Greedy Goldfish.....

[cynic]

I just wondering something here. We have 2 fish both mature as i understand it.

Question is one of them, a bug eye'd goldfish has taken to sitting on the bottom of the tank, been a gradual thing. Untill that is you feed them, as soon as the evaporation cover is off he's at the top of the tank likety spit.

He will then be all over the tank for an hour or so and then settle back to the bottom. Water changes make no odds to his mood, i have turned the pump up and with the spray bar the water is sparkling with little bubbles. This has done the other fish the world of good i swear you can hear it laughing as it swims through the bubbles and current from the spraybar.

Sorry i'm waffling, how much should i be giving these two, they get a pinch once a day at the moment, have since we got them. Could it be that now they are fully settled he wants more food? I'm waiting on my test kit so i'm going to my LFS for a water check but i'd be surprised if thats the issue as the water change made no odds. I've done 3 50% changes this week as a precaution (50L 2ft tank) and like i said its made no difference.

 

[cynic]

Well got my water tested, and have a big nitrIte spike. There is loads of nitrAte in there and a 'barely testable' amount of amonia showing the faintest tint on the chart.

Man in LFS thinks that the new filter pump has upset the balance of oxygen causing the nitrite producers to go nuts, apparently the nitrate producers are a bit slower on the growing cycle and havent caught up yet. Does that make sense.

He felt a couple of weeks of 30%change every 2 days (50l tank) and regular testing (once the kit arrives) will see it good. He didn't try to sell me anything, just had a natter about fish. Even the water test was free, for some reason i thought it would cost a quid or so?

 

[CezzaXV]

Have you recently replaced your filter entirely?

That will have caused that, since that's where all your bacteria live.

 

[cynic]

Yep, complete pump/filter swap, left the sponge in the tank but the man in the fish shop felt the extra oxygen from the spraybar and lots of bubbles may have made things worse being a big jump from the old pump slowing up letting the oxygen level drop?

Seems right to me but then i don't know enough to dissagree.

 

[fluttermoth]

Sounds like a load of rubbish to me...the old media should have gone into the new filter, not just be left in the tank. It'll be the ammonia and nitrite building up in the tank that's making your fish feel sick. Large water changes every day until you can get your test kit and put the old media in the filter if you still have it.

I should probably say that two goldies should really have a 100/120l tank. 50l just isn't big enough.

 

[cynic]

I should probably say that two goldies should really have a 100/120l tank. 50l just isn't big enough.

For 2 fish

So the bigger tank i'm looking for being 4-5ft 12"deep with maybe 15 to 20in height will only be big enough for 2 goldfish.

 

[fluttermoth]

I should probably say that two goldies should really have a 100/120l tank. 50l just isn't big enough.

For 2 fish

Yes; like most people you've probably never been told or shown quite how large goldies are supposed to grow!

So the bigger tank i'm looking for being 4-5ft 12"deep with maybe 15 to 20in height will only be big enough for 2 goldfish.

You could keep three or four in a 48" and four or five in a 60"

 

[cynic]

I should probably say that two goldies should really have a 100/120l tank. 50l just isn't big enough.

For 2 fish

Yes; like most people you've probably never been told or shown quite how large goldies are supposed to grow!

So the bigger tank i'm looking for being 4-5ft 12"deep with maybe 15 to 20in height will only be big enough for 2 goldfish.

You could keep three or four in a 48" and four or five in a 60"

Er.........

But........

Er.........

So, but, er........

#29### me!

 

[fluttermoth]

Lol, I know, mental isn't it?!

And they are, honestly, just normal goldfish; they're not genetic freaks or koi/crucian carp hybrids or anything like that

 

[ShaedM]

i have a small oranda that is behaving like this, i have two filters in my tank, 1 is a spray bar and the other is just a water flow one, i remember it being very lively at first and now it prefers to hide in the small boat ornament in the tank but soon as it gets a whiff of anyone near the tank its up faster than you can fart! lol..but sometimes it likes to swim around and scavange what it can, think its just the way it is, some days its lively and someday he prefers a rest. What i've found with mine is that at night when everyone is asleep (i have the tank light on) he's happily swimming away minding his own business. just keep with up with the water changes and dont worry about the fish resting too much

 

[KittyKat]

Btw, if you get that 4-5 ft tank you're looking for (6 would be even better! ), you can get quite a few more fancy bodied goldfish and some other coolwater fish like weather loaches for the tank