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Adding fish

I have an aquarium with a fancytail gold fish and a straight won at the fair goldfish. I "inherited two more fish. I have them seperated now,but I would like to put them together. What is the steps for adding new fish to an established setup
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What kind are the other fish? Are they goldfish also. If so, you should be able to add them in with the other goldfish.
 
Yes, they are gold fish also. From Wal-mart. Last time (a couple years ago) I tried to add a baby black Moore (Also from wal-mart). The Black moore died and two of my gold fish went with him. I have had the fancytail for about five or six years. I don't want to kill her.
 My mom gets in a goldfish mood and buys fish. She bought four. I told her not to change water too frequently ect. But, after the first two died she gave me the remaining two. This is how I got my other fish. Well, had three,two died off. My son won one at local fair in ping pong toss. Have two in twenty gal aquarium. I had wrote about my gold fish not being active in 10 gal. Somebody (on this board) told me to move her to larger tank. I have and she is doing great.But I don't want matinance of two tanks. But I am afraid of losing my old fish.
 I took water from my established aquarium (20 gal) and put it in a 10 gal aquarium. This was seasoned water for the new fish. They went from listing on their side and breathing at the surface to actively eating and zipping around. Am I just paranoid to put new in with the old. Is it me or am I justified? Thank you. Sorry about writing a book.
 
A 20 gallon tank is just big enough to support one goldfish..no more.
goldfish should live 10 years minimum, some even 20 to 30 years or more..and get 6 to 8 inches long.
if they die in under 5 years its almost always because they are in tanks that are far too small, or there are too many in too small of a tank.
If you want to keep 4 goldfish together, you need a 55 gal tank or larger.
and even that would be slightly too small, but it would work if you do a weekly 25% water change, every week without fail..
consider 20 gallons per fish as a minimum..

oh, and I would suggest NEVER buying any fish from Walmart..
smile_h_32.gif

their fish keeping conditions are notoriously horrible..you are very likely to get sick fish there..
there are movements going on to try to get Walmart to get rid of their fish department completely..

http://www.petlibrary.com/goldfish/walmart.htm

Scot
 
Wow. I was under impression of inch of fish per gallon. This rule of thumb is incorrect? Guess, I will have to deal with two aquariums. My fancytail body is about 2"-2 1/2" in length. I am starting to understand why she didn't move much in the 10 gal when she was in there. She was suffocating! I can believe what you say about Wal-mart. Well, I guess I don't have to worry about putting them together any more. Thank you for your information. One other thing you might be able to answer for me. Fins grow back? I mean if they are torn or bitten off they heal? Thanks again
 
yes, the one-inch rule doesnt apply to goldfish..
it only really works for small fish that get to one inch, then stay one inch!
like tetras..
the problem with goldfish is mass..
a one-inch long goldfish is a much BIGGER fish than a one-inch long tetra!
fatter, wider..
and think of "10 inches of fish"..
by using the "one inch per gallon" rule, you can fit 10 one-inch tetras in a 10 gallon tank right? yes, you can..because they are 10 *small* fish..
but now think about a 10-inch long goldfish!!
its still "10 inches of fish"..but the one goldfish has many many times the mass of the 10 small tetras, and can barely turn around in a 10 gallon tank!
also, because goldfish are cold water fish, their water holds less oxygen than warmer, tropical water..
and they are generally "messy" fish, the way they eat results in dirty water, which means you need more water volume per fish, and more water changes..

and you also want to have a tank that accounts for the future size of the fish..
yes, 4 1-inch long goldfish might look lost in a 55-gallon tank!
smile_m_32.gif

it might *seem* like overkill, but the fish will grow fast, especially if they have good conditions..
lets say you want to own 4 goldfish and keep then for a decade!
would you rather just start out with the 55 gallon right away, and never have to buy another tank or move the fish..
or start with a 10 gallon, then buy a 20 gallon when hey get too big for to 10 gal, then buy a 29 gallon, then a 40 gallon, then a 55 gallon, etc..
it would be much easier, cheaper (in the long run) and much better for the fish to just start out with the proper, big tank int he first place..even if you buying 4 teeny baby goldfish..
same thing with only one goldfish..much better to start out with the 20 or 29 gallon tank right off the bat..that one fish will have a nice roomy home to grow into..


I just made this!
biggrin.gif


goldfish.jpg


Scot
 
First let me congrat you on your fine artwork. Next let me thank you for explaining this. I didn't want these fish, but I have them and have grown attached to them. The least I can do is care for them correctly. My brother-in-law has a massive tank that has been sitting for years. Might be time to ask him if he'll give it up. It needs massive gravel and lid ect.. I can't remember when I moved my fancytail to the larger aquarium. Last 6-8 months or so. But I swear she has grown and is way more active. This is a sign I am doing something right. I never imagined that they needed so much room, makes sense though. The two new fish are approximately 2" inches total length. They should survive in the 10 gal till I can aquire bigger tank. Thanks again for your help and information. When I get larger tank do you think I will encounter any problems adding them together? Thank you,Glen
 
I agree with Scottychaos. You ought to see goldfish that hatched in my pond this spring/summer. At my house there are 2 ponds. One is around 50-70 gallons, the other is in the neighborhood of 1800 or so. Some of the fish(born this summer) are 6 inches long(spent all there lives in the big pond) versus some that are 3 inches long(were transferred to the little pond. I'm guessing they are about 4 months old.
 
I just picked up an aquarium from my sister who called it a twenty gallon. The rough size is 12"Wx16"Hx36"L. This seems to be a bit bigger than a twenty. The next problem is she kept a rat in it. When I clean my tanks I use table salt and scrub them out thoroughly.Also it is missing a small quanity of the sealant on the bottom. Well,looking at it again I would say about 3'. In various area's. One side is totally gone. I haven't filled it yet to find out if it leaks or if this is not a problem. I am thinking I have to repair it. I am afraid it might not leak until it is full and then I have a mental image of it blowing apart. I think I will pick up some sealant anyway. Any feedback on this?
 
  • #11
My condolences. Somehow I missed this topic. Both Scottytchaos and Elgecko offer sound advice. I add to it a couple more things. First a question: Was there filtration? People are always winning goldfish at fairs and they put them in a goldfish bowl or small tank. Often it doesn't have a filter and pump set up. Even though they know to "age" the water for chlorine, they are often clueless about the other bio-chemical dynamics. A typical scenario is a 35 year old father who brings his 10 year old son into a pet shop to put new fish into the 10 gallon tank set up the kid just got for Christmas. Apparently, the old man had fish when he was a kid and has enough knowledge to be dangerous and confused. They will want to put fish in the tank right away, unawares of the danger of doing so.

This is where the "aged water" concept comes in. It isn't aged water that is important. It is an aged filter medium that is. For on the surface of the filter media is where the bio-chemical action is taking place. When you introduce a "critter" to the tank, it begins to metabolize; that is, harmful produce waste products - particularly, ammonia. Nitrosamonos bacteria break down the the ammonia into also toxic nitrates. This is when you visibly see a "cloudy" tank and fish often die. This is also referred to as "new tank syndrome." After this stage, nitrobacter bacteria breaks down the nitrates into safe nitrites. This process takes a few weeks and is a necessary (ntirogen) cycle for a fishtank to go through. An ammonia test kit, which includes tests for nitrate and nitrite can tell you where in this cycle your tank is. Amount of fish and etmperature also affect activity.

This activity is taking place on your filter. Simply transferring aged water to a tank with a new filter won't change the situation. Taking relatively "new" water and adding it to an aged filter, however, does. I know, becazuse I conducted an experiment with saltwater tanks. Tried it both ways. Learned the hard way that you need the biochemical action in order to progress and add more fish.

Fins DO grow back, but often they don't look aas good as the "original equipment."
 
  • #12
I put new fish in ten gal tank. I had other fish in twenty gal tank. I set up a 30 gal + tank for them, I thought it would be good idea to put them all together in 20 gal before moving them into bigger tank. That night they were all gasping on the bottom. I put my big goldfish in new tank,left the gold carp in the twenty and the new fish back into the 10. They were all dead by morning. I don't know what happened. I usually set two 5 gal buckets out with water for 3 or 4 days before water change. I didn't use filtration. Never have. Didn't think it was that important. I just suctioned gravel out once amonth or so and added fresh (aged) water. This always seemed to work. I guess I better hit the books before I get more fish.
 
  • #13
I'm sorry to hear that. The biological load was too much for them to handle. They were basically living in their own waste products. Changing water is helpful, but not enough. It helps with symptoms but not with the cause.

Next time just get a filter and pump or a large filter, along with an ammomia test kit - and go slowly. Introduce one fish and let the bacteria do their thing. Monitor the toxins levels. This happens all the time.
 
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