New And Need Advice

[alien-planet]

Hi guys and girls in new to this forum and new to fish i recently bought myself a cheap starter kit fish tank if holds about 13 ltrs i think its 30cm, 24cm, 18cm in diamiture. It comes complete with cheap filter and fish net. The tank itself is a nice decent tank with black trim on top i asked my GF to by two gold fish but ends up buying four instead the tank i think is only big enough for two but four gold fish looks fine atm i want advice about keeping tank clean, feeds, filter to buy etc.. Cheers

 

[LyraGuppi]

Welcome!
Excuse me if I am wrong, but 13 liters is roundabout 4 gallons?
Here are some questions:
1. How big are the goldfish?
2. What kind of goldfish do you have? (If ya don't know, here is a link to some common breeds: http/www.goldfish-as-pets.com/types_of_goldfish.html)
3. What kind of filter do you already have?
4. Do you have a floor in your tank? (e: Sand, gravel, beads)
5. Did you cycle the tank? (Sorry about the bold, needed to emphasize)
6. Do you have plants/decor?
 
Water changes and siphoning are good ways to keep your tank clean. You can do a 25% water change every week to remove icky water and ammonia and siphon the bottom of the tank to take out poo and food. You can get a siphon online or in a store; they aren't hard to find.
General Care Sheet:
http/www.fishchannel.com/fish-species/freshwater-profiles/goldfish-2.aspx
 
Tetra foods are great, but if you find bloodworms or brine shrimp your fish will love you!
I'll add more soon.

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

Welcome aboard! :

 

[Ninjouzata]

to TFF! Hope you enjoy it here.
 
Unfortunately your tank is much too small for any goldfish. Even the smallest ones (fancies) get 8-12", requiring a tank of 20g for the first & 10g for each additional.
If you've got commons, they're best off in a pond or 75g+ tank.
 
I'd return them ASAP and do a fishless cycle, following THIS article.
HERE are some ammonia sources, and you'll want to pick up a liquid test kit.
 
There is not much suitable to that size tank, usually a betta or some shrimp.
 
Sorry for coming off negatively, just want what is best for your fish, and it's best for you to know about this now rather than later.

 

[Ch4rlie]

This may help a little, some information raging goldfish.
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/417799-goldfish-for-beginners/
 
And at 13 litres / 3.4 gallons, this is a pretty small tank, suitable for perhaps a Betta Splenden, or a Red Cherry Shrimps and snail tank.
 
Sorry, if this is not what you'd like to hear but am afraid these goldfish you have are simply not going to be happy in such a small tank.
 
I'd recommend either to rehome these goldfish and get the tank cycled as Ninjouzata linked for you and stock with either a Betta tank or as a Shrimps and Snail tank, both of these are enjoyable little set ups to have.
 
By the way, if you DO go with these recommendations, you will need a small heater in that tank too as bettas and shrimps are tropical species meaning they need warmer waters than goldfish needs.
 
Better you know this now rather than when goldfish are stunted and suffering, we all learn from this sort of thing.
 
Do let us now how you get on and if you have any further questions air need advice, just post a question and we'll help out.

 

[alien-planet]

Hi there thank you all for reply in regards to your questions i try answer much as i can below:

i have four fish in total in two different kinds 2 of them are Oranda fish and the other 2 is either a common or a comet goldfish not sure what kind as both look very similar but i would guess there comet because both has orange / white tails.

the pump i have is a basic cheap air pump only i do not believe it cleans the tank as it starts to get musty looking next day even when cleaned the water.

the fish are small about 2" in size all four of them.

the ground is gravel and the plants are plastic not the real things.

i only wanted 2 fish but as i state GF was stupid getting 4, i do not want to look bad owner hence why i am here looking for answers to knowledge on this. I have read abit about fish and how to do water change etc.... But i want to start with the basics so im starting of with gold fish. So alot of advice would be great.

i will be getting a.large tank maybe build my own but that will be another story for another day as i.got to get right glass size etc..

Welcome!Excuse me if I am wrong, but 13 liters is roundabout 4 gallons?Here are some questions:1. How big are the goldfish?2. What kind of goldfish do you have? (If ya don't know, here is a link to some common breeds: http/www.goldfish-as-pets.com/types_of_goldfish.html)3. What kind of filter do you already have?4. Do you have a floor in your tank? (e: Sand, gravel, beads)5. Did you cycle the tank? (Sorry about the bold, needed to emphasize)6. Do you have plants/decor? Water changes and siphoning are good ways to keep your tank clean. You can do a 25% water change every week to remove icky water and ammonia and siphon the bottom of the tank to take out poo and food. You can get a siphon online or in a store; they aren't hard to find.General Care Sheet:http/www.fishchannel.com/fish-species/freshwater-profiles/goldfish-2.aspx Tetra foods are great, but if you find bloodworms or brine shrimp your fish will love you!I'll add more soon.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'd return all of them, since none of them are suitable for this size tank, for any length of time, IMO.
 
The orandas you could keep in a 30g (20g for 1st 10g for each additional), and the other 2 you'll want a pond or 75g+ tank.
 
Goldfish are really not good starting fish due to how large they get and how messy they are, they need lots of maintenance.
 
I'd take them back, fish-less cycle the tank following the article at the top of the page (Cycling a Tank), and get a betta.
You'll need a heater of course, and there is a nice article at the top for care on them too.

 

[alien-planet]

Thank you for the advice i will take it onboard i will get a bigger tank ofcourse maybe 100ltrs i plan on keeping the comets and plan on handing back the orandas or.give.them to a neighbour.

in regards to the tank size i believe the bigger the tank the better as i want them comets to grow massive, but i recently read on many places on internet that gold fish will only grow a certain size depending on the size of the tank is this true ? I have a family friend who has a gold fish and they had ot for 9 yrz its in a much smaller tank then one i got. I am wanting to move onto getting saltwater fish and other ones later on depending on how well o get on with these comets.

i will post pictures soon to show you setup of my new tank etc .. Soon and i want.good honest advice about it by everyone here.

 

[Ninjouzata]

You're welcome but are you misreading what I've written? I mean gallons, not liters. I can google convert them for you if you'd like.
 
The growing to the size of the tank is called stunting. It will significantly lower their lifespan, and be painful for them.

 

[noobgamers]

Welcome!
Excuse me if I am wrong, but 13 liters is roundabout 4 gallons?
Here are some questions:
1. How big are the goldfish?
2. What kind of goldfish do you have? (If ya don't know, here is a link to some common breeds: http/www.goldfish-as-pets.com/types_of_goldfish.html)
3. What kind of filter do you already have?
4. Do you have a floor in your tank? (e: Sand, gravel, beads)
5. Did you cycle the tank? (Sorry about the bold, needed to emphasize)
6. Do you have plants/decor?
 
Water changes and siphoning are good ways to keep your tank clean. You can do a 25% water change every week to remove icky water and ammonia and siphon the bottom of the tank to take out poo and food. You can get a siphon online or in a store; they aren't hard to find.
General Care Sheet:
http/www.fishchannel.com/fish-species/freshwater-profiles/goldfish-2.aspx
 
Tetra foods are great, but if you find bloodworms or brine shrimp your fish will love you!
I'll add more soon.

13 litres is just under 3 gallons uk jus over 3 us

 

[alien-planet]

Sorry if you are working out litres to gallons or gallons to litres for me i live in UK hopefully this helps you on this subject .... UK we use mainly litres as our primary of working ot out.

 

[Ninjouzata]

It is no problem for me to google convert it, I just wanted to check if you'd like me to do that as I felt there was some miscommunication, since 100l is not suitable for comets at all.
 
So, 20g (76l) for the first fancy goldfish (ones like oranda) and 10g (38l) for each additional. So you'd want 113l just for your two orandas.
Comets are 75g (284l) although some would argue even this is too small, they really should be kept in ponds.
 
Fancies, such as the oranda, can get 8-12" (20-31cm)
Comets can get 1.5ft+ (46cm+)
 
Hope that helps/makes more sense.
 
Am not trying to be rude or harp on you or anything, just really want to emphasize the size tanks they require.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Comets aren't really suited for tanks... they are best in ponds.  Sorry.  100 liters is just FAR too small.  100 gallons isn't much better.

 

[fishman2014]

welcome to the forum