Just bought goldfish

[rickyram56]

Hi,

I'm new with fish and I need some help. I bought 2 goldfish last week and it's time to do my first water change. How much water should I remove from the tank? (10 gallon tank) Also how would I be able to clean the gravel with the fish and water inside?

Is there anything I should know about caring for goldfish?

Thanks

 

[Tempestuousfury]

to the forum. Introduce yourself in the newbie section.

Goldfish are easy fish to care for, but they need cool temperatures and good filtration. It is hard to get that in a ten gallon tank. You need temp at around 65F. Aeration, by means of an air pump and airstone.

Filtration: The filter media should have biologicla and mechanical fiiltration (biological would be any place for bacteria to culture) and mechanical being large particles. Chemical filtration (carbon) can also be used, though is not at all necessary and might actually be considered a waste of money.

You can clean the tank and gravel with a siphon. you can get this from your lfs (local fish store). Also get a 3-5 gallon bucket. The instructions are rather clear on the packaging, most of the time. Ask q's on this in the beginners section if you have problems. You also need dechlorinator for the new water. When vacuuming, make sure you get at much of the gravel as you can because feces can really pollute the tank (goldfish feces that is).

You should also invest in a water tets kit.

You can get ots of help in the beginners section. There are pinned articles there that are very useful for poeple who are just starting out.

 

[The-Wolf]

I'll just add that due to the amount of waste created by the fish you need 20 gallons for the first fish and 10 gallons for each additional fish I.E. in your case you need a 30 gallon tank.

 

[Cat]

They might only be little fish.
Just buy a gravel cleaner and when you replace the water use a dechlorinator.When the fish get big it would be better to get a bigger tank or build a pond .
You could put tropical in your tank then.
And to the forum.

 

[bribones]

10 gallons is fine for now but as cat says youl need a bigger tank as they grow,
id go for a undergravel filter,this draws all the rubbish to below the gravel
the easy way to clean the tank and do the 1/3 water change (which was your question) is to stick a hose in the uplift tube of the filter and syphon off the derbis (note dont swallow) allow 1/3 to drain then top up to the original level with dechlorinated water

the undergravel filter will serve as airiation circulation and filter all in one ,if you can afford one buy a small fluval 1 or similar filter to polish the water(remove small bits)