Please Help I'm new to fish Keeping

[captaincrash4]

Hi everone, I have a 56 litre tank with a rena filter and I have 2 coldwater comet goldfish. My problem is that both fish seem to be swimming up to the surface staying there for a few seconds and going back down.I've read up and my tank dimensions are 2 feet long by 1 foot and I was told that this was enough for about 4+ fish but if I am right they are coming up for air??i am gonna buy an air pump and air stone but when they are not at the surface they seem happy enough and are feeding fine too.Any sugestions on why they might be coming up and down?

any help would be great!!

Thanks

Alan

 

[The-Wolf]

to the forums
before trying to answer your question, I'm confused a 2ft x 1ft tank is in no way 56 gallons are you talking about two different tanks?

 

[captaincrash4]

Hi there i'm sorry i ment litres

Thanks

Alan

 

[The-Wolf]

ok 56 litres is around 14 US gallons
I'm sorry to say that you are overstocked as goldfish need 20 gallons for the first fish and 10 for each additional fish.
the reason for this is goldfish produce a huge amount of ammoina in their waste.
ammonia is the number one killer of fish in aquariums.
with the information you have supplied, I suspect that your fish are suffering from ammoina poisioning.
change 50 to 75% of the water now.
you will proberbly have to do a 50% water change twice a week for the forseeable future.
In the long run you will need a larger tank (30 gallons at least, for the two you currently have).
What kind of filtration are you running?
more filtration is better for two goldfish, is an external cannister in your budget?
also you really should have a water test kit to hand, these are not that expensive
you should check your ammonia levels every day.
I HTH (hope that helps)

 

[captaincrash4]

Hi thanks for your information.I just looked at the booklet that I got with my tank and it say for a 50-90 litre tank it can house 4 goldfish or 6 fancy goldfish and it has other fish too.is there anything else it could be as i have read else where that my tank could store them no problem.

If you can help I would be grateful

thanks

Alan

 

[The-Wolf]

for a 50-90 litre tank it can house 4 goldfish or 6 fancy goldfish

oh dear oh dear

I really hope that one day these kind of booklets will be outlawed.

ok as I have stated goldfish produce a very large amount of ammonia
also you may wish to consider this
common goldfish can reach 24" in length and they can live for over 30 years.
can you imagine a 24" goldfish in your tank?
fancy goldfish can reach 14" in length and live for 20+years

here is a pic of a large fancy goldfish, just to give you some kind of perspective.

you are welcome to get a second oppinion on what I have told you, but I'm sure you will find I'm giving the correct info.
I hope you and your fish enjoy a long relationship.

 

[black angel]

For what it's worth i second what the wolf has said.

 

[bribones]

as a rule 1" of fish for every 12 sq. in.of surface so you have space for 2 x1 inch fish
or
one inch of fish for every three or more gallons of water so we round yours up to 15 gallons to be kind divide by 3=5 inches of fish

the above are just guidelines but if you expect the fish to grow and be healthy they need more space comets are fast swimmers and unlike other fancys there insides arnt compressed

as has been stated many times on this forum dealers will lie in order to get your money fine they tell the truth to an extent like hey you can keep 6 fish in there but what happens when the 6 1" fish you just bought reach 2 " its not a question of what works from the outset but whats going to work longterm to maintain the health of the fish

personaly i think any fish kept in a tank is wrong and cross breeding types just to make them look good is even worse i maintain a 6ft tank for emergencys but all my fish are kept in a pond which is the natural enviorment for them , i started with a tank in fact i had 5 or 6 on the go once but soon realised the fish soon outgrow them,i know very few people who encounter health problems with pond fish and many people who cant say the same for fish kept in a tank

rant over buy a bigger tank or better still build a pond