help! my goldfish keep dying...

[travis]

i had 6 goldfish, two died in the past month (we replaced one) and now
another is on his way out.

what seems to happen, is that one fish will start spending a lot of time up
in the corner of the tank behind an air hose.

a day later, we'll find that fish stuck around the intake of the water
filter. the second one that did this was still alive after we unplugged the
filter, he lived for a few days then died.

i just found another fish stuck around the filter... we've been paying
attention to him because we knew it would happen, so he couldn't have been
stuck for more than 10 minutes.

i don't think he'll make it though, just like the last ones, he can swim
around but as soon as he stops moving he floats to the top.

we don't know what's happening. we had what we thought was a good routine
going. after the second fish died, we swtiched up the routine. it used to
be:

-did a partial water change every weekend, added the proper chemicals/etc we
got from the fish store
-fed the fish monday-wednesday-friday

since the second fish died, we haven't done a water change (been 2 weeks),
and we've been feeding them once a day now.

any ideas?

--
-travis

remove "_sux" to reply directly

[Magic menagerie]

You don't mention how large your tank is for all the fishies. Goldfishies need
10 gallons per fish, otherwise it gets pretty nasty in there pretty quick. Of
course since you are starving them, then there won't be as much excrement....

We feed our fishies everyday...

For your suction problem, get a sponge and attach it to the end of intake.

Take a film canister, or other container of the fish water to your pet store
and have them test it... They'll tell you which of your level(s) are/is too
high and then you can post it here for the "big fishies" to help you out... ; )

[Mel]

Most problems tend to be water quality related so you need to test for
ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as soon as you can. if you do egt a store to
test it for you take apen and paper and write down the exact results as t
he information they give isn't always correct. Most tend to be more
interested in making money than the welfare of fish unfortunately. Post the
results here and we can help.
Mel.


"Magic menagerie" > wrote in message
...
> You don't mention how large your tank is for all the fishies. Goldfishies
need
> 10 gallons per fish, otherwise it gets pretty nasty in there pretty quick.
Of
> course since you are starving them, then there won't be as much
excrement....
>
> We feed our fishies everyday...
>
> For your suction problem, get a sponge and attach it to the end of intake.
>
> Take a film canister, or other container of the fish water to your pet
store
> and have them test it... They'll tell you which of your level(s) are/is
too
> high and then you can post it here for the "big fishies" to help you
out... ; )
>

[travis]

it's a 20 gallon tank, at most we had 6 fish in there. right now there are
5, soon to be 4.

we weren't sure about the feeding schedule... one pet store told us to only
feed them 3 times a week, so we tried that.

i will take in a water sample and test it out and post the results... thanks
for the info.

--
-travis

remove "_sux" to reply directly
"Mel" > wrote in message
...

Most problems tend to be water quality related so you need to test for
ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as soon as you can. if you do egt a store to
test it for you take apen and paper and write down the exact results as t
he information they give isn't always correct. Most tend to be more
interested in making money than the welfare of fish unfortunately. Post the
results here and we can help.
Mel.


"Magic menagerie" > wrote in message
...
> You don't mention how large your tank is for all the fishies. Goldfishies
need
> 10 gallons per fish, otherwise it gets pretty nasty in there pretty quick.
Of
> course since you are starving them, then there won't be as much
excrement....
>
> We feed our fishies everyday...
>
> For your suction problem, get a sponge and attach it to the end of intake.
>
> Take a film canister, or other container of the fish water to your pet
store
> and have them test it... They'll tell you which of your level(s) are/is
too
> high and then you can post it here for the "big fishies" to help you
out... ; )
>

[travis]

also just wanted to add that it seems that we have been just trying to hard
with these fish... i mean, i know at least 5 people who have goldfish and
they

-don't ever change the water
-feed them 3 times a day and don't scoop out extra food
-don't clean the tank or change the filter
etc...

in fact, my aunt has two 4" goldfish that are at least 3 years old, and they
live in a tank that look smaller than a 10gal.

--
-travis

remove "_sux" to reply directly
"travis" > wrote in message
...
it's a 20 gallon tank, at most we had 6 fish in there. right now there are
5, soon to be 4.

we weren't sure about the feeding schedule... one pet store told us to only
feed them 3 times a week, so we tried that.

i will take in a water sample and test it out and post the results... thanks
for the info.

--
-travis

remove "_sux" to reply directly
"Mel" > wrote in message
...

Most problems tend to be water quality related so you need to test for
ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as soon as you can. if you do egt a store to
test it for you take apen and paper and write down the exact results as t
he information they give isn't always correct. Most tend to be more
interested in making money than the welfare of fish unfortunately. Post the
results here and we can help.
Mel.


"Magic menagerie" > wrote in message
...
> You don't mention how large your tank is for all the fishies. Goldfishies
need
> 10 gallons per fish, otherwise it gets pretty nasty in there pretty quick.
Of
> course since you are starving them, then there won't be as much
excrement....
>
> We feed our fishies everyday...
>
> For your suction problem, get a sponge and attach it to the end of intake.
>
> Take a film canister, or other container of the fish water to your pet
store
> and have them test it... They'll tell you which of your level(s) are/is
too
> high and then you can post it here for the "big fishies" to help you
out... ; )
>

[Geezer From Freezer]

travis wrote:
>
> also just wanted to add that it seems that we have been just trying to hard
> with these fish... i mean, i know at least 5 people who have goldfish and
> they
>
> -don't ever change the water
> -feed them 3 times a day and don't scoop out extra food
> -don't clean the tank or change the filter
> etc...

I bet these fish are small and under-developed - never cleaning the water is
cruel - would
you like to swim in your own sewage?

> in fact, my aunt has two 4" goldfish that are at least 3 years old, and they
> live in a tank that look smaller than a 10gal.

3 years old isn't old for a goldfish. Goldfish can live upto 20 years+

[Geezer From Freezer]

travis wrote:
>
> also just wanted to add that it seems that we have been just trying to hard
> with these fish... i mean, i know at least 5 people who have goldfish and
> they
>
> -don't ever change the water
> -feed them 3 times a day and don't scoop out extra food
> -don't clean the tank or change the filter
> etc...

I bet these fish are small and under-developed - never cleaning the water is
cruel - would
you like to swim in your own sewage?

> in fact, my aunt has two 4" goldfish that are at least 3 years old, and they
> live in a tank that look smaller than a 10gal.

3 years old isn't old for a goldfish. Goldfish can live upto 20 years+

[MartinOsirus]

>
>
>
>travis wrote:
>>
>> also just wanted to add that it seems that we have been just trying to hard
>> with these fish... i mean, i know at least 5 people who have goldfish and
>> they
>>
>> -don't ever change the water
>> -feed them 3 times a day and don't scoop out extra food
>> -don't clean the tank or change the filter

Those are terrible conditions to keep goldfish in.

[Magic menagerie]

That's pretty sick...

[T]

"Magic menagerie" > wrote in message
...
> That's pretty sick...


You could get away with one feeding a day in the 20g tank, but feeding them
only three times a week? esshh... I often take firdays and leave them for
fasting for my tanks ( the majority of my fish friends have been sold off
and were due to move as soon as we find a place to rent ).

I have a question though.. Before you bought your aquarium did you do
any research, or was this kind of a whimsicle spur of the moment thing?

Tim..

[travis]

i had the tank for 3 years, and one day my g/f's brother showed up with a
bag full of goldfish... the next day i went out to a pet store and asked
"what do i need' and bought a pump, chemicals, food and a heater.

i threw out the heater a few days after i figuired out they didn't like it.

ps. take your attitude and shove it up your ass... i've been reading about
the fish, and i've been asking pet stores about taking care of them...
everyone seems to have different ideas. i figured this newsgroup would be
my best source for info (and it is), but i forgot about the attitude on
usenet... you'll probably yell at me for top posting now too...


--
-travis

remove "_sux" to reply directly
"T" > wrote in message
nk.net...

"Magic menagerie" > wrote in message
...
> That's pretty sick...


You could get away with one feeding a day in the 20g tank, but feeding them
only three times a week? esshh... I often take firdays and leave them for
fasting for my tanks ( the majority of my fish friends have been sold off
and were due to move as soon as we find a place to rent ).

I have a question though.. Before you bought your aquarium did you do
any research, or was this kind of a whimsicle spur of the moment thing?

Tim..

[Kay]

Travis,
Depending on what kind of goldfish . If they are comet or common
goldfish they grow bigger than fancy. If you will be down to 4 fish you
can do a water change everyday to keep the nitrates down. until you
either take 2 to the pet store or get a larger tank. Goldfish don't have
stomachs thats why they have more "toxic" waste. they are always
hungry also because of that. 2 times a day won't hurt. its the normal
waste that hurts and the everyday water change will help that.

Everyone has their own ideas on what is proper. There is alot of
information out there and it can confuse cause people do misinform also.
I don't agree with alot of things posted here, but I have picked certain
posters I trust by what they say and how they say it. I hope this helps.

Kay

[T]

"ps. take your attitude and shove it up your ass... "

I'm not going to say sorry young feller... If you took what I said as if I
was having an additude problem, it was yours, not mine.. I never intended my
response to be taken that way, as it is very hard to HEAR the way I
responded.. Yes, you took my response out of context..But that is nethier
here nor there nor was it taken personal by myself.. If you notice, I top
posted too, and I don't give a crap...

Often times Travis, people buy fish tanks and never educate themselves on
the needs of the occupants inside. And yes, everyone has different ideas,
much like yourself. Your going to learn a lot about keeping goldfish, by
deaths of the ones you had, as only the failure can lead to education and
then success.

Tim...




"travis" > wrote in message
...
> i had the tank for 3 years, and one day my g/f's brother showed up with a
> bag full of goldfish... the next day i went out to a pet store and asked
> "what do i need' and bought a pump, chemicals, food and a heater.
>
> i threw out the heater a few days after i figuired out they didn't like
it.
>
> ps. take your attitude and shove it up your ass... i've been reading about
> the fish, and i've been asking pet stores about taking care of them...
> everyone seems to have different ideas. i figured this newsgroup would be
> my best source for info (and it is), but i forgot about the attitude on
> usenet... you'll probably yell at me for top posting now too...
>
>
> --
> -travis
>
> remove "_sux" to reply directly
> "T" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
>
> "Magic menagerie" > wrote in message
> ...
> > That's pretty sick...
>
>
> You could get away with one feeding a day in the 20g tank, but feeding
them
> only three times a week? esshh... I often take firdays and leave them for
> fasting for my tanks ( the majority of my fish friends have been sold off
> and were due to move as soon as we find a place to rent ).
>
> I have a question though.. Before you bought your aquarium did you do
> any research, or was this kind of a whimsicle spur of the moment thing?
>
> Tim..
>
>
>

[Gunther]

In article >,
says...
>
> ps. take your attitude and shove it up your ass...

Physician, heal thyself.
Gunther, Ignorer of Children

[T]

"Gunther" > wrote in message
t...
> In article >,
> says...
> >
> > ps. take your attitude and shove it up your ass...
>
> Physician, heal thyself.
> Gunther, Ignorer of Children

Humourous... and well its my Dr who sticks things there... Anyone want a
case of diverticulitus??

Timmer..

[Geezer From Freezer]

Hey travis - most of the the time don't listen to people at the fish shop - most
of them (but not all) are only interested in selling stuff, not educating
customers
I know this cos I was told a lot of rubbish by a fish shop near me when I first
bought
my goldfish - luckily for me I had done a few weeks of research beforehand and
ignored
their, in my opinion, ridiculous advice.

When I asked about the different types of goldfish to a bloke at the fish shop
he told me they
were "all goldfish". I asked "what type", he said "goldfish". So definitely some
of the people
who work there have no clue about fish whatsoever!