Hi all

I'm new to keeping goldfish in an aquarium. A friend bought me a small
(about 4 UK gallons) aquarium for my birthday last month, and I've been on
a very steep learning curve since then. It's a self contained unit with
light and filter, and currently contains 4 X 1" fish - 2 blue orfes, one
orange fantail, and one red/white goldie. I also have a pleco.

Of course, now I know that such small tanks are not really recommended, and
I will probably have to get a bigger one if I want to have these fish to
maturity. Not that this worries me, as I seem to be bitten by the fish-
keeping bug already.

I have some newbie questions maybe you experienced folks can help me out
with:

1. When you age tapwater to get rid of the chlorine, does this get rid of
chloramine as well? Or should I still treat the water?

2. I haven't invested in any testing kits yet, as I've only now learned
the importance of testing for ammonia, Ph, nitrites, etc. Can someone tell
me what is the basic testing kit I shouldn't be without? I'm in the UK, so
UK available brands would be very helpful.

3. I'm off on holiday in a couple of weeks. Away for a week, back 3 days,
and then away for 2 weeks. My cat sitter knows nothing about fish (yes,
even less than me!). I had planned a large water change the day before
leaving, then another in the 3 days I'm home, but I have read contradictory
advice about feeding. Some places say to leave them unfed for up to 2
weeks, others to measure out daily amounts of food in envelopes, and hide
the rest so the sitter won't be tempted to give them extra for a treat.
There are 2 healthy live plants in the tank. I'm worried about water
quality in such a small tank. Any thoughts, anyone?

TIA

--
Janie
http://www.janie-thomson.co.uk