I am new to keeping fish and i only have 2 small goldfish, in a small bowl, although it is not tapered at the top so there is maxumum surface area, i am aware that i need to get a larger tank.

I have had the fish for about 3 - 4 weeks and recently i have found black areas on the orange one, he is still lively and it does not seem to bother him, but i am worried about it, the black it appearing on the ends of his tail and on his fins.

I am feeding the fish n goldfish flakes, twice a day, as i have said i am new to fish keeping and am unaware of many of the things to mention.

I would be very pleased if anyone knows about this problem and could help me.

thank you.

Gina

hi there

from what i know i'd guess it's from ammonia burns (don't panic!). how often do you change the water in the bowl? it's important to do this very often, probably once every 2 days in a fishbowl, because of the amount of waste the goldfish will produce. if you don't, then the ammonia builds up and can hurt your fish, and eventually kill them

it's good that you know you need a bigger tank - for 2 little fish you can get away with a 10gallon one if you change the water often and keep the conditions good. you'll need a filter and airstone too, and it's worth getting water testing kits so that you can keep an eye on things (your local fish store will test the water for you, but it's much easier and more convenient if you can do it yourself!).

but for now, change the water often, keep an eye on both your fish, and start looking for a new tank as soon as you can!

hope things pick up, alex x

Thanks alot, i have been changing the water weekly, although as i have been on holiday i left my fish with my neighbour (when i collected them i noticed the black). i will try changing and cleaning the water more regular and see what happenes. I was told in the store that i did not need a filter and airpump for common goldfish but i will look for an airstone as the fish ate the oxygenation plant i put in!!
I will let you know what happens

Hey there and welcome to the board!!

It sounds like the black spots might be your fish recovering
from ammonia burns. The ammonia burns happen from the
water conditions not being good.

Since your aware you need a tank for your fish, here is some info
you probably would liketo know about before buying stuff.

Tank size: minimum of 10 gallons of water per goldie. So you
would need a tank ofat least 20 gallons. Get a bigger one though,
more room to grow and play. 10 gallons of water is about 100
pounds of weight.

Decorations-gravel, some people have it, some people have bare
bottom tanks. Goldies will suck up the small graveland occasionally
can get stuck in their mouth. Others use biggerriver rocks found
at places like Home Depot or nnnnnn.

Ornaments/castles, try to avoid hollow ones. They can hold old dirty
water and collect poo and other debris. If you do get one, drill small
holes in the top and have a bubble stream go up through it to create
water movement.

Plants can be live or plastic. Plastic ones won't get eaten, but may need
a cleaning now and then. Real plants require different lighting and
can end up being a snack for your fish.

Air pump with bubble stones/wand, you'll want one so your fishies
have O2 in the water. Plus it helps release some nasty stuff from the water.

Filters, you'll want one that filters at least 10 times per hour the amount
of water in your tank.So, if you have a 20 gallon tank, you'll want a filter
that does 200 gal per hour minimum. Even more is super!

Lighting, fluorescent light seems to be the way. Your local fish
store (LFS) will have various bulbs with different light spectrums.
Some are for growing plants, some intensify fish color.

Heater, I would recommend one to keep the water temp at a steady temp
instead of it going up and down, which will stress the fish out. You will
need a thermometer along with this to tell what the temp of the tank is.
Most are little sticky strips that go on the outside of the tank.

If you've read all this you are now starting to think this might be
kinda spendy and what did I get myself into? Everyone has done that
and now hangs out here (Goldfish Anonymous) The little buggers are
addicting!!

Your LFS will have some starter tanks that come with most of the above
mentioned stuff. Or for some initial prices nnnnnn has a 29 gallon setup
for $95.

Other people may have some extra input. If you have any other questions
feel free to ask away. That's what this place is for, to learn and pass on
knowledge.

Goodluck!!

WOW ok...... now thats alot of stuff!!

I will gradually build up to get all those things, thanks alot, I think i will find this message board very helpfull because i do not know alot about the fish but i want to know more.

thanks for your help!

Forgot to add some websites to visit to check out various
products.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/
http://www.petsmart.com/
http://www.bigalsonline.com/

Thanks alot but im in the UK, i am intending to go to our petsmart (now pets at home) later today, but as i am a student and dont have much money i will have to gradualy buy things.

Ordering things online is alot cheaper than going to the store.
You pay about half as much. At least for us over here. No
idea what prices are over there or what shipping would be...

If we order stuff from you the shipping makes it just as much as it is to buy it most of the time, unless it is something rare!

alot of the time it is cheaper and easier to just go to the shop!!

The black is definitely ammonia burns. With 2 fish in a bowl I would be doing a 50% water change daily. Make sure too that you temperature match the water and use a dechlorinator. You really need to get a bigger tank soon, otherwise the fish wont last too long.
I'm in the Uk and order most of my fishy things from this website http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/.
If you order over £30's worth delivery is free. Also, on a lot of things it's worth paying for the delivery because the goods are actually much cheaper than the shops in lots of cases. Fluval filters are especially cheap here.

Since your question has been covered adequately by everybody above, I just wonna say and welcome to this great board!
I have ben honorary member of the Goldfish Anonymous for 5 years now, and there is no known cure in sight! So I thought joining here might ease the addiction, its fun, its free, and the $150 each hour I save on the Shrink I can spend for some other fish!

Thanks very much for all your help on the matter, i have noticed a change in my fish already, i have been changing the water ALOT more regulary and even over the past few days the black seems to be going.



Thanks for all the advice i have taken it all on board and am on my way to a better fishy life! lol :goldfish

i dont know about UK prices, but here a bare ten gallon tank is less than 10$. that would be the first purchase i would recommend. treat it as a large bowl for now. then a filter, which is about the same price. a hood can come later than that, you already mentioned having an air pump, and you can just use the one you have.

thats cheap, our tanks range from very small bowls which are about £6 but the larger tanks, well, what i call large is probably what you guys call small! start at about £40!!

OO one other thing, when i asked about this condition in the pet shop (although i know they sometimes do not know what they are talking about!) they said the black could be the fish growing like stretch marks or something!

this has now confused me!!

That's rubbish!! I really wouldn't take advice from that pet shop if i were you! The black is definitely a sign of ammonia burns which are beginning to heal. Fish with stretch marks!! <g>

As for the tanks - If you go for the fancy Juwel aquariums for example, then yes they are expensive. But, if you go for a simple plain Clear-Seal tank then you can get them relatively cheaply. I bought a 10 gallon tank from my lfs last week to set up as a quarantine tank and it was £15. That was without a hood, but I bought a heavy duty condensation tray to use instead which was only a couple of pound. I'm sure you could get hold of a tank like that where you are pretty easily. Try looking in your telephone directory for small independent aquatic shops in your area (I expect there are a few) and try looking there for a tank as they tend to sell the bog standard tanks which the bigger stores don't. You'll porbably get it cheaper then. Also, some pet shops sell cheap plastic tanks which aren't the best quality in the world but would be an improvement for your fish. We ahve a Big H pet superstore here that sells them for a few quid. Of course some of them are tiny, but they do go up to what i would say was roughly 10 gallons.

ok cool, i will have a look around, i am sure tey will be alot happier in a bigger area! and i didnt think the pet shop was right about the growth thing!!
it just befuddled me a bit! thanks alot