Goldfish water and tank change

[Csitenet]

Hi all,

early warning this will freak all fish owners out I’m sure and annoy many readers and for that I apologise.

so, around 20 March 2020 my sister bought 2 goldfish for her house, this is tradition for most Persian families to have goldfish for Persian new year. One of the goldfish died one survived after only a few days. They were both held in a small bowl maybe 3-4 L of water and it was london tap water untreated.

I don’t live with her so I wasn’t too aware of this situation, she never used prime or any other chlorine defuses in the water just straight tap water in the fish bowl changed every 3-5 days. Fed the fish a diet of its food bought from the fish shop and sometimes lettuce.

having done a little research myself I felt bad for the fish so I bought him a much bigger tank, went over and set it up. Because this fish has only been in london tap water with chlorine I didn’t quite know what todo, so I removed him from his little bowl put him into a plastic container that’s 6-7 L till my tank setup takes effect. Ever since I’ve put him into the plastic container which btw also contains chlorine defuser liquid which I added to the water, it keeps swimming around like crazy and I mean crazy! I don’t know if it’s just used to chlorinated water and it’s freaking out, or it’s because I changed ira location from its smaller bowl to a plastic container temp till it’s fish tank is sorted according to the the user manual which takes days, either way it keeps swimming around bumping into the sides of the container. I’m not sure if ive freaked this fish out and maybe should have used far half mix treated water and half mix chlorinated water or what.. I just felt bad for the poor thing and I feel like he’ll die before I put him in his 40L tank!

before anyone asks for ammonia ph etc levels of the water I don’t know I didn’t buy the kit, I just spent £400 on it’s tank filet gravel decoration food lots of chrlorine deciders etc but neglected on that one thing re buying. Purchased a kit online and it should be coming in a few days but till then prefer the fish doesn’t suffer and stays alive.

any recommendations?

 

[Colin_T]

I would have left the fish in its bowl while you set the new tank up. Then let the tank run for 24 hours and move the fish across after that.

Chlorine comes out of tap water after 24-48 hours, sometimes longer depending on the chlorine level and the amount of aeration/ surface turbulence in the water. If the water is stationary and has no turbulence/ aeration, the chlorine can take 3 or more days to come out. With really good aeration, it might come out in 12 hours.

Chloramine does not come out of water and needs to be neutralised with a dechlorinating agent (water codnitioner).

When a dechlorinator is added to chlorinated water, it neutralises any chlorine/ chloramine molecules as soon as the dechlorinator comes into contact with the chlorine/ chloramine molecules. However, if there is no aeration or water movement, it can take a while for the dechlorinator to come into contact with the chlorine molecules and the water will remain unsafe for fish until all the chlorine/ chloramine has been neutralised.

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At this stage, let the main tank run with aeration and dechlorinator for 24 hours, then move the fish across.

Get them to feed the fish 2-3 times a week. Only give the fish a little bit of food. Don't worry, the fish won't starve. And do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate 4-8 hours after feeding. The water change will dilute any ammonia that is produced by the food going into the tank.

Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramien before it's added to the tank. Basically get a couple of buckets and add enough dechlorinator to treat each bucket. Fill them with tap water and aerate or stir them up for at least 5 minutes. Then use that water to fill the tank after you have removed some of the tank water.

In a couple of months when the tank has finished developing the good filter bacteria, they can increase feeding to once a day and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate once a week.

 

[Csitenet]

Thanks Colin,

re the tank setup, I added water conditioner waited 24 hours woke up this morning added the bacteria provided by the manufacturer and says wait another 24 hours. So hopefully will be adding the fish to the tank tomorrow.

re it’s bowl, believe me I regret moving him and not sure if I put him back in his bowl he’ll triple freak out after already being moved once and constantly bumping in the walls. Should I change the container water he’s in now? I have water conditioner! His just not used to this type of water he’s lived in tap water for months since end of March.

thanks

 

[Colin_T]

The tap water won't have chlorine in after a few days.

If the tank has been running for 24 hours with dechlorinator in it, I would put the goldfish in the tank. Don't bother feeding it until tomorrow.

The filter bacteria supplement should be added every day for a week and then you can pour the remaining contents into the tank. Try to add the bacteria near the filter intake so it gets drawn into the filter where it belongs.

The fish can be in the tank when you add the bacteria.

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If you can tell us what brand and type of filter you have on the tank, we can tell you how to clean/ maintain it.

 

[Naughts]

His just not used to this type of water he’s lived in tap water for months since end of March.

Have you only added conditioner or have you also changed the source water from tap to something else?

 

[Csitenet]

Have you only added conditioner or have you also changed the source water from tap to something else?

Just water conditioner.. it’s called goldfish fresh start by interpet. Says makes tap water safe and had 10k + positive reviews online.
Source of water was still tap water from my sisters houses tap.

container his in atm is plastic though instead of it’s glass bowl. I’ll be throwing him in his 40 L tank tonight unless others think I should wait?

 

[Naughts]

That's all good. When you run out of conditioner look for a different brand that does not have aloe vera- this is believed to be harmful to fish if used consistently. Dechlorinated tap water should be ok, goldies have quite a wide range for water hardness.
Put him in the 40l ASAP, the more water he has, the better it will dilute the ammonia, and follow Colin's advice on feeding/ water changes.
BTW, £400 seems very steep for a 40 litre tank

 

[Csitenet]

Tank was £200 and i spent £220 on all the equipments, gravel, vaccume, pebbles, gravel hoover, cleaners, magnet, food for a year (don't trust my sister feeding it properly lol) auto feeder and water treatment and 2 decorations. I just kept adding things to the shopping cart came to checkout i was bit surprised myself as i doubt my sister paid more than few £'s per fish lol. Fish is in the new tank now and super happy, fed it ate the lot after a little time... seems lot happier now, thanks all