Ok. Hi, Im very new to this board and site, I just came across it when looking for somethings about my fish. OK so i guess i should lay down the situation then. Ive had fish for 3 years but I never knew that i wasn't taking care of them right....

i always get comet goldfish by the way.

Anyways, recently I decided that the conditions that my lucky 3 yr old goldfish was living in was completely unacceptable, and i had to get my act together so that it wouldnt die.

So. Like a week or two ago, i got a brand new tank, and brand new everything, so that i could start over. It's a ten gallon tank. I know who people say that you should get bigger ones, but we just don't have the money right now! and i got two new comets as buddies fro my old one. But my old fish was living downstairs, because i was living down there for a while. But now i live Upstairs, where the tempurature is a little different. But i didn't think about that when setting up my new fish tank. I got it set up, and after a while, i put the new fish in.

It was THEN that i decided to do some research on care of goldfish. Late i know. sorry. and i found out a lot of new things, im still learning by the way. And then on sunday, i noticed the the small one i bought was anti-social, it layed on the tank floor alot, and i noticed small white spots on it. So i used my new knowledge, Cleaned up my old tank. (it took about 3 hours to do that) and set it up as a hospital tank. after waiting for a while i put the new fish in after letting it get used to the water temp. Sadly, it was only in there for about 2 hours before i had to flush it. So NOW i have 2 fish tanks in my room. and one doesnt have fish in it.

But today i had to do a little cleaning in my tank. and i noticed the the water was a little warm. The thermometer said 76degrees F. im worried that that is uncomfortably warm for my fish. Can someone tell me how i might be able to lower the temp of my water?

Any tips would greatly be appreciated

Hello! My outside goldfish are in 77 degree water and do just fine. Make sure that you have plenty of airstones to help make adequate oxygen. It also hepls the gases escape. Also you should add aquarium salt to your tank. It serves many purposes. Make sure it is aquarium or epsom salt, not table salt. the directions of how much is posted on the carton.
Good Luck!!

Heather

Hello, there. I am so happy that you have joined us here on Koko's. It is great that you are looking to learn more about how to keep your fish healthy.....

First, I am going to move this over to diseases so someone can help you a bit with the white spots.

There is a really good article on fish keeping that might be able to help a whole lot on general fish knowledge. I am going to see if I can find it for you.

There is a way that most fish keepers on this site keep their water clean for the goldfish. It is called cycling or the nitrogen cycle. Beneficial bacteria process the fish waste, cleaning the water as they do it. SInce you have an "empty" tank now, you are in a perfect position to do what is called a fishless cycle - and prepare that tank for the fish you have - to help them be as happy as possible.

Here are some articles on cycling a tank:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/FishlessCycle.html

Please post back with any questions that you may have. We all started in the same place where you are at this time - and with the help of wonderful people here on the board, we have learned ways to keep fish that keeps them beautiful and healthy.

graceful fins, goldfish can survive in salt water? i thought they were freshwater fish im confused.

daryl thank you for the welcome and the articles. im hoping im can make new friends here, and learn how to take care of my fish, so thanks! youre all so friendly, ive never really been introduced to this friendlyness thanks

aaaaaaawwwwww, you didn't flush it while it was still alive did you?

no...it died