What Is Wrong Here?

[aquaticfruit18992]

My best friend just got two new tanks that are not quite a gallon. The problem, in one she has a goldfish and two rosey red feeders and in the other she has an approximately four inch dragonfish. Now I know very little about fish but somethings wrong here. Let's go through her schedule, okay? She got the goldfish in August, and the first red in January. At that time they were kept in separate tanks. Then last week she got another red and the dragonfish. The reds went in with the goldfish and the dragonfish is sharing it's tank with an unhappy minnow. They've got a symbiotic relationship going here, see, the dragonfish could easily devour the minnow but the minnow brings the dragonfish food. I've seen it and it's really quite amazing. Anywho, every two to three weeks she does a complete water change and puts the fizzy tablet thingys in for the goldfish and aquarium salt with the bio stuff to neutralize stuff for the dragonfish. I don't know the specifics but I do know her mom won't let her get a bigger tank or anything because she thinks she's not responsible enough. Lets not kid ourselves, she's managed to keep alive four fish in those tiny tanks for a while now. That is either pure luck or she's got some mad fish longevity skills. The other thing her mom opposes is that with the heater, filters, and chemicals it will cost too much. Now I say she had better find out if she can meet all the fishes care requirements, but I also know that after many a weekend spent looking for those big fish tanks and filters and heaters that it is definitly easier said than done. (P.S. the ones in the store are insanely over priced so if that was one of your suggestions I'm gonna have to shoot it down now). But I would really appreciate it if anybody had any other suggestions.

 

[Dany]

Hi.
Most deffinatly get both fish into a bigger tank. Your friend is going to basically kill the fish slowly over a period of several months. GEt a 20 gallon minimum for the goldfish and by dragon fish, are you referring to the dragon goby?
Both fish require a larger tank, the goby - a 55 gallon minimum with slightly brackish environnment with a sand substrate, low lighting and few regulary with algea containg food substances. Both will require a filtration system and lighting, The dragon goby will also require brackish conditions which i have mentioned previously. These fish cannot be kept together. If you cannot aquire these tanks, take the fish back to your local aquarium dealer.

When a fish is placed into a tank where it cannot reach its adult potential size, its skelaton structure will stop growing, however, the internal organs will still continue to grow, putting pressure on the skelaton. your fish will slowly die over a period of months.Please research your topic well before dedicating to keep a pet. Please upgrade your tanks or take tkhem back to your local Aquatic dealer
Dan.

p.s NEVER do a compleat water change...
Please copy/paste this information to your friend and I will very grateful.

 

[mommyof2bettas]

Hi.
Most deffinatly get both fish into a bigger tank. Your friend is going to basically kill the fish slowly over a period of several months. GEt a 20 gallon minimum for the goldfish and by dragon fish, are you referring to the dragon goby?
Both fish require a larger tank, the goby - a 55 gallon minimum with slightly brackish environnment with a sand substrate, low lighting and few regulary with algea containg food substances. Both will require a filtration system and lighting, The dragon goby will also require brackish conditions which i have mentioned previously. These fish cannot be kept together. If you cannot aquire these tanks, take the fish back to your local aquarium dealer.

When a fish is placed into a tank where it cannot reach its adult potential size, its skelaton structure will stop growing, however, the internal organs will still continue to grow, putting pressure on the skelaton. your fish will slowly die over a period of months.Please research your topic well before dedicating to keep a pet. Please upgrade your tanks or take tkhem back to your local Aquatic dealer
Dan.

p.s NEVER do a compleat water change...
Please copy/paste this information to your friend and I will very grateful.

I completley agree with this, and as I'm too lazy to write something like it all over, I'll just quote it

 

[rdd1952]

They definitely won't make it much longer. The only reason the goldfish are still alive is that they are the most hardy fish I know of. I can't speak for the dragon fish but it probably is less hardy than the goldfish and will go quicker. There are numerous problems at work.

First, as already mentioned, they need much larger quarters. A single goldfish should be in a minimum of 20 gallons with each additional fish needing an additional 20 gallons. Goldfish can live for 20 to 30 years in a proper aquarium and up to 50 years in a pond. In the bowls though, their lives would normally be shortened by the small quarters and stunted growth. That will not be the cause of their death though.

The second problem is ammonia. That will be what does them in. In a filtered tank, nitrifying bacteria colonize to process ammonia (fish waste and very toxic) and remove it from the tank. It is transformed into nitrite (also very toxic) and a different bacteria transforms nitrite into nitrate which we remove by doing weekly water changes. That is called the cycling process. In an uncycled tank, there are no bacteria to process the ammonia so it continues to build. I imagine that with the 3 messy fish in the one tank, in just one day the ammonia level is high enough to kill most any other fish. As I said, goldfish are very hardy.

The third problem is directly related to the second one. As I stated, the ammonia after just one day will be at a toxic level and she isn't doing water changes but every 2 to 3 weeks. In an unfiltered tank that is that much overstocked, the water needs to be changed 100% every day. I know Dany said to never do a 100% WC but in her situation it is must as there is no other way to control the ammonia.

The best thing she can do is return the fish if possible or give them to someone who can properly house them. Otherwise, they are on death row but instead of a quick death, it will be slow and painful. The only fish even remotely suited for the bowls would be a betta and even they need more room and also a filter and preferably a heater.

And what's sad is that this is as much the fish stores fault as it is her's. She should have researched it before hand but they should know better than t sell them to her. Unfortunately, they only look at as money in the register. And when those fish die, they figure she'll be back with more money for more fish.