"Adam Lion" adamatadrockdotathdotcx wrote in message
...
Well I have final exams coming up, and i live in a flat, so no pond, so
i thought id get a tnak and some goldfish. So off i go to the store. I
quizzed the guy on what to do, my mum had issues keeping ehr fish alive
in another pond so i figured they could be pretty fragile. So i came
away with a smallish tank, gravel for the bottom, a water pump thing and
2 small goldfish (about an inch and a half to 2 inches long each). The
guy told me to wash the gravel, so i did that. I put it in the bottom of
the tank and spread it out pretty evenly. He told me to half fill the
tank or so, add the pump, then to rest the bag with the fish in the
water (we did this back home with pondfish to let the temperature
adjust). Coming home we noticed the bag had a small leak, but the fish
seemed completely undisturbed by this. I elft the back there for alkmost
an hour, then, as the guy in the store had told me, i took the corner
off the bag and left it. After about half an hour both fish had swum out
and were happily swimming around.

Now the guy told me that theyd probably settle near the bottom of the
tank at first, and that i should top it up slowly then leave it (wtihout
feeding the fish) until they were swimming aroudn happily.

Well they swam around msot of the afternoon in the lwoer half of the
tank. The smaller fish settled in one corner, pretty much resting on the
gravel, but staying upright. The other seemed to playa roudn in the
bubble stream form the filter a bit then did the same. I figured this
was what the guy had said, so i didnt worry and when it got dark outside
i turned the lights off and went to bed.

When i woke up this morning the bigger of the fish is dead and the
smaller one is still sat in the same corner at the bottom. he doesnt
appear to be distresse,d gasping for air or anything. he's swum out into
the middle a little then backed away into the corner again a few times,
but doesant seem too happy.

Im wondering what killed the bigger fish, and if it's related to the
reason the smaller one is just sitting in the corner. my girlfriend
picked out the fish that died, so it'd be really useful if i could work
out what went wrong, i dont want to just egt mroe fish if they're going
to die. Our water isnt the greatest, but the shop is in the same area,
the guy said it would be okay, and it seems really clear.

anyone have any suggestions. When the store opens im gonna call them and
ask them about it, and i can go through this afternoon if needs be. I
want to get a couple of nice happy healthy fish, but obviously im not
gonna get mroe fish if they're going to die straight away.

hope soemone can help

Adam

Well, first off, sounds like the guy at the store is just trying to get
rid of fish. I'm not sure what kind of pet store would tell you to set
up a new tank and add fish at the same time. This, I've noticed, seems
to leave more fish dead than alive, or in your case, half your fish
dead.
Set up a tank first. Let it cycle. There's many water conditioners that
can be used to get all your levels up to par and allow for a happy home
for any type of fish - be it freshwater, sal****er, whatever. Here we
have all kinds of treatments for a variety of water types and fish
types... I haven't set up a new tank in ages, but I do add a variety of
fish to all my tanks every now and then. I have 2 tanks of tropicals,
one sal****er and 1 goldfish tank here at home. I also have 2 goldfish
tanks set up at my dad's work for extra goldfish storage when they get
too big/too many in my tank at home.

One thing I NEVER do is add the water from the bag that the fish came in
from the store. This can lead to problems if the water is not free of
everything, as your tank should be a healthy tank. I do, however, float
my fish in the tank for a little while (usually at least 10 mins,
sometimes longer if I find other things to do around the house) then I
remove the fish from the bag and put them in a fish dip antiseptic (I
find at fish pet stores that specialize in fish only, rather than just
your average fish store that supplies for all types of pets) and the
water for the antiseptic is the same temp as my tank, to allow less of a
shock from being transported and moved so much with different temps.
Fish stays in the dip for about 10-15 seconds, then it goes into his new
tank.

It just gives the fish an extra cleaning in case there was any illness in
the tank at the pet store. I've also seen that most pet stores here have
one filtration system for a whole bunch of their display tanks and
fish... All the fish share the same recycled water, and that means if one
fish gets sick, then all the fish have the potential to get what the one
has or had.

If I were you, I'd be a bit upset at the pet store, and I'd go back
there, but not for fish. Maybe pick up a book or two on goldfish (or
fish of your choice) and read it over. Or try the library or see if you
can locate someone with some informative books that you could borrow, and
over the next couple days, read through them and while you do that, allow
your current tank to properly cycle and become stable enough to add some
fish.

Another good thing about reading up, even online, about fish is that when
you go into a store, you will get less runaround, and you'll have a
better idea on what to ask, as well as what kind of answers you should
get!

That's just my 2¢... Maybe wait for a few more responses to see what
others have to say as well! You can never have too much information,
experiences or suggestions of what works for others and what doesn't work
for others.

Best of luck with your fish, and if you loved the fish at your mum's
home, don't let this one experience turn you away from fish. They're
great, and goldfish, I think, are great starters since they are hardly
and fairly low maintenance (when compared with a lot of other fish)


I went back to the store today, it was a different guy in. He asked me to
rbing a sample fo the tank water and he tested ph level, ammonia and
nitrates, and they were all fine. He suggested if the other fish didnt
seem distressed or anything to leave the tank a while and see if the fish
perked up or not, and to make sure to not feed the fish while it seemed
'under the weather'. the fish that's left in the bottom still doesnt seem
distressed particularly. it appears to be resting on the gravel at the
bottom and just not doing anything. he's been there almost a day now, so i
figure i should sjut leave him and see.

I'm not likely to let it put me off fish. At the worst, if this one dies
ill leave the tank cycling while i do my exams over the next couple of
weeks then see how things are. I dont have a ehater or a light. the store
guys (both of them) have assured me that for only 2 fish in a tank this
size i shouldnt worry too much. they get a proper night day cycle being in
our living room, and the temperature doesnt really change (the room is
heated nby an array of crt monitors, no central heating. when it egts too
hot the window is opened, but the breeze only goes down one side of the
room, not the side where the fish are.

anyway, ill see how it goes and keep you posted, thanks for the help

if anyone has any mroe suggestions im all ears.

Adam

One thing I like best about goldfish: You don't really need to monitor the
temp very closely since they often don't need any heaters. They're fairly
hardy and can often adjust to changes in water temps if they are gradual and
not sudden changes... I notice that my goldfish tank often stays pretty
stable, since it's not directly near a window or heater or window, so it
pretty much kind of heats and cools itself just fine.
The guy was right about lighting... Goldfish usually like the day/night
cycle... It seems to keep them a little less stressed when they have the
natural light/dark times during a day, as they normally would in the wild.
I usually turn off my light on my tank at night, mainly because the light is
bright enough to drift upstairs and into the bedrooms when the door is open.
I only have lights to promote plant growth in my tank.
If your fish is just sitting at the bottom but doesn't seem distressed, then
there might not be anything to worry about. He could just be taking his
time adjusting to his new home, but keep an eye on him. I added a couple
fish to my one tank the other day, and the new fish aren't really doing much
like the regulars are. I also took away some of the larger feeders
yesterday and moved them to a different tank, so my new fish might just be
adjusting as well. They eat fine but kind of just float around the bubbles
or plants without much action like the others. They're also quite a bit
smaller, so I don't worry too much. They seem to still be alright, and
their mood seems to be similar to your fish.
Hopefully your last fish won't die! If your water is fine and levels are
good, every now and then you're bound to buy a fish that isn't perfect and
perhaps the stress alone is enough to make him die, and in that case,
there's often not much you can do. You seemed to have done everything well
enough, but I've had the odd fish die within a day or so of getting it. It
just happens since some fish get real stressed real easy.