New Goldfish Owner
 

Hi Everyone,

About 3 months ago I purchased my first two gold fish. I got 2
fantail's from Meijer. I actually picked both of them out so I got the
2 that looked the healthiest. I had them in a bowl for about 2 weeks.
I actually started learning as much as I could about them and found out
this was wrong. Now they live in a 10gal aquarium. There is about an
inch of gravel at the bottom, a Whisper 10 (90gph) filter. I also have
a small airstone. My big fish is about 1.5" long and the smaller one
is close to an inch. (the tank is big enough for the time being). I
use the gravel vaccum almost daily to suck up old poop. The water temp
is about 68 degrees.

I am having a few problems that I am not sure if I should be concerned
about.

1. The tips of the fins are white. Its always been that way but it
covers about 2mm of the fin. Is this something to worry about? If so
how can I fix it?

2. The smaller fish has some kind of poop problem. It always has long
poop. I have changed the food, I have even starved them for 3 days
then fed them peas and it poops long peas. I started feeding them
smaller amounts more times a day but I think he got hungry and ate all
the poop cause this morning he must have had a 4" long poop atached.
Any suggestions?

3. My water is always slightly foggy. I do at least 10% water changes
daily and even change more than that once a week or so. Is my
filtration not good enough? What would be the best addition? An under
gravel filter or a second hanging filter?

Thanks for all your help in advance.

I'll let the more experienced posters diagnose your tank, but you're
eventually going to need a bigger one. If you're in the US, might I suggest
checking to see if you have a Freecycle group in your area? If you do, just
join and keep your eyes open. I've seen three 20 + gallon aquariums posted
over the course of the last three months in the town I live in.

You can sometimes post "wanted" ads, depending on the local groups rules.

www.freecycle.org is the URL

Angela




"ballpark402" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi Everyone,

About 3 months ago I purchased my first two gold fish. I got 2
fantail's from Meijer. I actually picked both of them out so I got the
2 that looked the healthiest. I had them in a bowl for about 2 weeks.
I actually started learning as much as I could about them and found out
this was wrong. Now they live in a 10gal aquarium. There is about an
inch of gravel at the bottom, a Whisper 10 (90gph) filter. I also have
a small airstone. My big fish is about 1.5" long and the smaller one
is close to an inch. (the tank is big enough for the time being). I
use the gravel vaccum almost daily to suck up old poop. The water temp
is about 68 degrees.

I am having a few problems that I am not sure if I should be concerned
about.

1. The tips of the fins are white. Its always been that way but it
covers about 2mm of the fin. Is this something to worry about? If so
how can I fix it?




2. The smaller fish has some kind of poop problem. It always has long
poop. I have changed the food, I have even starved them for 3 days
then fed them peas and it poops long peas. I started feeding them
smaller amounts more times a day but I think he got hungry and ate all
the poop cause this morning he must have had a 4" long poop atached.
Any suggestions?

3. My water is always slightly foggy. I do at least 10% water changes
daily and even change more than that once a week or so. Is my
filtration not good enough? What would be the best addition? An under
gravel filter or a second hanging filter?

Thanks for all your help in advance.

In article .com,
says...
1. The tips of the fins are white. Its always been that way but it
covers about 2mm of the fin. Is this something to worry about? If so
how can I fix it?

Fins looking frayed and damaged? or just white color?
Probably add a tsp of Melafix.


Everything else is common beginner's tale. You need a
good "aquariums for dummies" type reference.
You might find http://lists.aquaria.net/fish/goldfish/puregold/
quite useful.

2. The smaller fish has some kind of poop problem. ...

You're likely overfeeding, no matter what you think.
Fish are _supposed_ to be hungry. All the time.
Pooping some is OK. Pooping a lot means you're over feeding.


3. My water is always slightly foggy. I do at least 10% water changes
daily and even change more than that once a week or so. Is my
filtration not good enough? What would be the best addition? An under
gravel filter or a second hanging filter?

"New Tank Syndrome" Go read http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

For a 10 gallon tank, your filter is sufficient. It just takes
time for the biofiltration to establish. Until then, hazy water
is likely, and you have to do sufficient water changes to keep
the water non-toxic. Don't use straight tap water to rinse your
filter media: use dirty tank water or treated/dechlor water.

Get some test kits: ammonia, nitrite, and
nitrate, also pH, and a thermometer. You want zero or barely
registering ammonia and nitrites, nitrates 40ppm or so.
I honestly suggest 50% water changes every day or two, until
you've cycled. When you change the water, treat it with
Amquel to dechlorinate and negate some ammonia. "Amquel+"
(the plus sign is important) is perhaps even better for the
first month, but it has a somewhat unpleasant odor.
There are other brands that'll work: Prime, Ammolock...
Also make sure the water you add is the same temperature as what
you take out, +/- 2 degrees F.


Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. The fins look fine, they just look white on the
tip. I will get some test kits and see how things look. I hear that
bad water could be causing the fins to rot and turn white. I will check
the water tonight and post the results.

Another question, the biological filtration, are you talking about the
bacteria that is suposed to grow on the rocks and filter? Or are you
talking about the carbon that is used in the filter? The filter system
I have has a cotton fuzzy bag filled with carbon bits. After that is a
porus sponge thats suposed to be used to hold the bacteria. The
instructions state I would be changing the bag/cabon every month or so?


Thanks again for your help.

In message .com,
ballpark402 writes
Hi Everyone,

About 3 months ago I purchased my first two gold fish. I got 2
fantail's from Meijer. I actually picked both of them out so I got the
2 that looked the healthiest. I had them in a bowl for about 2 weeks.
I actually started learning as much as I could about them and found out
this was wrong. Now they live in a 10gal aquarium. There is about an
inch of gravel at the bottom, a Whisper 10 (90gph) filter. I also have
a small airstone. My big fish is about 1.5" long and the smaller one
is close to an inch. (the tank is big enough for the time being). I
use the gravel vaccum almost daily to suck up old poop. The water temp
is about 68 degrees.

I am having a few problems that I am not sure if I should be concerned
about.

1. The tips of the fins are white. Its always been that way but it
covers about 2mm of the fin. Is this something to worry about? If so
how can I fix it?

2. The smaller fish has some kind of poop problem. It always has long
poop. I have changed the food, I have even starved them for 3 days
then fed them peas and it poops long peas. I started feeding them
smaller amounts more times a day but I think he got hungry and ate all
the poop cause this morning he must have had a 4" long poop atached.
Any suggestions?

3. My water is always slightly foggy. I do at least 10% water changes
daily and even change more than that once a week or so. Is my
filtration not good enough? What would be the best addition? An under
gravel filter or a second hanging filter?

I don't rate carbon in a filter except if there is something specific
you want to get out of your water (eg, meds).

are you using either aged or treated water to top your tank up? If so,
the fogginess shouldn't be due to the tank still cycling if you have had
it up and running for three months. It could be a few things; possibly
if you're changing water every day it could even be due to small
particles from the gravel being permanently suspended in the tank water
- if you're overfeeding, there will be a fair amount of gack in the
gravel. You only need to feed a small amount once daily - a goldfish's
stomach is about the same size as its eye. feed once daily enough to
fill that up! - if flakes, two or three flakes each, if they're small
fish. That's all. don't believe them if they still act hungry!

White tips to the fins. Have they always been like that? If yes,
probably not a problem. If the tips are opaque and thickened then you
have a problem which you need to address - scrupulous water hygiene
usually helps.

You will need a bigger tank in time. In the meantime, as long as your
ammonia and nitrites are zero and the nitrates aren't too high, you need
to change out about a third of your water once a week and vacuum the
gravel thoroughly when you do it. There's no need for daily water
changes once your tank is established.

hope this helps.
--
sophie

How do I fix things if the fins appear to be getting worse? I think
the back fins may be starting to droop. I tested the water tonight and
I got
Chlorine: 0ppm
Nitrite: between 0 and .5ppm
Hardness 120
PH 7.2

Thats all the test told me. I can check amonia later but I think the
fact that there are no nitrites that the amonoia must be low. I would
think the tank is cycling by now.

When I change the water I try to vacuum the gravel as much as I can. I
do find a lot of crap in it, but I thought most of it was poop. I will
start feeding them a whole lot less. They started a trick where they
swim to the top of the tank in a corner when they saw me so I would
have to feed them a little. (2 - 3 times a day)

I use water filterd from a brita filter and I usually don't let it sit
to long. I just make sure its the same temp as the tank.

Thanks for all your help.

Hi ballpark402
I hope you will get a larger tank in the next couple of months...When i
forst stated out, i too had a one inch fish...he quickly grew to 6 inches
within that year,,,, 20 gallons is fine for 2 golds
"ballpark402" wrote in message
ps.com...
How do I fix things if the fins appear to be getting worse? I think
the back fins may be starting to droop. I tested the water tonight and
I got
Chlorine: 0ppm
Nitrite: between 0 and .5ppm
Hardness 120
PH 7.2

Thats all the test told me. I can check amonia later but I think the
fact that there are no nitrites that the amonoia must be low. I would
think the tank is cycling by now.

When I change the water I try to vacuum the gravel as much as I can. I
do find a lot of crap in it, but I thought most of it was poop. I will
start feeding them a whole lot less. They started a trick where they
swim to the top of the tank in a corner when they saw me so I would
have to feed them a little. (2 - 3 times a day)

I use water filterd from a brita filter and I usually don't let it sit
to long. I just make sure its the same temp as the tank.

Thanks for all your help.

ballpark402 wrote:

How do I fix things if the fins appear to be getting worse? I think
the back fins may be starting to droop. I tested the water tonight and
I got
Chlorine: 0ppm
Nitrite: between 0 and .5ppm
Hardness 120
PH 7.2

I use water filterd from a brita filter and I usually don't let it sit
to long. I just make sure its the same temp as the tank.

Dont bother wasting your brita filter, just use normal water (treated with
a dechlorinator/dechloraminator)