Will My Friend Be Okay?

[Amberleaf]

All right, so, some of you may have heard this story before, maybe not; well, basically, long story short is that my friend recently set up her 10-gallon tank. She told me that she had put her goldfish, Pebbles, and a brand-new kissing gourami, Kissy, in that tank. Well, I told her to cycle it, because of what happened with my tank, but she just told me, "Oh, it didn't work out because you had female Bettas together." Well.... okay. I got kind of mad and ranted it out on this forum; thankfully, FHM was a *big* help and gave me advice. Thanks, FHM! Unfortunately, she didn't believe that she had to cycle her tank.... meh. Pretty soon, Kissy died. I asked her if it was just her goldfish in this 10-gallon, for now; and she said yes. Will just *one* goldfish be okay in a 10-gallon for its life time? They're coldwater fish, right? I should tell her *not* to add any more fish?! Because, at first, before I knew her stockings and all that suches, I *had* offered her some baby platy fish when they were born, but she just asked me if they didn't need a heater.... Meh. I'm confused; help....? ^^;

 

[aly_starh]

defos, no more fish,
As for the one remaining goldfish, ideally min is 16G for 1, thats slighly small

 

[fatheadminnow]

A goldfish should not be in a 10 gallon tank. They should be in at least a 20 gallon tank, if not 30 gallon per 1 goldfish, and an additional 10 gallons of tank for any more goldfish added. So, is she has 2 goldfish, she should have 40 gallons to house them. These goldfish can get up near 2 feet long and live for an incredible long time.

Oh yeah, if her tank is not cycled yet, she should not expect her fish to last long. I cannot believe after loosing fish now, she will still not take your advice! argh!

-FHM

 

[JustFrozen]

Unfortunately, she didn't believe that she had to cycle her tank.... meh. Pretty soon, Kissy died. I asked her if it was just her goldfish in this 10-gallon, for now; and she said yes. Will just *one* goldfish be okay in a 10-gallon for its life time? They're coldwater fish, right? I should tell her *not* to add any more fish?!

If she's not going to do water changes for a fish-in cycle, then 1 fish - of any kind - is too much. The type of fish is only problem #2

 

[Honeythorn]

A fancy goldfish is supposed to grow to approximately the size of a tennis ball in the body. The biggest fancy goldfish alive today is 17 inches long ( yes long) and is called Bruce So that gives you an idea of how big they grow. A fancy needs 40 gallons for one when it's an adult. And it's actually easier and costs a lot less time and hassle to upgrade to a 40 gallon straight away rather than keep spending money and wasting time contiinuously upgrading and buying slightly bigger tanks.

If the goldfish is of the normal bodied variety, like a comet or an orfe or Shubunkin, then she will need a tank of 55 gallons + or a pond for one. They grow well in excess of 12 inches long and are much more active and better swimmers than fancies, so they need even more room and length in a tank. A large pond is kindest for this type of goldfish really as they are big active fish.


Above all they are very messy and produce masses of waste. They eat a lot and poo a lot, and no filter than fits a ten gallon tank will be able to cope with what a goldfish will produce. An external filter and big weekly water changes are needed to keep them in top health .

So basically she needs a 40-55 gallon tank or bigger, with an external filter. These fish also have a lifespan of well over 20 years when kept properly .


If she hasn't the space for such a steup, then she really needs to return the goldfish asap, get a heater and go tropical. There are plenty of options for a ten gallon tank and heaters don't cost the earth.

If she can upgrade to a 20 gallon tropical,then a good fish for her to try if she likes the look of goldfish, is Gold barbs. They have a fairly similar body shape, only grow to a couple of inches and can be kept in groups ( 5-8 will be fine in a 20 gallon ) . Their gold colouration with a few black splotches make them similar enough to goldfish to have the same visual effect, and they are entertaining and active fish that will not grow huge or require the heavy filtration that goldfish need.

Oh, and If the goldfish has been in the tank more than a month then the filter will be cycled by now.

 

[Amberleaf]

She doesn't want to buy a heater. I guess she thinks that heaters really do cost the Earth. :roll:

XD I hope not!!!! She just doesn't want to have a heater, for whatever reasons~ She doesn't want to learn; that is her problem. She refused to believe it when I told her Bettas need *at least* 2.5-gallons of space (preferably 5 ) and that they need heaters.... DX She kept her Bettas in tiny little bowls no bigger than one gallon each, with no filters (not even Pebbles, her goldfish!!!! ), and with just the fish, gravel, and the water; no plants or *ANYTHINGS*, and no heatres..... She thought that they were coldwater fish!!!! DX

Well, sorry for ranting. ^^; My water tests have been sitting there for *much* longer than 5 mins, and I need to know the results.

 

[OldMan47]

There are plenty of fish smaller than a goldfish that can do well without a heater too. I have a heater in only about half of my tanks but do not have even one goldfish.

 

[Honeythorn]

Amber, sad as it is if she doesn't want to learn or listen she won't. The fish will suffer and it's hard to watch but she will have to learn the hard way. And when she comes running and saying" why hasn't it worked? " then you can say with all honesty " I told you so".

 

[OldMan47]

I am sorry Honeythorn, but I get very little consolation from doing what you suggest. I would much rather get the OP involved in a real give and take of information. In the long run, a good exchange of information is the best of all worlds.

 

[Oscar Betta]

How big is the goldfish?

 

[Honeythorn]

I am sorry Honeythorn, but I get very little consolation from doing what you suggest. I would much rather get the OP involved in a real give and take of information. In the long run, a good exchange of information is the best of all worlds.

At the end of the day there are only so many times you can badger at someone to do things the correct way before they look at you, shake their head and say " I think it looks fine I'm going to carry on as I am " . If her friend refuses to listen and will not take the advice then pestering constantly will only make her more determined to carry on keeping the fish badly.

If the goldfish are still very small then a pair swimming around in a ten gallon may look fine to those not in the know. Her friend seems to be one of these people going by what's been said so far. If that is the case and the fish are still small, then her friend is less likely to believe that these fish grow into a large and active commitment that reqires a lot of space and dilligent care, espescially if she has kept goldfish before and had them die (probably due to incorrect care and tiny tank size) before they've had a chance to grow into full sized adults.

This seems to be a common thing with many goldfish owners who go by shop reccomendations and past "experience" . They get a bowl or small tank, get a goldfish, it lives for a few months, maybe even a few short years, it's growth is stunted because of the small tank size . Naturally if all these people have ever seen is a small stunted goldfish living in a bowl and think this is a normal size and way of keeping them, then they are not going to be entirely likely to believe you when you say "hey you're doing that wrong, these are the facts "


Unless the OP can find some place that keeps their goldfish correctly in a very large tank or pond, and shows the large healthy fish to her friend, then the chances of her friend taking the advice are not great.

I hate to see a fish suffer as much as anyone else, and goldfish being kept incorrectly in tiny tanks ( along with bettas ) are among my greatest blood boiling situations to observe. But if the owner refuses to listen, sometimes you have to let them get on with it. You have to let them fail and then , when you say I told you so, you can again show them the correct way of doing things, yet again try to help them and sometimes their failure can make them more open to suggestions. The thought of " well it didn't work, she said it wouldn't, I wonder if trying the way she say's will work after all " can often work far better than endless badgering to do things differently.


Look at the quote:

She doesn't want to learn; that is her problem. unsure.gif She refused to believe it when I told her Bettas need *at least* 2.5-gallons of space (preferably 5 good.gif ) and that they need heaters....

Someone like that is not going to listen to endless pleas to do things right. She doesn't want to admit she's doing things wrong. As horrible as things are ( and they will get worse) her friend needs to fail before she will see sense.