New here and new to fish: Any ideas?

[FishFinatic77]

The only fish that should be going in a 5 gallon tank is a betta. That tank is way too small for any of the fish you have so you should either rehome all of them or get a bigger tank. There is a $1 per gallon sale going on at petco right now so a new tank would not cost too much.

I don't think your method of only cleaning half of the tank at once is very good. Because you are only picking up half of the waste, the other half of the tank has two weeks worth of waste by the time you clean it. This coukd very well be adding to your problems.

You have to rehome the goldfish. It is just that simple. First of all, goldfish are cold water fish and are not happy in tropical temps. Second of all, they produce a lot of waste and he will cause a lot of trouble in your already way overstocked tank. Finally, loke everyone else has said, he is going to grow HUGE and will not ba able to live in a tank. He needs a pond to be happy. I know rehoming a pet you like is hard, but he will be so much happier and in the end we all want what is best for our fish.

 

[seangee]

Several of my goldfish are now over 24". They are also very messy fish (in a biological sense) so will turn the water in a small tank bad within minutes.

Also goldfish are coldwater fish and those glofish aren't. Finally goldfish will eat anything that fits in their mouths. Your danios are only a few moths off becoming fish food.

 

[FishGuest5123]

It's not "if" he keeps growing. If he's healthy he'll grow. If his tank is too small you may not see the growth but his internal organs keep growing. So he needs a lot more room, sooner not later.

You are following @Colin_T advice? He’s smart and that’s fine. Colin, please explain to OP that comet needs to go to a pond. OP only wants to follow your advice. Thanks so much.

 

[FishGuest5123]

It's not "if" he keeps growing. If he's healthy he'll grow. If his tank is too small you may not see the growth but his internal organs keep growing. So he needs a lot more room, sooner not later.

80F is way too warm for a goldfish.

 

[Colin_T]

The way you are cleaning the tank is fine. If you could gravel clean more of the substrate each time that would be better. However, the syphon hose might be taking out water too quickly for this. If the water is draining out too quickly, you can try kinking the hose a bit to slow the flow rate. This should give you more time to gravel clean more substrate. But even doing half one week and half the next week is fine, if that's the best you can do.

You are following @Colin_T advice? He’s smart and that’s fine. Colin, please explain to OP that comet needs to go to a pond. OP only wants to follow your advice. Thanks so much.

Throw it back on me why don't you

I'm going to upset a lot of people here. Goldfish are bred in the tropics and even though they originated from cold water, they actually do quite well in tropical tanks. The fancy varieties (fantails, moors, pearlscales, etc) all do better in water with a temperature above 15C (60F). They will quite happily live in water that is 28-30C all year round. We have goldfish in lots of rivers around Australia and the water temperature can vary from 5C to 30C+.

However, Goldfish do require a bit of space and you should look at getting a bigger home for the fish some time in the near future. The fish appears to be small currently but it will grow and will need more space.

 

[JMuth]

I did a water test tonight and everything was much much better! To start with the water was crystal clear instead of the milky and opaque way it had been looking. Temp and PH stayed consistent, but ammonia and nitrites were at 0ppm! Nitrates were running a little high at 40ppm, so I went a head and did a light vacuum and water swap of close to 50%. Hopefully this is the beginning of it stabilizing.

I’m expecting that I will probably have to be vacuuming and swapping at least 50% of the water at least twice a week until I can get a bigger tank. Will this make the conditions at least bearable for the fish until I can get a bigger tank? On that note, would 55-65 gallons be sufficient to add the additional school fish and buy me a few months to look into making my own pond or rehoming the goldfish to someone that has ponds? Also, does anyone know of someone that keeps ponds in the Texas hill country?

The only fish that should be going in a 5 gallon tank is a betta. That tank is way too small for any of the fish you have so you should either rehome all of them or get a bigger tank.

I agree that it’s too small, which is why I am trying to find a big enough tank (advice on size would be much apriciated). Just please keep in mind, I’m dealing with a lot of issue that I inherited from the original owner. I would never have picked a 5 gal for these fish, but I have no tanks other than the one he gave me.

I don't think your method of only cleaning half of the tank at once is very good. Because you are only picking up half of the waste, the other half of the tank has two weeks worth of waste by the time you clean it. This coukd very well be adding to your problems.

Good to know. Would it be better to vacuum half, refill with new water, vacuum other half, fill up another 50% of the water once a week, or should I do half vacuuming twice a week (or more often?).

You are following @Colin_T advice? He’s smart and that’s fine. Colin, please explain to OP that comet needs to go to a pond. OP only wants to follow your advice. Thanks so much.

It’s not that I am against anyone else’s advice, its just that he’s the only one that’s offered something that is immediately actionable to improve my fish’s lives . The only other advice I’ve been given is just to rehome or to get a bigger tank, which while true and good I can’t exactly just do those immediately.

The way you are cleaning the tank is fine. If you could gravel clean more of the substrate each time that would be better. However, the syphon hose might be taking out water too quickly for this. If the water is draining out too quickly, you can try kinking the hose a bit to slow the flow rate. This should give you more time to gravel clean more substrate. But even doing half one week and half the next week is fine, if that's the best you can do.

You hit the nail on the head! Trying to do a thorough, but quick job vacuuming I will get down to 4-5 inches of water above the gravel by the time I finish half. I can try slowing the rate though! I think the strong siphon is helpful for now because there is a ton of gunk deep in there from the previous owner never vacuuming, but after its all a bit cleaner I think weaker will be fine.

However, Goldfish do require a bit of space and you should look at getting a bigger home for the fish some time in the near future. The fish appears to be small currently but it will grow and will need more space.

Yep, I’m looking at bigger tanks right now, currently trying to decide between used (local pickup) or brand new (in-store or amazon). Either way driving to the nearest major city is around 1.5 hours. Any suggestions for a good tank?

 

[FishGuest5123]

A common or comet goldfish needs 100 gallons. I hate to even have to say that. I admire you for trying to help him.

 

[Colin_T]

Any suggestions for a good tank?

Large plastic storage container or above ground pond.