Fish Lovers 3.0 [new poll]

[Callie,,]

Also i think his tank is a tiny bit reflective because he loves looking at himself òwó

P.S. We called him Finn

[theupsidedown]

i actually have a funny story. i have 3 little guppies in my tank and it seems they have figured out when its dinner time! every night when i go up there they are huddled in the corner where the food is. then, when i pick it up to feed them, they all swim to the top like they are so ready to eat!

[Alpen]

Sobbing on the inside bc I just spent $75 on seachem products @___@
I can’t decide what I want to do in my 55 and 90 gallon tanks. I know I want to transfer my 6 Corys to the 55 but I’m not sure what tankmates to do. Considering SOME type of goldfish for the 90 but I like busy tanks so!! Not sure haha

Any suggestions?

[felicity.]

hey! so i'm a new fish owner, and we went to a store specializing
in fish and fish products... i got a new fish but, most of my fish
seem like they're gasping for air? my tank is 3.5 gallons and i have
one ranchu goldfish that is just about 2 inches. we have an air
pump and i have a solution that reduces nitrates. we have a filter
and live plants. the fish keeps coming to the surface and it has
me worried. does anyone know how i can fix this? :0 i mean, we
just let it in yesterday, is it still stressed?

[Evils]

hey! so i'm a new fish owner, and we went to a store specializing
in fish and fish products... i got a new fish but, most of my fish
seem like they're gasping for air? my tank is 3.5 gallons and i have
one ranchu goldfish that is just about 2 inches. we have an air
pump and i have a solution that reduces nitrates. we have a filter
and live plants. the fish keeps coming to the surface and it has
me worried. does anyone know how i can fix this? :0 i mean, we
just let it in yesterday, is it still stressed?

Seeing that you just got the little guy, he might be stressed. I would wait a few days while watching his progress to make sure nothing's wrong. It might also be due to the small tank size; at a minimum ranchu goldfish require a 10 gallon tank for the best health results. This is mainly due to the size when they're older as a smaller tank could stunt their growth.
All in all I'd watch his breathing for now! C: hopefully he'll calm down some. When he's older, getting him a bigger tank might help with growth and stress!

[Lonin]

hey! so i'm a new fish owner, and we went to a store specializing
in fish and fish products... i got a new fish but, most of my fish
seem like they're gasping for air? my tank is 3.5 gallons and i have
one ranchu goldfish that is just about 2 inches. we have an air
pump and i have a solution that reduces nitrates. we have a filter
and live plants. the fish keeps coming to the surface and it has
me worried. does anyone know how i can fix this? :0 i mean, we
just let it in yesterday, is it still stressed?

Unfortunately that tank is far too small for a goldfish. You mention other fish, what else do you have in there? c:
Gasping at the surface is often a sign of ammonia poisoning which can be fatal. Goldfish are incredibly messy fish and get very large, they need big tanks and lots of filtration.
You want a minimum of 20-30 gallons for a ranchu goldfish + 10 gallons for each additional one. Bigger is better as the water quality will be more stable.
Your options are to return the fish or get it a bigger tank as soon as possible. For the moment you need to be doing daily partial water changes and reduce feeding. If you don't have a water test kit consider getting one so you can keep an eye on the ammonia/nitrite levels. Some water conditioners detoxify ammonia which will also be helpful. We know seachem prime does but others might as well.
3.5 gallons isn't really big enough for any fish but you could have some awesome shrimp and snails in there. You could go with a betta at a push but they do best with at least 5 gallons.

Here's an idea of how big they get:

[felicity.]

hey! so i'm a new fish owner, and we went to a store specializing
in fish and fish products... i got a new fish but, most of my fish
seem like they're gasping for air? my tank is 3.5 gallons and i have
one ranchu goldfish that is just about 2 inches. we have an air
pump and i have a solution that reduces nitrates. we have a filter
and live plants. the fish keeps coming to the surface and it has
me worried. does anyone know how i can fix this? :0 i mean, we
just let it in yesterday, is it still stressed?

Unfortunately that tank is far too small for a goldfish. You mention other fish, what else do you have in there? c:
Gasping at the surface is often a sign of ammonia poisoning which can be fatal. Goldfish are incredibly messy fish and get very large, they need big tanks and lots of filtration.
You want a minimum of 20-30 gallons for a ranchu goldfish + 10 gallons for each additional one. Bigger is better as the water quality will be more stable.
Your options are to return the fish or get it a bigger tank as soon as possible. For the moment you need to be doing daily partial water changes and reduce feeding. If you don't have a water test kit consider getting one so you can keep an eye on the ammonia/nitrite levels. Some water conditioners detoxify ammonia which will also be helpful. We know seachem prime does but others might as well.
3.5 gallons isn't really big enough for any fish but you could have some awesome shrimp and snails in there. You could go with a betta at a push but they do best with at least 5 gallons.

Here's an idea of how big they get:

thanks so much <3 i actually did some research last night. we're
getting them a 20 gallon tank as of now :)) it is coming
on wednesday so hopefully that will help! i'm also getting
a water testing kit. again, thank you!

[Kat]

I've run into a problem and I could use some advise. My grandparents have a small pond in their backyard with two comet goldfish in it. I've just learned that they no longer want the fish. It's possible to keep comet goldfish in regular aquariums, right? I sadly don't know much at all about goldfish care, but I've heard that they need to be kept in 30+ gallons (and the above post appears to confirm that) with a lot of filtration. To anyone who has goldfish, what kind of filter is best? The pond that they've been living in has a kind of fountain pump in it, and I tested the water and there's zero ammonia. Does this mean that the pond was cycled with this pump and that moving the pump into an indoor aquarium would automatically cycle the tank? I'm kind of clueless. I've only had bettas and guppies, and goldfish seem like very different fish to keep...

[Lonin]

I've run into a problem and I could use some advise. My grandparents have a small pond in their backyard with two comet goldfish in it. I've just learned that they no longer want the fish. It's possible to keep comet goldfish in regular aquariums, right? I sadly don't know much at all about goldfish care, but I've heard that they need to be kept in 30+ gallons (and the above post appears to confirm that) with a lot of filtration. To anyone who has goldfish, what kind of filter is best? The pond that they've been living in has a kind of fountain pump in it, and I tested the water and there's zero ammonia. Does this mean that the pond was cycled with this pump and that moving the pump into an indoor aquarium would automatically cycle the tank? I'm kind of clueless. I've only had bettas and guppies, and goldfish seem like very different fish to keep...

Comet goldfish get much, much bigger than fancy varieties. If they've been living in a pond for a while they'll probably be bigger than the same fish kept in a tank.
We've been seeing a lot of debate on the appropriate size for comets, anything from 30 gallons to 150 for one. Keep in mind that comets can get 12 inches long in a pond so a 30 might not fit them.
We don't know if pond pumps function the same as regular filters but yup yup if you move cycled filter media to a new tank/filter the new tank will be instantly cycled.

[Hime]

I've run into a problem and I could use some advise. My grandparents have a small pond in their backyard with two comet goldfish in it. I've just learned that they no longer want the fish. It's possible to keep comet goldfish in regular aquariums, right? I sadly don't know much at all about goldfish care, but I've heard that they need to be kept in 30+ gallons (and the above post appears to confirm that) with a lot of filtration. To anyone who has goldfish, what kind of filter is best? The pond that they've been living in has a kind of fountain pump in it, and I tested the water and there's zero ammonia. Does this mean that the pond was cycled with this pump and that moving the pump into an indoor aquarium would automatically cycle the tank? I'm kind of clueless. I've only had bettas and guppies, and goldfish seem like very different fish to keep...

Yes, it's possible to keep comets in aquarium. They just need a big tank, especially if they have grown big in the pond 30gal might not be enough, and good filteration, plus ideally not too warm temperature (so no heater is usually the way to go). If you can somehow measure the fish, then you can roughly estimate the dimensions of the tank you need, like the shortest side needs to be longer than the fish so they can turn in the tank. I'd personally go with canister filter if I'd have a big tank and messy fishes. Simple pump (if it's the kind I'm thinking of, which just shoots up water) would not house enough bacteria as there's usually no media for the bacteria to attach to, thus not keep the pond cycled. All the surfaces in the pond will how ever house the good bacteria and if there are plants in the pond they will also eat up ammonia etc. So that's how the pond is likely keeping its cycle.
Goldfish aren't really that different when it comes to keeping fish, like the same rules apply (=enough space, enough filteration and water changes, proper temperature and suitable diet). They just aren't tropical like most ornamentally kept fish so don't mind little cooler water.