Urgent Advice Needed

[purplemonkey]

hi all, we have just bought a couple of fish (red caps) yesterday. We have put them in a 1-2 (est) gallon tank with some pebbles and a oxygen producing plant which we got from the shop. The shop keeper said if the fish start gulping at the top of the water then they are running out of oxygen. Well they are gulping at the top of the tank, we have dropped a couple of oxygen tablets in there too now to see if maybe the plant isn't doing its job.

any body have any advice? We only got the fish yesterday afternoon, and they weren't doing this top of the tank gulping thing before the last hour.

 

[Shaun]

Hi,

If you post this in "Coldwater and ponds" then im sure your recieve some advice. However, I think you may need an air pump to provide them oxygen all the time.

 

[Piltdownpaul]

Yep i reckon youre right shaun-more air means happy fish

 

[purplemonkey]

ah ok. is there any way I can get more air in there without a pump, like can I just make some bubbles in there? and I don't mean just farting in the tank

 

[black angel]

2 gallons is way too small, you need at least 10 gallons each.
They need huge amounts of oxygen so get a bigger tank, a good sized filter and a gravel vac.

 

[Piltdownpaul]

Erm-you could introduce oxygenating plants-but the air pump is your best best and with a long stone you can make a nice air curtain that looks impressive too

 

[purplemonkey]

10 gallons each? you mean for each fish? maybe I;ve got the fish name wrong, these fellers are real small, like maybe an inch long. the tank we got them from was labeled red caps, but maybe it was mis labeled? they are white with red blotch pattens over them.

Well I can't get a pump tonight, so can i just add more tablets? would that be ok, and maybe blow into the water with a straw? wouldn't that do the same as a pump?

 

[Piltdownpaul]

That would be one hell of a blow job!!!!!!!!

 

[purplemonkey]

yes it would, maybe I should get my misses to do it?

but for the poor little fishies, should we change the water tonight? or just give it a blow job?

 

[Piltdownpaul]

If you change the water they will rapdily use up the oxygen in that too and this is the problem. Looks like you're gonna have to blow-but dont exhale into the water because thats co2 and that really isnt going to help

Cant you put the fish in an old bath or old sink for the moment so that they have a larger volume of water? Just a thought..........

 

[purplemonkey]

ok, well on the bases that we just pulled faces at each other trying to blow out with out exhaling we are going to use an upside down cup to try and oxygenate the water. will look at getting a pump tomorrow. any ideas on a quiet pump, as fishies are in the bedroom. who am I kidding, we have a small studio, the fishes are in every room

 

[Piltdownpaul]

Well i have an old cheap air pump- i dont know the make but its reasonably quiet because i have taped some foam around it -this keeps it subdued.

 

[purplemonkey]

ah good idea, right will sort this out tomorrow, hope they're still breathing in the morning

 

[starrynightxxi]

is this your fish?

definately need a larger tank. the fish you have are redcap orandas, i believe, and although they are small, it is because they are only babies and they will grow. a lot. fancy goldfish like orandas need a minimum of 10 gallons each. They can reach 7-10 inches normally but there are specimens recorded at larger

see this link

They will also need good filtration because they are very messy fish, and they will likely need an aerator to disturb the water surface more because they will use up the oxygen quickly.

Just how many of these guys do you have in that little tank? i would suggest getting a 20 gallon tank and keeping just two.



Also, try to get a positive ID on these guys if they aren't orandas. If they are common or comet goldfish (ie: feeder type goldfish) they will actually need more gallons per fish than the fancy goldies because they get larger and are more active.


[edit] just wanted to add this link to the goldfish FAQ

 

[Piltdownpaul]

Good luck-