this is my first time here. i have tried to have goldfish off and on over the years but none have lasted as long as these 2 have lol, and they have not all died from the same reasons. one pair of fantails survived the move from san francisco to seattle in a rubbermaid bowl, only to be flipped out of the bowl by a friend's cat while she was watching them for a week lmao. another time i had several small goldfish and all but one died. every couple days my hubby would walk by the tank and ask "why aren't you dead yet?". when i finally gave the fish to a friend she dubbed it WAYDY (see above for traslation lmao). my current pair have survived a move to a larger tank, a nasty case of ich, and my laziness when it comes to tank cleaning, but i am stumped for the reason of our current problem.

i have 2 (i think they are comets) good-sized goldfish in a 5 gallon tank. from what i have read of other post, its not big enough, but i don't have room yet for a bigger tank. one of my fish is bright golden orange and the other is all white ( i call it my platinum fish lol). recently ( i guess a week or so ago) i noticed the white one had taken to hiding behind the plants near the bottom, and only getting really active at feeding time or if someone stops to look at the tank. this morning i was sure the fish was going to give itself a concussion when i looked in. it went from a dead standstill to turbo speed and bashing itself against the sides of the tank. the funny part of all this is the orange one has taken to swimming directly alongside the white, touching sides, or resting underneath it in some way, like they are trying to cuddle lmao.

the white eats fine, fins stay upright, i have checked for ich and see none, poop seems fine.

ph level: 6.5-ish
nitrates/nitrites: no idea. have added filtered water as needed due to evaporation, but not done and major water changes so far ( I KNOW!!!! BAD ME!!!! )
i feed them finely ground flakes. they sink better than the larger flakes so fish aren't gulping at surface. also they fit into my auto feeder better.
2 goldfish, each about 4 inches (not counting the tail)
the white has developed lacy-looking blood streaks near the tips of the tail over the last 24 hrs. have tried using ich meds so far
tank is 5 gallons, been running since about january-04.
have never changed the water, but do add filtered water as needed due to evaporation. used filtered water to fill tank originally.
carbon filter w/ blue brillo-pad lookiing thing on top of it (all one piece, ready-made),have changed filter once-a-month, cleaned algae off sides as needed. also have a bio-wheel
have used chlor-out
no new fish since getting tank
tank has built-in flourescent light in hood with on/off switch on top
water temp is constanly about 78 degrees

any ideas? i am clueless on this latest problem. i've have these fish for over a year now and have sort of gotten attached to them lol. my hubby has even said he would almost miss them if they died since we've had them so long, and he's not a big fan of goldfish lol. he would rather have a huge aquarium with different kinds of fish but i don't feel like cleaning one lol. thanks

Im Not Sure,But Maybe It Could Be Breeding
Either Way,Interesting Post To Read

This is definetly a water quality issue. As you know, your fish are needing a bigger tank. With 2 comets, you'd need AT LEAST a 30 gallon tank. The red streaks you're seeing in the fins is blood. This fish, and I'm sure the orange one too, are suffering from the amount of ammonia in the tank. Goldies are so dirty taht they need a 25-30- even 50% water change WEEKLY. This is to keep up with the large amount of waste they produce. The fast swimming is also a sign of this. Ammonia burns, and fish will do the fast swimming, or flashing, as a way of trying to escape the burning. You really need to get some test kits for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte asap. Also, you should do a very large water change ont he tank NOW to help these fish feel better. Maybe even a total 100 % water change since it's been a long time. Your Ph is also low, but they can adjust and adapt to a wide range, so this isn't your main concern. Definetly do the water change now, get the test kits right away, and worry about the Ph later. And if you can afford it, get the bigger tank, or if you're in a pinch, a rubbermaid tub with a filter and air stone will hold em over till then. I wish you luck! I can telly ou care about the fish!! keep us posted!!!


Erika

hello!

i agree with errrika but, DO NOT DO A LARGE WATER CHANGE! the ph values in your tank may have dropped over time (lack of water changes) and may be much lower than what is in your tap. changing a large amount of water could cause a big ph swing wich can cause a lot of problems with a sick goldfish. instead, do a bunch of water changes over the course of 12 hours. say, an hour apart. once and if the ph valus closely match each other, you can resume to 25% daily for now.

you are definitely having water quality issues. my guess is that the nitrates have risen to very toxic levels. because youve got a good filter that is probably pretty well colonized with bacteria, your ammonia and nitrites might very well be low to zero (I AM ONLY ASSUMING THIS, YOU SHOULD GET YOUR WATER TESTED IMMEDIATELY). BUT, without doing the proper water changes, the nitrates will steadily rise until they wind up killing your fish. <_<

the fact that you are keeping two "good size" (what is good size? 5-6 inches?) comets in a 5 gallon tank, you are compounding the possibilities of toxic water to astronimical numbers. comets need at the very least 15 gallons of water per fish (once theyve gotten to a "good size" of 5-6 inches and bigger). once a comet gets about 8-10 inches and bigger, they need about 20-30 gallons each.

room or not, your going to have to think about alternative arrangements for these two if you want them to live much longer. as for now, you should be performing 25% water changes EACH DAY, to keep your water any kind of clean. make sure to use temperature matched, dechlorinated water. dont do any more than that because i fear that the ph in your tap water may be higher than in your tank. test for that since you have the kit for it.

and start looking for a bigger tank (a 30 gallon doesnt really take up that much more space than a 5 gallon) and some testkits!

please, do the right thing for your babies!

Oooooooh, I didn't even think about that Toothless, thanks for catching my blunder!

Hi there, I am going to repeat some of what has already been said, and hope you don't feel bombarded.

Firstly, your fish are in extreme danger at this point. As you have not changed any water since January (only done top-ups) your Nitrate levels will be very high. Fish can tolerate low to moderate Nitrates but weekly water changes are the only way to remove Nitrates, they do not get filtered out.

I don't know how familiar you are with the water cycle of tanks, but basically fish waste becomes ammonia (toxic) which in turn is converted by bacteria into Nitrites (toxic) and finally converted into Nitrates (safe except in high levels).

Also fish require minerals found in tap water to be healthy. I use filtered water myself but add goldfish conditioning salt to give them minerals. When you use tap water you need to add a dechlorinator (which you can buy at the pet store) or leave the tap water standing in clean buckets overnight so the chlorine evaporates. If you put fish directly into untreated tap water they will get very sick and possibly die.

The only way I can see that you can continue to keep your fish in the 5 gallon tank (until you can make other arrangements) would be to change 25-30% of their water daily or at least every 2nd day.

Also you pH is low (it is actually acidic) most likely because you are using filtered water which normally should be around 7. (neutral) but yours has dropped due to lack of water changes and nitrate build-up.

I would recommend a 50% water change ASAP. Use half treated tap water and half filtered water for the first week, then switch to full tap water. I would not recommend you continue to use filtered water unless you start to use goldfish conditioning salts. If you do decide to use them start off with only 25% of the recommended dose and increase dosage each week so your fish can get used to it.

I have two goldfish in a 5 gallon tank myself (this is a temporary measure) but they are only half the size of your ones. I do twice weekly water changes of 30%.

You also mentioned an automatic feeder? I've never heard of those but check it is not overfeeding. You need only feed your fish once or twice daily as much as they can eat in two minutes.

Well I have repeated alot of what had already been said. Wish you luck.

hey all, thanks for the help . i did get a test strip kit that tests for ALL the stuff and EVERYTHING was WAAAYYYY off of where it should be lol. i put my fish in a holding tank and did a major clean-up of the tank (MAN THAT WATER WAS GROSS!!!! sorry fishies!!! ) i also got some stuff to add to the new water that is supposed to neutralize ammonia, chlorine and chloramine.
i can't exactly leave a bucket of water sitting around cuz i have an 11 month old baby who LOVES to splash in the toilet, and a 3.5 yr old who we have to remind to keep the lid down lol. i haven't put the fish back in their tank yet, am letting it run for a little while first, to let the neutralizing stuff mix in. this time i filled it w/ regular tap water.
i got the auto feeder cuz we will be going on a LONG vacation this summer. it runs on a battery and the dispenser tube (which is adjustible for amount of food needed) scoops food from the holder as it rotates, and dumps it gradually into the tank every 12 hours. it basically has a clock mechanism inside and the food holder rotates instead of hands moving around a dial. it holds up to 4 weeks of food.
okay, i know i was going to say something else, but am drawing a total blank lol. i guess i need to go to sleep early tonight lol. anyway, thanks all, and let me know if you think of anything else.

oh i remember now..... i have a book about goldfish care, but some things are lightly glossed over. it doesn't really go into great depth on any subject. (i HATE books like that! but it was the only one at my local store) how long should i leave my fish out of the tank?

You don't have to leave them out of the tank when you do water changes, just be sure that the tap water is temp matched and treated. You said something about a water conditioner that neutralizes ammonia, and chlorine and chloramines, and I just wanted to tell you that you still need to do the water changes, because it neutralizes the ammonia, but only to a point. I hope everything's going ok, now put those fish back in! Test the Ph first, and make sure it's not way off of what they're use to though.

lol i put them in and the white is pooping huge amounts cuz it's actually swimming around normal now, instead of hovering near the bottom lol.
someone said a 30 gallon tank doesn't take much more space than my 5 gallon. i don't have room for one that big on my kitchen counter lol. i did start out in a 1 gallon tank w/ just an air stone and my fish managed to survive that, but i was also more diligent about cleaning it. shortly after i upgraded to the 5gal, things got kind of hectic around here. lol the only reason i went ahead and got the bigger tank was my fish (which were about 1inch when i got them) had survived this long so far, and had grown to needing more room lol. little did i know..... it should have been bigger!! lol like i had said in my first post, i haven't had much usable experiencve w/ goldfish.
when i was about 7 yrs old my grandma went on a trip to hawaii and while she was gone one of my aunts put 11 goldfish in gma's old above-ground pool that was no longer usable but still had water and PLENTY of algae lol. the golfish loved it so much, they survived and bred year after year until the liner on the pool had ripped down to the waterlevel and gma finally had to get rid of it. my dad helped her catch the fish and take them to a local botanical garden where she had gotten permission to put them in their fish pond. they ended up w/ 3 trash cans FULL of goldfish!! and that was when i was about 20yrs old lol. she had some of the most beautifully colored fish in that old pool . it was really fun to feed them and watch all the reds, whites, oranges, yellows, and blacks coming to the surface out of the murky water to eat.
okay, i know i babble! lol i gotta put kids to bed now. night all

Hi Snickerfrogbutt, (that's an interesting name, we recently had a poll on the coolest name and the winner was 'Sourmilknightmares")

I know how difficult it is to change water with little kids underfoot. I put a video on and cross fingers I won't get interupted. I prefer to wait until someone is home to keep an eye on Henry while I'm busy.

I stripped and cleaned my 5g today as well, mine is located on the kitchen bench as well. I also stripped and cleaned my 8g Betta tank and bought a divider so I could add another Betta, which I did - but I'm diverting.

Well, good luck with your fish. I'm glad they seem happy in their clean tank. If you change 25-30% of your water every second day you should stay out of trouble. I know it's a hassle - that's why people buy bigger tanks. Remember, if you're only doing a partial water change it's not necessary to remove the fish.

Cheers!

snicker,

when you say that you "cleaned the tank", you didnt by chance clean it 100% including the gravel and filter, did you? if you did, you stand a very good chance of the tanks cycle being interrupted. i hope that this isnt the case.

for more info on cleaning your tank, check out the tanks forum.

good luck with your babies (goldie and human)

paul