Tank water cleanliness

[Ben Rum]

I've recently purchansed a tinly little 11 litre (about 2.5 Gallon I think)
tank for 2 goldfish. It came with a little filter which obviously isn't
doing a great job as the water gets cloudy after about 3 days, after a week
it's quite murky - still see through, but not pleasant to look at!

I understand that 2 fish may be too much for 11 litres, so is there anything
I can do to keep their environment a bit cleaner?

I feed them 3 times a day, and generally not more than they would eat over a
3 min period (as per several web searches have suggested)
I also refresh about 10-20 percent of the water in a week, however this
doesn't help enough.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, as I want to keep the two fellas
happy!

[carlrs]

Generally a cloudy tank indicates a bacterial bloom, which can be
difficult to remedy in a small aquarium. (uv sterilization would take
care of it, but it is not practicle in your size aquarium). What brand
food are you feeding? a highly digestable food makes alot of
difference, Spirilina algae based foods are great, Sanyu and Hikari
make excellent ones too. Avoid Tetrafin. A ph of 7.5 is important, so
is your carbonate hardness. Sponge filters are an excellent choice for
bio filtration, especially in small aquariums, but they do not work
over night. You need to allow time for them to seed, and to never clean
them in tap water. Here is a blog about them:
http://spongefilter.blogspot.com/. Wonder shells (non-medicated) can
help with carbonates and ph. I am sure others can add more.
Carl
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/

[Nikki]

They have those hang on the back filters i use them for my betta tanks, they
work good and keep things clean, i think the ones i have are for ten gl, but
work good for it. Also, just a note, i have a big goldfish, which is how
most wind up as long as they live, mine was a feeder for a pacu, who got
saved, he started out about the size of a guppy and now he is very big, he
could not turn in a 2.5, i dont think he could live even in a 10 gl. he is
in a 29 gl being moved to a 55 gl in a week or so.
Nik
do some water changes like 10-20%,




"Ben Rum" > wrote in message
...
> I've recently purchansed a tinly little 11 litre (about 2.5 Gallon I
> think) tank for 2 goldfish. It came with a little filter which obviously
> isn't doing a great job as the water gets cloudy after about 3 days, after
> a week it's quite murky - still see through, but not pleasant to look at!
>
> I understand that 2 fish may be too much for 11 litres, so is there
> anything I can do to keep their environment a bit cleaner?
>
> I feed them 3 times a day, and generally not more than they would eat over
> a 3 min period (as per several web searches have suggested)
> I also refresh about 10-20 percent of the water in a week, however this
> doesn't help enough.
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated, as I want to keep the two fellas
> happy!
>
>
>
>

[Koi-Lo]

"Ben Rum" > wrote in message
...
> I've recently purchansed a tinly little 11 litre (about 2.5 Gallon I
> think) tank for 2 goldfish. It came with a little filter which obviously
> isn't doing a great job as the water gets cloudy after about 3 days, after
> a week it's quite murky - still see through, but not pleasant to look at!

Goldfish, when healthy and well care for can grow to 12" or more in size.
Your tank is too small for even one GF. Perhaps you can either buy them a
20Long tank for return them for a betta.

> I understand that 2 fish may be too much for 11 litres, so is there
> anything I can do to keep their environment a bit cleaner?

Constant partial water changes. But 2 GF in such a tiny tank isn't going to
work.

> I feed them 3 times a day, and generally not more than they would eat over
> a 3 min period (as per several web searches have suggested)
> I also refresh about 10-20 percent of the water in a week, however this
> doesn't help enough.
> Any suggestions would be appreciated, as I want to keep the two fellas
> happy!

PLEASE go purchase them a 20Long tank and get a filter adequate for GF.
Use the tiny tank you have now for a hospital or quarantine tank - or use it
to house a betta.
--

Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[[email protected]]

get a 20 gallon tank with a made for 40 gallon filter (I like whispers)
take the gf back and get a betta
you are overfeeding the gf. cut that back to 2 mouthfuls once a day
get a nitrate kit and change enough water to keep nitrates at or below 20 ppm
believe it or not, but cloudy means you got biobugs but they dont have a home.


"Ben Rum" > wrote:
>I've recently purchansed a tinly little 11 litre (about 2.5 Gallon I think)
>tank for 2 goldfish. It came with a little filter which obviously isn't
>doing a great job as the water gets cloudy after about 3 days, after a week
>it's quite murky - still see through, but not pleasant to look at!
>
>I understand that 2 fish may be too much for 11 litres, so is there anything
>I can do to keep their environment a bit cleaner?
>
>I feed them 3 times a day, and generally not more than they would eat over a
>3 min period (as per several web searches have suggested)
>I also refresh about 10-20 percent of the water in a week, however this
>doesn't help enough.
>
>Any suggestions would be appreciated, as I want to keep the two fellas
>happy!
>
>
>



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.

[Nikki]

> wrote in message
...
>
get a 20 gallon tank with a made for 40 gallon filter (I like whispers)
> take the gf back and get a betta
>
20 gl tank for one betta
or do you mean one or the other?
Nikki


>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
> http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
> sign up:
> http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
> www.drsolo.com
> Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold
> website.
> I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.

[[email protected]]

for the GF
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/care/care1.htm#essentials

"Nikki" > wrote:

>
> wrote in message
...
>>
> get a 20 gallon tank with a made for 40 gallon filter (I like whispers)
>> take the gf back and get a betta
>>
>20 gl tank for one betta
>or do you mean one or the other?
>Nikki
>
>
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
>> http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
>> sign up:
>> http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
>> www.drsolo.com
>> Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold
>> website.
>> I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
>



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.

[Koi-Lo]

> wrote in message
...
> you are overfeeding the gf. cut that back to 2 mouthfuls once a day
============
I have to disagree with this. The goldfish people are buying are young
rapidly growing fish. Two mouthfuls once a day is nowhere near enough to
grow healthy goldfish. Where is the variety to make sure they get complete
nutrition? The oranges and greens? The thawed bloodworms? These are
aquarium fish, not pond fish who can find food among the pond plants and
snatch bugs and insects that fall into the water.

Overfeeding is when there is so much food per feeding the fish can't eat it
all and it rots on the bottom. Keeping nitrates low can be done with
partial water changes. I feed my GF two or three times a day and the only
problem I've had are algae problems - the fish remain healthy and are
growing rapidly.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Koi-Lo]

Moments before spontaneously combusting <Jolly Fisherman> at
> was heard opining:

> On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 10:13:57 -0600, "Koi-Lo" >
> wrote:
>
>>
>> > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> you are overfeeding the gf. cut that back to 2 mouthfuls once a day
>> ============
>> I have to disagree with this. The goldfish people are buying are
>> young rapidly growing fish. Two mouthfuls once a day is nowhere
>> near enough to grow healthy goldfish. Where is the variety to make
>> sure they get complete nutrition? The oranges and greens? The
>> thawed bloodworms? These are aquarium fish, not pond fish who can
>> find food among the pond plants and snatch bugs and insects that
>> fall into the water.
>>
>> Overfeeding is when there is so much food per feeding the fish can't
>> eat it all and it rots on the bottom. Keeping nitrates low can be
>> done with partial water changes. I feed my GF two or three times a
>> day and the only problem I've had are algae problems - the fish
>> remain healthy and are growing rapidly.
=============================
> I think the idea is to limit feeding until the OP can get a larger
> tank that is fully cycled. Feeding 2 GF for 3 mins 3x a day in a new
> 2 gal tank is way too much.

This is true but I was talking "in general".... and not specifically
referring to this particular OP's set-up. Let's hope the OP bought a larger
tank or returned the GF to the store.

The OP needs to cut it back immediately
> and continue water changes until a more ideal, sustainable situation
> can be attained.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[[email protected]]

actually... overfeeding fish is when so much food is given that it is not digested
before it exits the fish. Fish have short intestines and no stomach. fish get the
same "food value" from tiny amounts of food more often than large amounts of food.
in the wild they nibble tiny amounts all day. Ingrid

>On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 10:13:57 -0600, "Koi-Lo" >
>wrote
>>Overfeeding is when there is so much food per feeding the fish can't eat it
>>all and it rots on the bottom.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.

[carlrs]

Every comment here has been excellent, I would like to add one
suggestion about feeding: The quality of the food makes alot of
difference in the amount of waste produced. Goldfish do not do as well
as many tropical fish on high protein diets, they need more vegetable
based diets. The basic difference in a carbohydrate and a protein (over
simplified) is the Nitrogen atom, which is converted in the fish's
waste to ammonia (NH3).
Carl
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/

[[email protected]]

the quality does make a big difference, but lots of high quality = lots of waste.
unfortunately, it is a myth that GF need veggies. Koi and GF cannot digest
carbohydrates which is why peas give them diarrhea.
GF and Koi graze on the little high protein, high fat critters that live on the green
stuff. They use fat for energy, protein for building muscles.
furthermore, they cannot digest all kinds of meat and fat, land based animal protein
are too complex. stick to stuff lives in water as food. the best foods are based on
krill. Ingrid


The quality of the food makes alot of
>difference in the amount of waste produced.
Goldfish do not do as well
>as many tropical fish on high protein diets, they need more vegetable
>based diets. The basic difference in a carbohydrate and a protein (over
>simplified) is the Nitrogen atom, which is converted in the fish's
>waste to ammonia (NH3).


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.

[carlrs]

wrote

>the quality does make a big difference, but lots of high quality =
lots of waste.
unfortunately, it is a myth that GF need veggies. Koi and GF cannot
digest
carbohydrates which is why peas give them diarrhea.
GF and Koi graze on the little high protein, high fat critters that
live on the green
stuff. They use fat for energy, protein for building muscles.
furthermore, they cannot digest all kinds of meat and fat, land based
animal protein
are too complex. stick to stuff lives in water as food. the best
foods are based on
krill. Ingrid

I could not agree more which is what I was trying to get across. Many
commercial foods are prepared with too much animal proteins. And yes
cereal in ALL fish is mostly roughage.

Carl
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/