Newbie and some angry fish

Hi there.

All of excitement in my new flat, I decided to go out and buy some
fish to make it nice in there, although it's something I've been
thinking about for a few months now. I am a total neophite in the fish
business, I basically asked the guy at the store for the right stuff
to keep two fish happy. He gave me some flakes, some stuff that
de-chlorinates tapwater, a 3 gallon tank, gravel, a nice little ruined
building, and two teeny fish (about an inch long each): one standard
goldfish and one comet.

They seemed happy enough the first couple of days, but now the comet
(Rudi) has taken to chasing the common goldfish (Carlos) around the
tank, stealing his food, and nibbling his fins. The fin on the bottom
of Carlos towards the rear is shredded now, and he really can't be too
happy about it.

What's causing this? Is it just an aggressive fish? Is the tank too
small? Or is it some kind of mating behaviour? Will it stop? Or is
Rudi going to hound Carlos until he's dead?

Any help you can give would be gratefully received.

Thanks,

Keith.

First off your tank is way too small. Goldfish need at least 10 gallons each
because of the size they become and the amount of waste they produce. In
tanks any smaller the water quality will quickly spiral out of control no
matter how careful you are at trying to keep it clean. Comets though
generally need more than 10 gallons as they get bigger again.
There is a chance that they are showing spawning behaviour but I doubt it as
they are both so tiny. Chances are that in a much bigger tank they might be
ok. Has the goldfish got a fancy tail? I ask because comets can often be
quite nippy and it's generally not advised to keep fancy goldfish and comets
together.
Remember too that your tank will begin to cycle very soon and your ammonia
and nitrite levels will rise to toxic levels.During this time you will need
to test your water parameters frequently and carry out 30% water changes
daily when they get too high to dilute the toxicity.
Mel.

"Keith Railton" wrote in message
om...
Hi there.

All of excitement in my new flat, I decided to go out and buy some
fish to make it nice in there, although it's something I've been
thinking about for a few months now. I am a total neophite in the fish
business, I basically asked the guy at the store for the right stuff
to keep two fish happy. He gave me some flakes, some stuff that
de-chlorinates tapwater, a 3 gallon tank, gravel, a nice little ruined
building, and two teeny fish (about an inch long each): one standard
goldfish and one comet.

They seemed happy enough the first couple of days, but now the comet
(Rudi) has taken to chasing the common goldfish (Carlos) around the
tank, stealing his food, and nibbling his fins. The fin on the bottom
of Carlos towards the rear is shredded now, and he really can't be too
happy about it.

What's causing this? Is it just an aggressive fish? Is the tank too
small? Or is it some kind of mating behaviour? Will it stop? Or is
Rudi going to hound Carlos until he's dead?

Any help you can give would be gratefully received.

Thanks,

Keith.

Keith,

I agree with everything Mel has posted.
If I were you I'd do one of the following:-

1) take one or both fish back and get a few tropicals
they can live in smaller amounts of water than goldfish

2) Get a bigger tank, 20 gallons or so, and plant it and put some
ornaments to make chasing a bit more difficult (they'll probably
overcome this though). If you fish do continually chase each other
put a chopstick (as recommended by Ingrid) and give it some of
it's own medicne back (i.e. chase it with the chopstick).


I would not advise keeping a 3 gallon with 2 goldfish - they will
not live long. They could live upto 20 years if they are in optimum
conditions.

I, really am sorry ,but i just got to comment on your post.. as it
resembles "Days of our Lives" in Pondland..


Keith Railton wrote in message
Hi there.

All of excitement in my new flat, I decided to go out and buy some
fish to make it nice in there, although it's something I've been
thinking about for a few months now. I am a total neophite in the fish
business, I basically asked the guy at the store for the right stuff
to keep two fish happy. He gave me some flakes, some stuff that
de-chlorinates tapwater, a 3 gallon tank, gravel, a nice little ruined
building, and two teeny fish (about an inch long each): one standard
goldfish and one comet.

What ,, He did not sell you a plastic diver, and an air-stone
Would you care to explain this little gem,, ''I am a total neophite in the
fish
business'' I,ve had a quick look through "Concise Oxford" and he does not
know eather.


They seemed happy enough the first couple of days, but now the comet
(Rudi) has taken to chasing the common goldfish (Carlos) around the
tank, stealing his food, and nibbling his fins. The fin on the bottom
of Carlos towards the rear is shredded now, and he really can't be too
happy about it.

Rudi and Carlos,,,,,,,, The Segffried and Roy of the fish world..

What's causing this? Is it just an aggressive fish? Is the tank too
small? Or is it some kind of mating behaviour? Will it stop? Or is
Rudi going to hound Carlos until he's dead?

Rudi and Carlos are breeding, surly not,, my be one's claimed the ruined
building, and the other ones got the ****s,
Who knows if it will stop, You've got my Flakes, No I want the fish
weed,, Could
I suggest you buy-um a baby Catfish, then they could become a family.

Any help you can give would be gratefully received.
Thanks, Keith.

I,m sorry, But sometimes I just can't help myself,,
bassett

Thanks for your informative and helpful comments.

First, I'd like to say that my original post was written with an underlying
tone of self-deprecation. I realise I was naive to jump on the goldfish
bandwagon without first carrying out some research. However, in spite of my
ignorance I am not stupid, neither am I in possession of malicious feelings
towards goldfish or other lifeforms in general. Like many people I had
goldfish as pets when I was a kid and foolishly thought that the way they
were kept back then (i.e. in a big bowl with a 'little plastic diver') was
just about the way you ought to look after a goldfish. Second, 'neophite'
was a simple misspelling of 'neophyte', as I'm sure was apparent. Third,
they were named Rudi and Carlos after The Sanzini Brothers sketch performed
by Frank Zappa.

Anyway, I have found a willing foster parent for the Sanzini Brothers who
has plenty of tank space and hope to get them to him as soon as possible.
Perhaps I'll try to get hold of something in a more manageable size.

Thanks,

Keith.

"bassett" wrote in message
...
I, really am sorry ,but i just got to comment on your post.. as it
resembles "Days of our Lives" in Pondland..


Keith Railton wrote in message
Hi there.

All of excitement in my new flat, I decided to go out and buy some
fish to make it nice in there, although it's something I've been
thinking about for a few months now. I am a total neophite in the fish
business, I basically asked the guy at the store for the right stuff
to keep two fish happy. He gave me some flakes, some stuff that
de-chlorinates tapwater, a 3 gallon tank, gravel, a nice little ruined
building, and two teeny fish (about an inch long each): one standard
goldfish and one comet.

What ,, He did not sell you a plastic diver, and an air-stone
Would you care to explain this little gem,, ''I am a total neophite in
the
fish
business'' I,ve had a quick look through "Concise Oxford" and he does
not
know eather.


They seemed happy enough the first couple of days, but now the comet
(Rudi) has taken to chasing the common goldfish (Carlos) around the
tank, stealing his food, and nibbling his fins. The fin on the bottom
of Carlos towards the rear is shredded now, and he really can't be too
happy about it.

Rudi and Carlos,,,,,,,, The Segffried and Roy of the fish world..

What's causing this? Is it just an aggressive fish? Is the tank too
small? Or is it some kind of mating behaviour? Will it stop? Or is
Rudi going to hound Carlos until he's dead?

Rudi and Carlos are breeding, surly not,, my be one's claimed the
ruined
building, and the other ones got the ****s,
Who knows if it will stop, You've got my Flakes, No I want the fish
weed,, Could
I suggest you buy-um a baby Catfish, then they could become a family.

Any help you can give would be gratefully received.
Thanks, Keith.

I,m sorry, But sometimes I just can't help myself,,
bassett

Maybe try a betta fish? They are pretty popular right now. They are easy
maintenance from what I've seen and they don't need a lot of room.... It may
do well in your goldfish bowl, but the diver may scare it... ; )

I think the store clerk may not have realized how big goldfish get.... I've
had really helpful clerks and really unhelpful clerks, who know only enough to
be dangerous... They don't pay the staff enough there, but customers expect
them to know everything.... We started with the 10 gallon tank and 6 goldfish,
and all the fancy toys, before it finally became evident that it simply wasn't
going to work! The fish became HUGE in a short time, and are now in a 55
gallon tank... They outgrew all the fancy toys and now have Home Depot 2" PVC
plumbing they love to go through - though I need to get larger pipes as they
are outgrowing that too!

I can't remember where I read it, but it said to have either a single fish, or
3... It seems to work for schooling fish, as well as kids. If there are two,
they will fight. If there's 3, it seems to clear up... Funny how it works.
Fish are still cool though!...
Welcome to the wacky world of fishies!
: ).... Bev (a fellow "neo")