One GF died tonight

At least with think it's dead, or dying. It looked fine a few hours earlier
but now it's just sitting at the bottom.

Here is the story: the kids won the two fish at a mini carnival and we
brought them home in ziplock bags. We've never had fish so we didn't have an
aquarium so we put them in the biggest bowl we had, about one gallon. After
one day I decided they needed something bigger so we bought the 2.5-gallon
"mini-bow" from Petco, but I think it's the same as shown in the link below.
We also bought one plastic plant which is supposed to glow in the dark, one
rock with holes, and some gravel. The kit comes with an under gravel filter
and some water treatment. The treatment said it was enough for 10 gallons so
I only put in about one quarter of the pouch with the tap water. There is
some Zyme stuff, too, put I didn't put it in yet. There were no real
instructions and I thought that stuff was for use later. We didn't wait very
long to put the GF in because their old home was looking pretty bleak and
never had any conditioner.

And everything looks fine for three days however there is a huge amount of
foam/bubbles at the top of the tank if you leave the pump on for many hours
so we turn it off for a few hours a day before we feed them. I don't think
it's soap. We didn't use any when we rinsed it out.

The light is probably on 2/3 of the day (I read here maybe 1/3 is better?).

The fish have been quite active the last three days until our smaller, gold
guy was found tonight just sitting at the bottom near the tube. If the
bigger white GF swims by the little guy, he get's pushed around in the wake
but then returns to a normal position after a few seconds.

My 9-year old daughter said her friend said if one fish is ill you need to
remove it so she put it in a small 1-quart bowl with tap water. She found a
nice little cardboard box to bury it tomorrow if it doesn't make it through
the night.

The white GF has been swimming around like crazy tonight, as if it really
wants out. I wonder if there is a problem with our water or ???? I keep
thinking this foam of bubbles at the top of the tank can't be good. I think
they may have been overfed, a little, but not too much. A pinch once a day,
however we have not been removing the uneaten food as recommended here I
read just a few minutes ago. I also read here the GF need a lot more room.
Sheesh. Maybe we'd be better with one yellow tang in this tank (my choice)
but my daughter would like a fish like Dori from Finding Nemo but I have now
idea how big a tank they need. We just saw them at Petco and said, those
are cool! My older daughter wants to get a huge tank and get about 10 fish
in there. Sheesh, I say, let's go slow and figure out how to take care of a
few at first and see how we do!

Thanks for taking the time to read all this. I guess I got carried away with
the details.

Here is the link to I think the same tank we have.

http://www.elmersaquarium.com/h102minibow2gal.htm

I didn't even need to read your whole post before posting whats wrong.

Those goldfish are likely to be Common goldfish, they actually require
20 gallons each - yep thats right. The reason they are lethargic is because
their waste is poisoning them. You need a filter for one thing - a filter
will eventually house good bio bugs which convert their ammonia into nitrites
and then nitrites into nitrates. Nitrites and ammonia (and high levels of
nitrates)
will kill your fish.

Your goldfish have the potential to grow to 12 inchs and live for 20 years.
In your 2.5 gallon bowfront they will be dead within 6 months, hate to be so
blunt but I'm just telling it like it is.

Find someone with a pond if you aren't willing to get a big tank, and definitely
do not consider flushing them as that is very cruel and a long linger death for
them.

"Geezer From The Freezer" wrote in message
...
I didn't even need to read your whole post before posting whats wrong.

Those goldfish are likely to be Common goldfish, they actually require
20 gallons each - yep thats right. The reason they are lethargic is
because
their waste is poisoning them. You need a filter for one thing - a filter
will eventually house good bio bugs which convert their

This unit has a under gravel filter. Are you familiar with this? Maybe it's
not enough, I don't know. I understand about the tank being too small. What
can I put in this small tank?

Thanks!

You know who wrote:

"Geezer From The Freezer" wrote in message
...
I didn't even need to read your whole post before posting whats wrong.

Those goldfish are likely to be Common goldfish, they actually require
20 gallons each - yep thats right. The reason they are lethargic is
because
their waste is poisoning them. You need a filter for one thing - a filter
will eventually house good bio bugs which convert their

This unit has a under gravel filter. Are you familiar with this? Maybe it's
not enough, I don't know. I understand about the tank being too small. What
can I put in this small tank?

Thanks!


Tank is much to small
A betta would be very very happy in there. Only one though as they are
aggressive with
their own kind!

Here is the story: the kids won the two fish at a mini carnival and we
brought them home in ziplock bags.

Usually the fish used for these purposes have been housed and cared
for extremely poorly, and are loaded with parasites and pathogens to
begin with. It can be a losing battle to keep them alive.

one day I decided they needed something bigger so we bought the 2.5-gallon
"mini-bow" from Petco,

Good impulse. Thank you.
Goldfish need lots of room, at least 10 gals./fish. Here is some
pertinent reading:

http://faq.thekrib.com/

some Zyme stuff, too, put I didn't put it in yet. There were no real
instructions and I thought that stuff was for use later.

Your little tank is not yet "cycled". You can read about that in the
link above, but for now you have to do frequent temperature-matched
water changes and treat your tap water before putting it in the tank.

My 9-year old daughter said her friend said if one fish is ill you need to
remove it so she put it in a small 1-quart bowl with tap water.

Good thought, but 1 quart is so small that it will be toxic very soon,
and if you didn't treat the tap water first, it most likely already
was.

The white GF has been swimming around like crazy tonight, as if it really
wants out. I wonder if there is a problem with our water or ????

It could be a problem with the water, but sometimes it makes them very
nervous to be alone, especially if they've always lived in a huge
crowd, like these fish usually have.

Thanks for taking the time to post here, and for trying to find out
how to care for your fish. In that 2.5 gal. tank you'd be better off
with one or two very small tropicals, or a betta would do well in
there. But good luck with your golds-- they are really fun pets in
the right conditions.

Regarding "fairground" goldfish, I live in the UK and there has been a new
law passed to ban this cruel practice of keeping small fish in plastic bags
to give as prizes, due to the suffering it can lead to.

You seem a very responsible and caring person and I'm so glad the person
with the new fish posted here. Many of these goldfish die as they are won
by people who dont know how to care for them properly (not their fault, I'm
not apportioning blame) It is vital to research GF care before starting to
keep them.

Always buy GF from a reputable aquaria shop, and wash everything that goes
into the tank in hot water with no detergent. Have you rinsed everything,
gravel, filter etc before putting into the tank? I always wash a new filter
and its media. The foam you describe sounds very strange.




"Vissy Dartae" wrote in message
m...
Here is the story: the kids won the two fish at a mini carnival and we
brought them home in ziplock bags.

Usually the fish used for these purposes have been housed and cared
for extremely poorly, and are loaded with parasites and pathogens to
begin with. It can be a losing battle to keep them alive.

one day I decided they needed something bigger so we bought the
2.5-gallon
"mini-bow" from Petco,

Good impulse. Thank you.
Goldfish need lots of room, at least 10 gals./fish. Here is some
pertinent reading:

http://faq.thekrib.com/

some Zyme stuff, too, put I didn't put it in yet. There were no real
instructions and I thought that stuff was for use later.

Your little tank is not yet "cycled". You can read about that in the
link above, but for now you have to do frequent temperature-matched
water changes and treat your tap water before putting it in the tank.

My 9-year old daughter said her friend said if one fish is ill you need
to
remove it so she put it in a small 1-quart bowl with tap water.

Good thought, but 1 quart is so small that it will be toxic very soon,
and if you didn't treat the tap water first, it most likely already
was.

The white GF has been swimming around like crazy tonight, as if it
really
wants out. I wonder if there is a problem with our water or ????

It could be a problem with the water, but sometimes it makes them very
nervous to be alone, especially if they've always lived in a huge
crowd, like these fish usually have.

Thanks for taking the time to post here, and for trying to find out
how to care for your fish. In that 2.5 gal. tank you'd be better off
with one or two very small tropicals, or a betta would do well in
there. But good luck with your golds-- they are really fun pets in
the right conditions.

"Raccoon" wrote in message
...
Regarding "fairground" goldfish, I live in the UK and there has been a new
law passed to ban this cruel practice of keeping small fish in plastic
bags
to give as prizes, due to the suffering it can lead to.


I thought this was now illegal, but I was on the fair last night with my
kids and fish were being given as prizes. Who should I complain to?

Shell

Shell wrote:
I thought this was now illegal, but I was on the fair last night with my
kids and fish were being given as prizes. Who should I complain to?

Shell

RSPCA!