you know that the Chinese have grown common fantail goldfish to be over 24"? Get a 55 gallon tank and a filter rated for 75-110 gallons and you will have much better results. The lack of energy sounds like a water quality issue. Test for ammonia, and go much lighter on the feeding. You are going to have to do alot of siphoning to keep the waste levels down in a 10 gal.

Answer 5

Yes, but first you need a larger tank. The Goldfish will each get about 8 inches long and the sucker fish is likely a Plecostomus which gets about 2 feet long. Get a 40+ gallon tank, and then you will need a filter for a 60-70 gallon tank. Goldfish and Plecos are very messy so they require great filtration. Good luck!

Nosoop4u

Answer 6

A larger filter wouldn't hurt. Goldfish are notoriously a dirty fish. The tank will need cleaning a lot more often than with tropical fish. The rule of thumb is one fish per gallon of water.

Answer 7

You say that you "recently" bought your tank.. How recent? What is happening is called a "cycle". When you set up a new tank then add your fish they create waste, as in uneaten food and fish poop. A new tank doesn't have the bacteria needed to remove the toxins created by waste. The ammonia build up from the waste will stress out your fish and until your "cycle" runs it's course your fish are going to suffer and may even die.
On top of this Gold fish are cold water fish and are dirty fish.. they create tons of waste! They are messy eaters and constant poop generators! They also will get HUGE.. don't beleive that old they only get as big as the tank crap! They get as big as they should be and for a gold fish that can be a foot or 2! Ever see a carp? thats a Big gold fish! lol..
You don't say what kind of "sucker fish" you have but I'm betting it is a Pleco a nocturnal warm water fsih They don't clean the tank of poop they eat algae. He prolly is starving! No algae in a new tank! Also Pleco don't have scales they have skin and are very touchy when it comes to water quality! The ammonia in your tank will prolly kill your Pleco!
Also you have too many fish in the tank..Take the pleco back for sure and maybe one of the goldfish! The standing rule for stocking is 1 inch of fish for every gallon... thats an adult 1 inch fish not a 1 inch baby who will grow to a possible 2 feet! Whcih the Pleco can do too BTW depending on what kind he is! Oh and never put cold/cool water fish with warm! They just don't mix!

Ok now here are my suggestions to help you save your fish..

1. Change 10% of your water.. maybe 20%
DO NOT empty the tank just take some water out and replace it with new.declorinated water. If you take all the water out you lose the bacteria you might have and the whole cycle starts over!
2. Get a test kit for fresh water or take a clean container of aquarium water to your store.. ask them to test it Find out what the levels SHOULD be and continue to change water DAILY untill your levels are in the safe range.
3. DO NOT OVER FEED! this is the one thing EVERY one does at one time or another!! Only feed what your fish can eat in 3-5 min 2x a day MAX! and don't feed anymore! It's better to feed small amounts over time than one big one! This way they eat the food instead of it sitting on the bottom fouling your tank!
4. DO REGULAR MAINTENANCE .. This means doing a 10% water change every week(or larger amount 1x a month depending on your stocking choices) once it has established.Clean the gravel and glass . Remove any uneaten food and clean any decorations of gunk. Live plants are great but if you have Gold fish they usually just eat them so don;t bother! unless you like snails! Which the gold fish will eat too but they always get out of control! At least for me they have!
5. RESEARCH!! get a book go to the library look up the fish you want to keep! Find out if it is compatible with the ones you have or want to keep in the future!
6.FIND GOOD LOCAL FISH STORE! One you can TRUST! go in and window shop a few times before you buy! Look at the fish and the store! if the tanks are dirty don't buy! If you know more than they guy in the fish dept walk away!
7.WATCH THEM EAT! Ask to see the fish eat before you take him home! If he won't eat in the store he prolly won't eat for you!
8.ON LINE SITES! Check out some of the fish sites online! There are tons! Most have forums for newbies and will gladly answer any questions you have! And don;t thinks it's a dumb question.. we all asked that same dunb questionat one point or another!
9.PATIENCE! Take your time! the bigest mistake most newbies make is rnot being patient!
10. TELL! I want the name of the guy who sold you your set up and said it was ok to just toss in the fish! We need to have a talk if you get my drift!

Hope this helps and you can get your fish back to their fun energetic selves!

Answer 8

Add a air stone to your tank and don't feed them so much.