Hello all,

I got 2 gold fish and a tank (along with some food and water treatments) from a friend as a gift.

In short order one gold fish killed the other and I was so upset.

I had never heard of such a thing! So, I came onto this site and posted my query.

Seems that nothing else could have happened considering that the tank is a 1 gallon tank.

I now know that 10 gallon is the minimum. There is no way for me to afford a 10 gallon tank right now and the surviving goldie is doing okay but seems a little agitated. I had no idea that goldies needed so much room!

I feel bad for the fish and worry about his survival.

What can I do??

Trust me I CAN NOT afford a tank at least for a month.

Help if you have it???

OOOHHH - I have been reading about water parameters -

What are these? how do you test them?

I am in over my head and I am so worried about my fishie.

Please help

If you cant afford a bigger tank right now, you can go find a rubbermade container. They make great Quarenting/Hospital/Temporary tanks, or even permanent tanks, and most houses have one or two laying around. Tie rope or something around it to keep it from bowing out, fill it up, slap on a filter and you have a tank.

To test your parameters, you need a test kit. That way you can make sure the ammonia, nitrItes, nitrAtes, and pH are at safe levels.

Hi, and welcome.

Well, if you can afford alittle bit, you can usually find a 10 gallon for really cheap in the newspaper and even craigslist, sometimes locally on ebay as well.

Since its such a small space, and would do complete water changes everyday.

As far as water params and stuff. Water params are nitrites nitrates, ammonia, PH, stuff like that. You can buy tester kits to test this. You can also take a sample to petsmart, and they will test it for free. With it being such a small tank, the ammonia will rise rapidly, so thats why i said daily water changes, as the ammmonia will stress out the fish, and potentially kill it. Once you have a larger tank, you can begin to cycle it. Cycling the tank is when you get beneficial bacteria that grows that eats the ammonia and nitriites and turns them into nitrates, and then you do partial water changes each week to remove that. There is some great info on here about this. I'll get you a few links so you can read about it. You came to the right place though, and your doing the right thing for the fish. Good Luck and I hope you find a bigger tank.

Hey good luck with your fish.. believe me I didn't know until recently that goldfish needed so much room. And you have been offered some great advice already

Thanks guys!

I will change his water right now! Is high amonia content the reason he seems stressed to me?

Mind you - I have not had a fish for at least 15 years (kid) so I am not sure what stressed looks like. I am just going on intuition.

Not sure I get how to put a filter on a rubbermaid??

If I watch his H2O parameters and change the water daily. Do you think he will be okay for a few days while I look for a cheap 2nd hand tank or figure out how to build one ala tupperware?

You can just get a hang on back filter and hang it on the side of the rubbermade, its easy. I have one set up right now for a possible new fish tomorrow.

If your changing all his water every day you don't need to watch the parameters. I would actually change his water twice a day if you can, a gallon is small. Maybe once in the morning and once before bed? He should be ok for a few days until you can set something up.

Thank you!

What is pro-gold - I see you all giving it as a special treat???

Pro-Gold is a type of food some people feed their goldies.

I personally like Omega-One, my goldies have done great with it. Also, they love treats of blood worms and what not. LOL... and love pea's and oranges.

Good Luck, and I hope your find a second hand fish tank soon. Usually you can find a pretty good deal. I know on craigslist, there are always tons of fish tanks... LOL.. I acctually found a 55 gallon, with stand and everything for $75 today, which im still contimplating whether to buy or not. LOL..

Good Luck, and if u have any questions, feel free to ask. Thats what were all here for

Thank you again.

Okay more questions

1) When he nibbles at his pebbles at the bottom of the tank is he eating food or poop and is it okay?

2) Should I put his pebbles and plants in with him in the tupperware?


I am turning into a neurotic mother. I will settle down once I get him some more room. I already lost one and thats enough.

I think I send a picture of my goldie soon - so you can all meet him!

He is rummaging around for food. You can rinse out the gravel and give that and the plant to him in the rubbermade, sure. I dont think it would hurt.

Ha, I think we are all a little paranoid about our fish. I sit and stare at my two for about 30 minutes a day, making sure they are acting the same.

theres always the storage tub method! Get a filter (an inexspensive one if the whisper junion, around $16, and does a decent job) and pop it onto a storage tub (available at walmart, target, etc, for around.... $3-5)

works awsomely, and viola! you have a mini pond

When he's pecking at the gravel, hes just looking for food. He will also his own poop, but all goldies do that. LOL....

I would put the gravel and plants in there in the rubber maid myself. He would probably like them, but just a warning, when he gets big enough, he can get the rocks stuck in his mouth (has happened to me a few times, so now I have river rock) so if possible, either go bare bottom, or river rocks, as it can be very scary trying to get a rock our of a goldies mouth with a pair of tweezers.

It would be fine to put his gravel in the container.

GF like to "forage" for food thru the bottom and all over the tank. That is why it is always good to use gravel they can't get in their mouths or at least watch them carefully. Most the time if you use smaller gravel they can spit them out easily enough, unless like one of mine and then he gets 3 stuck in there!!

I can't wait to see pictures

Hi! I just wanted to give you a vote of confidence - I was YOU exactly one year ago! My fish is doing very well now (and he is huge!), mostly thanks to this site! I look forward to hearing more about your new fish! Try to enjoy!

I know you feel badly, but don't panic! In "42" hours, I have a feeling you will find a great, affordable tank! (Ha, Ha, I hope you read Hitchiker's...?! ) I have done really well by www.craigslist.org and there also the pennys aver and such - you would be amazed how many buy the fish and give up - you are not one of them - yeah!!! Kudos to you - you will be a great fish mom before you know it!

Anyway, everyone gave you great advice to keep your GF in best condition until you can get something bigger - just hang in there!

Pro-Gold is a food made and sold by a real goldfish guru - Mr. Rick Hess - at www.goldfishconnection.com. You can probably wait on that until you get a better set-up - that's the priority now if $ are an issue. Maybe one day you will want to try that food so I will warn you he only sells larger sizes so it is pricey becasue of the amount (pond size). I think if you break it down, it is not too bad, especially cinsidereing the quality - but there's plenty of good things you can feed your fish now - look at the food forum!

Hello!

I successfully kept a small goldfish alive in a 1 gal bowl for two weeks (until I got a larger tank). I religously checked the ammonia levels twice a day and changed the water 1-2 times a day as the ammonia levels got up to 1 ppm. I usually changed about 50 % of the water at a time. Remember, always use temperature matched, dechlorinated water. The biggest challenge was removing the sedement from the bottom because I always removed water from the top.

I also added an airstone to the bowl as bowls and tanks without filters are usually low on oxygen. The airstone created quite a current in the bowl so I always turned it off at night so he could sleep.

If he is stressed (sucking at the surface a lot, lethargic, and/or skiddish) it is probably either the ammonia levels or oxygen levels. I don't think there is a good way to measure oxygen in the water, but you can always add more with an airstone.

I was worried about the cost of a tank also, but keep in mind if you are only getting a 10 gal you probably don't need a special fish tank stand, you could just put it on a table or dressor or something. Special stands are usually a concern because 1 gal of water weighs just a little under 10 lbs. You could see how it is a issue with larger tanks.

good luck! I think your fish will do fine in the short term if you do everything you can to make him comfortable in his situation.

at walmart you can get a 10 gal. for $10 without anything if you already have a filter or you can get a whole set up for $30 they also had one for $50. i just bought a 29 for $100.

Lol, Kristy you beat me for the 10 for 10 deal at wallmart If a few dollars makes a difference in your case, I'd get a 10 gallon tub. They can be as cheap as just a few bucks! Do you have a filter? If you don't have one yet, look for a filter that will filter at least 100 gallons per hour (100gph) for a ten gallon tank/tub. The filter will probably be the most expensive item, but generally the more money you spend, the cleaner your tank will be, and your fish will be much healthier in the long run, and you won't end up having to buy a better one down the road (like I did ) Goodluck! I can't wait for your fishy pics too!

Thank you all for all of you support and advise. Little Ploc is doing well. I have changed his water and will do it again in a little while. He seems much happier with the nice clean water.

I have NovAqua and AmQuel as H2O treatments - are these any good??

I can tell he doesn't like living so cramped but I have told him that I will be looking for better accomodations for him this weekend and in the mean time for him to just pretend he is living in NY, NY

He thought that was funny!

Thanks all for the help - I am sure I will be on this site often. I watched him FOREVER this morning - looking at his eyes, tail, fins, scales............................

M

Haha...we have another new goldfish adict Welcome! The water treatments you have are probably a couple of the best you can buy Good job to your friend lol.

"I can tell he doesn't like living so cramped but I have told him that I will be looking for better accomodations for him this weekend and in the mean time for him to just pretend he is living in NY, NY "
Rofl3

Okay now I think I am going a little crazy!! I am starting to have dreams of building him a pond in the 12 ft of yard I have.

When you say "storage tub" do you mean those big plastic tubs with lids that come in colors. Like rubbermaid?



I have one of those already. Can I put him in this for now??

I prefer he has a tank but for now?????

storage tub=rubbermaid

Any idea how big your tub is? Mine all have the gallonage, but some only tell liters or quarts. I'd give it a good rinsing (with NO soap) and put him in there when you can. He'll be so happy to have the space! A tub can be a permanant home if it is big enough, it works just as well as glass. I prefer to see my fishies....it will make a great temporary tank. Also, the sides of the rubbermaid will bow out a little. Depending on how thick the plastic is and how big the container is, it might bow a little or a lot. As long as its not excessive to the point you're worried about damage, I think it will be okay if its going to be temporary housing. I'd leave a few inches off the top to prevent too much bowing, and to prevent fishy from jumping.

Oh my god - Thank you I would NEVER have though of little Ploc jumping out.

yippppeee the one I have is at least 10 gallons. I am going to put him in there now.

I will still look for a tank because I like to see him and visit with him. He deserves a pretty home with a nice view.

Yay

Goldfish can be jumpers, especially if the water params (ammonia, nitrates, etc caused by waste) are too high (in your case they probably are since he is in a small, uncycled place.) Do you know about cycling a tank? I'd feed him only a little bit to keep ammonia down for now