How often should I clean my aquarium?

Question

I have a small one gallon tank with 2 goldfish and some rocks. I know that I need a bigger tank but, right now the one gallon one is all I've got and this seems to be working fing for them. Also, how do I clean the tank? What should I use? Is there something that I could use that's around the house because, I am low on cash? Thanks for your help.

I do have a filter in the tank, if this makes a difference.

Answer 1

Put the fish in a soap free container with some of their old water. Empty the gallon bowl, add plenty of salt & hot tap water. Let it sit awhile. Come back, & with a scrubber you have reserved for this job, scrub the glass. The rocks are to a side, get them, scrub. Rinse plenty with warm water with the rocks in the bowl. Now rinse with store-bought drinking water a few times (fill the bowl about 1/3). Put the fish back in, if the water temp's almost the same as what they were in. You can add an algae-eater to the bowl, they're peaceable. Clean the bowl when it loses the sparkle, or put your finger in & see if it's slimy.

Answer 2

These fish are not going to last long in this tank, regardless of how much they seem to be "doing fine".

Honest.

You are going to want to either:
-return the fish to the store and get a betta or a couple african dwarf frogs to keep. In this case, make sure you get gravel, and monitor your cycle closely if this is a filtered tank, because tanks that small are unstable, and hard to keep a cycle in.
- buy an appropriate sized tank for your goldfish as soon as you possibly can

Personally, I recommend the former, because goldfish need BIG SPACE. Myself, I wouldn't keep them in anything smaller than a pond. You will want 3 gallons PER INCH for each goldfish. AND you need to allow for them to grow to adulthood. Fancy GF can grow to 6-12 inches. Common GF can grow to 12-24 inches.

Do the math.

If they are currently 2 inches each, you need a 20 gallon tank, and that will last you until they are 3 inches long. If they are fancies, you will ultimately need at least a 40 gallon tank to house these 2 guys properly. That's if they only grow to 6 inches. A 40 gallon tank for 2 fish. That's why I'd only do GF if I had a pond.

If you still want to keep the GF and can't get a proper sized tank right away, here's what I would do-

If it has a filter, I'd keep the filter running (shut it off during water changes), but with 2 goldfish in a 1 gallon tank, it isn't going to cycle the tank for you. I would treat this like it's an unfiltered bowl.
I would feed them what they can eat in ONE MINUTE, ONCE every OTHER day. An hour after feeding, do a complete water change. You need to change 100% of their water every time you feed them to keep them healthy in a tank that small.

Now this advise is for them to be TEMPORARILY kept in this tank for as little time as possible.
This is going to be harsh, but keeping these fish in this 1g tank is cruel. They need more space. Please be a good owner and do what's right for these guys.

Here's a link in case you don't know what I mean by "cycle".
http://www.geocities.com/shtinkythefish/basic.htm
This link gives advice for FILTERED TANKS. If your "tank" is a bowl or some other container that doesn't have a filter, then WITH PROPER STOCKING (that would be the betta or the frogs) and proper feeding (once a day regardless of food package directions), you should do a 100% water change every 7-10 days.

Answer 3

Put the goldfish in a container filled with water from his bowl. rinse the gravel in a strainer with de-chlorinated tap water (so you can keep the bacteria alive). Put the gravel back, fill his bowl abou halfway with new water, treat with dechlorinator, wait until the temperature matches the water he is in, and then put in the fish and top off with his old water.

There is no need to age water anymore, dechlorinators work instantly - this is a hangover of another era. You don't need any cleaners, just water will do the job.

Once per week is fine, twice is better.

You can get a 10 gallon tank with a filter for 30 bucks or so. You don't need anything fancy, anything is better then that little bowl. even a clean plastic tote bin from the hardware store is better.

Answer 4

For 2 goldfish in a 1 gallon aquarium you need to change all of the water 3 to 4 times daily. Goldfish each need 10 gallons or more. They get large as adults. Not even one goldfish can survive in such a tiny home. If you don't want to kill the fish take them back to the big box store where you got them and tell the sales man that he should know better. Goldfish can't live that way, they just sold it to you and its dispicable. One male betta would be happy in a home like that. If you insist that you can keep these fish this way you will soon find out the hard way that it cannot be done. The fish will suffer until they die.

Answer 5

a clean houshold sponge that hasnt been used can work well to clean the sides of the glass. And since it is a small tank you could get away with just using a clean jug to pull out the water to do water changes. Id reccomend getting a small gravel vacuum so the waste from the fish and the extra food that sinks to the bottom can be removed from the gravel. that would also eliminate the need to use the jug to pull water out.

Answer 6

Ohh...Wow!
Mistake #1 Getting a tank that is to small + not knowing how to clean it.
#2 Goldfish are very messy and produce a very high amount of amonia. They need 10 gallons each= a 20 gallon tank

They'll die pretty soon unless you get a bigger tank

One inch for every gallon...sorry

Maybe you can take your goldfish back, and get a guppy

Answer 7

About as often as you do laundry is good, less is tolerable. Any old rag will do, as long as it is not contaminated with toxins or nothing, and lots of elbow grease. To clean the gravel we use a siphon grave cleaner, might be able to make your own.

Answer 8

change the water about once a week if you don't have a filter. Only drain about have the water so your ph level will stay the same. Let the replacement water set at least 3 days to get rid of clorine

Answer 9

It doesn't matter if you have a filter or not, that is WAY to small for 2 goldfish
Read that please
http://www.epinions.com/content_3185614980
http://www.firsttankguide.net/goldfish.php


Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 10

set water out, put the gf in another tank (or a bucket with an airpump), clean tank, put water in, put fish in