Please help: How to keep clean water in tank and other problems :((

[DIK The Shadow]

Hi!
I'm new in this hobby and need help... I have 21 lit. tank and 6 goldfish.
First, I cleaned tank, than put plants and sand in...
After that, i put water and fish... After 10 days, water is not clean as
before, and is getting worse...
3 Days before I get 2 fish from friend and one of them wont eat anything.
She has white edges of gills and looks like something is wrong with her...
She just running out of other fish... I tryed with friends food, but with no
results for her... others are ok...
So,
- What to do with food for that fish?
- Is she sick?
- Why water is not clear?
- How to dechloriate water?
- Why water in tank smells bad?
- How to measure quality of water (pH and stuff)
- Why I'm not buy a cat? :)))

Please, give me some advice...

P.S. Filter is with sponge and total no. of goldfish is 6 :))))

Best regards,

/DIK

[Billy]

"DIK The Shadow" > wrote in message
...
| Hi!
| I'm new in this hobby and need help... I have 21 lit. tank and 6
goldfish.


Well, first off, 21 liters is seriously WAY too small for 6 goldfish.
That might be enough room *temporarily* for one or maybe 2 comet
goldies, given adequate filtration. There is no way you are going to
keep all 6 of those fish alive for long in that tiny tank. Goldies
are poop machines, creating a huge amount of waste for their size.
Six goldfish should be in a 35-55 gallon tank, in my opinion.
Goldfish, at least the vast majority of varieties, get BIG!!! The
story that fish will not outgrow a tank is a misleading half-truth,
at best. They won't outgrow it, but it's because they'll die before
they do so. Imagine having to spend your whole life in the carseat
your mom put you in as a child. <g>

Since you're new to the hobby, I'll give you some reading on some
basics. Pay particular attention to the "Nitrogen Cycle". The
nitrogen cycle is the bacterial processing of fish waste.

Start here: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin.html
This especially: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html#cycle

In years past, it was beloved that an aquarium was simply a tank
filled with water. Technological and scientific discovery has
revealed that it's just not that easy. Filtration consists of three
parts, mechanical, chemical and biological. Of the three, biological
is the most important. Stress this in your studies.
Please check into these, and be sure to post back right away if
you need clarification.
In the mean time, in order to keep those fish alive, you're going
to have to do water changes to keep the poisons like ammonia at a
minimum. Using water treated for chlorine and chloramines, (you can
buy products that do this at the pet shop) and matched for temp as
close as possible, change perhaps a gallon at a time (about 4
liters). Remove the old water and dispose of it. Add the new, treated
water. This will remove some of the poisons, and dilute the
remainder, while leaving enough old water to minimize stress to the
fish. You're going to need to do this daily, perhaps twice a day,
give the horribly small quarters they're in.

Again, post back!!!

billy
vincent dot packerfan at gmail dot com

[Starfish]

DUDE
get a bigger tank...your killing your fish!
"DIK The Shadow" > wrote in message
...
> Hi!
> I'm new in this hobby and need help... I have 21 lit. tank and 6
> goldfish.
> First, I cleaned tank, than put plants and sand in...
> After that, i put water and fish... After 10 days, water is not clean as
> before, and is getting worse...
> 3 Days before I get 2 fish from friend and one of them wont eat anything.
> She has white edges of gills and looks like something is wrong with her...
> She just running out of other fish... I tryed with friends food, but with
> no
> results for her... others are ok...
> So,
> - What to do with food for that fish?
> - Is she sick?
> - Why water is not clear?
> - How to dechloriate water?
> - Why water in tank smells bad?
> - How to measure quality of water (pH and stuff)
> - Why I'm not buy a cat? :)))
>
> Please, give me some advice...
>
> P.S. Filter is with sponge and total no. of goldfish is 6 :))))
>
> Best regards,
>
> /DIK
>
>

[Tom Randy]

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 04:04:54 +0100, DIK The Shadow wrote:

> Hi!
> I'm new in this hobby and need help... I have 21 lit. tank and 6 goldfish.
> First, I cleaned tank, than put plants and sand in...
> After that, i put water and fish... After 10 days, water is not clean as
> before, and is getting worse...
> 3 Days before I get 2 fish from friend and one of them wont eat anything.
> She has white edges of gills and looks like something is wrong with her...
> She just running out of other fish... I tryed with friends food, but with no
> results for her... others are ok...
> So,
> - What to do with food for that fish?
> - Is she sick?
> - Why water is not clear?
> - How to dechloriate water?
> - Why water in tank smells bad?
> - How to measure quality of water (pH and stuff)
> - Why I'm not buy a cat? :)))
>
> Please, give me some advice...
>
> P.S. Filter is with sponge and total no. of goldfish is 6 :))))
>
> Best regards,
>
> /DIK



1) The tank is WAY too small

2) you didn't cycle the tank.

3) buy ammonia, nitrite and nitrAte tests kits. You want 0 ammonia and
nitrite and 20 or so nitrAtes.

4) your killing your fish. Do some homework first and read up on the
subject on the net.

[Benign Vanilla]

"Billy" > wrote in message
...
<snip>
> Since you're new to the hobby, I'll give you some reading on some
> basics. Pay particular attention to the "Nitrogen Cycle". The
> nitrogen cycle is the bacterial processing of fish waste.
>
> Start here: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin.html
> This especially: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html#cycle

Here is another great article on ammonia,
http://www.iheartmypond.com/topic.asp?article=99735.

<snip>

Bv.

[IDzine01]

I would recommend an even larger tank then Billy suggested. The general
rule of thumb for goldfish is 10 gal per fish (38 ltrs) So, with just
the goldfish, you'll need 230 ltrs.

Dechlorinating water is HUGELY important. Chlorine and chloramines can
kill some fish within hours. (or so I hear) You'll need to immediately
go to your local fish store and buy some conditioners. Ask for
something that neutralizes chlorine, chloramines and heavy metals. In
the U.S. I recommend Kordon's AmQuel and NovAqua together or Prime. I
don't know if they sell those where you are, but they are both quite
good.

Why you are there you'll need to pick up some test kits. These are
standard kits every fish owner needs and should not be considered an
optional investment. [Lots of new aquariests like to convince
themselves they don't need to test their water ;-) ]

You'll need:
pH
ammonia (salacylate test kit, comes with two reagent bottles instead of
one)
nitrite
nitrate
kh (carbonate hardness AKA buffering capacity)
gh (general hardness)

These are the basics. I don't keep goldfish, so if anyone knows of
other test kits necessary for goldies, do tell.

Oh, the cat question... I say cats are much easier then fish.
Welcome to the hobby... er should I say lifestyle? :-D

[DIK The Shadow]

Thanx to all u guys! You're realy help me, and problem is solved...

/DIK