I recently acquired a young (about 2 inch) Ryukin White and Orange Goldfish, named Luka. She, (or he) is just gorgeous and I’m very fond of her. Luka looks wonderful, considering the fact that someone kept her in a bowl for a few days before letting me take her off their hands. They weren't interested in taking care of her and I couldn't stand her in that bowl for one more second.

She's very curious though the first day she was shy, as is to be expected. Now she's rushing up to see me and dancing at the front of the tank every time I come near. Her fins are all held high, no clamping, no red fins, no blemishes at all that I’ve been able to see as of yet so I’m very happy about that. I don't claim to be any sort of expert though.. That’s why I’m here.

Now, I’m keeping Luka in a 10 gallon at the moment. I know that won't be sufficient for her forever or very long for that matter if she stays healthy and happy as I wish. She has some lovely un-swallow able gravel on the bottom of her tank, and as I am fairly inexperienced, some fake plants (One large and one small bamboo plant, and three little green silk plants) and a little cave with many openings to rest in. (Yep, I know I need to clean it thoroughly in hot water when I clean the tank). The tank she's in is kept at 72 F; she has a filter suitable for a 10 gallon tank, and an air stone and pump to create surface bubbles. It's not on very high, but I didn't think a 10 gallon would give enough surface for air.

I've put in 2 tablespoons of salt (1 for every 5 gallons), AmQuel and NovAqua treated water.. and the pH is about 7.2.

Tomorrow I plan to purchase a lower than 10 watt Full spectrum florescent light, nitrite test kit, ammonia test kit, and nitrate test kit. I also plan to purchase some sinking food. I was given Nutrafin Max floating pellets by her former owner but I’ve been reading those aren't the best because of swim bladder.

So I have a couple of problems. Because she was just given to me suddenly, I had no ability to cycle a tank first, since she is already in it (nor do I really understand how, though I’m reading about the process) because it was that or a bag and the pH is fluctuating between 7.4 to 7.0... to 72... and I know that can really stress a fish out. She doesn't look stressed, but that might not be telling me anything right? Also, since I had no way to test for ammonia or nitrites, or nitrates, I’ve not done that yet. I fed her a few soaked floating pellets last night but I’ve stopped until I can get better food. She doesn't have a light.. or half the things she needs, and I’m being an over stressed new fishy mom.

So, I thought I’d ask all of you.. what sort of lights do you recommend? My tank has a hood, and can be fitted for lights and I looked up that it should be a full spectrum florescent light that is lower than 10 watts, or 10. Is that correct?

What brand of food do you recommend? I've been looking around and it seemed Hikari was a popular choice. I -think- I can get my hands on that. I also plan to supplement her diet with various things I’ve read about in the food forum here.

Should I salt the tank a bit more? Is there any other water conditioners you can recommend? I hear that AmQuel gives false readings on ammonia tests.. should I use some kind of cycling liquid from the pet store to hurry the process along?

I know.. I should change the water every day to get the ammonia and nitrites to a certain level.. I haven't been able too since I don't have the right test kits yet.. but when I do I will start to change the water properly.

Sorry to ask so many questions, but I really want to do things right. I know there is a chance I’ll lose this fish just because I’m sure that was all extremely stressful for her.. and if I do I will do it all again correctly and buy a new fish.

Thank you in advance! If you have any more tips for me, please let me know!

Welcome to Koko's! Ill try to help as much as I can.

First of all, great job keeping her in a 10 gallon! She will be very happy in there for a long time. Your filter should do at least 100 gallons per hour. A lot of the filters say theyre for a certain size tank but thats usually based on if you have tropical fish. Goldfish are a lot messier and need more filtration. The airstone you have should be fine.

I would recommend getting a gravel vac so you can so water changes quickly and easily. You will probably have to change some of the water daily until you get the water params to the right conditions. Ammonia -0, nitrIte - 0, nitrAte - below 20 is ideal although it can be a bit higher.

A test kit for those things is essential otherwise you wont know if the tank is cycled or not. Also its good to test the water often after it is cycled to make sure everything is in order. A lot of us use the drop test kits as theyre more accurate than the strips.

As far as food goes, Hikari is well recommended as well as ProGold which you can purchase at goldfishconnection.com. I also like Omega One and TetraFin. Pellets are better than flakes although I like to feed presoaked flakes sometimes.

Prime is the BEST water conditioner to have especially if youre cycling your tank. It detoxifies nitrAte and nitrIte as well as gets rid of chlorine and ammonia. It shouldnt be used as a substitute for water changes though.

What is you pH reading from your tap? To stabalize mine, I keep crushed coral in a media bag inside my filter. It keeps it at a steady 7.2 and doesnt need to be changed too often. Just make sure to rinse the bag and coral SUPER well before adding to your tank.

Is your fish showing any signs of illness? Parasites, ect? I dont know if you'd have to salt any higher right now but we'll wait to see what someone else says.

Im not sure on the light either. Ive always just used the bulb that came with my striplights. I dont think it matters as much if you dont use live plants.

Hope I helped a bit!

Just wanna add that u don't need a test kit to do waterchanges. I advice u to do twice weekly waterchange of at least 50% each, that should keep the ammonia and nitrite in check.

Hi Gold Cissa! Welcome to kokos and to being a new fish Mom. It sounds like you are doing a thoro' job of researching what to do and glitterfish has given you some excellent advice.

One thing I'd be wary of is salting while you cycle your 10 gallon with Luka in it. It is tricky to keep track of the amount of salt going in and out when- as d_golem says you are changing large amounts of water frequently. Something called saltcreep can happen. Ive never bought a salinity test so cannot advice about those but if you are salting at .1% (the tonic level) be careful about keeping an eye on that

Good luck. It's so much fun having a finned friend

Since you've got great advice from others (above) I'll just say "Welcome to kokos"

Thank you everyone for your wonderful help and kind welcomes! I appreciate it! I was also wondering..

Should I get her a friend? I know it's best to keep goldfish in a really big tank.. and it'd make everything harder to keep up with but i'm scared she's lonely.

I'd be prepared to get them a large tank once they got bigger, but then again I think 10 gallons is much too small for 2, even if they are both young.

I don't know. What do you think?

A two inch fish (without tail) is enough for a 10 gallon tank. A two inch fish (with tail) might possibly have a companion for a while.

BUT:

Your tank is NOT cycled. It is not wise AT ALL to add another waste maker into that tank at this time. BIG MISTAKE......

While you are cycling, you may find that you have to change out the water on a daily basis to keep the parameters from harming your fish. Do not be afraid of water changes. They are all that is standing between danger and your fish's health! Cycling a tank can take a long time - 8 weeks (sometimes even more). Sometimes you are lucky and it goes faster.

Your tank will cycle just as fast if you change out water often enough in large enough quantities to keep ammonia and especially nitrites below 0.25ppm. At that level, with the 0.1% salt you have in the tank, the fish should remain healthy for the duration. In an uncycled 10 gallon tank, I find that I have to take out as much water as possible without making the fish flop on a dry tank bottom and then replace it all with fresh, treated water [u[every day[/u]. Swish your filter out in used fish water when needed, and your cycle will happily develop, while your fish is protected. For a larger fish I always add in a double shot of Prime to the water following the change - this helps protect the fish until the next water change the next day. (Prime will also do double duty as a water conditioner)

If you can get some water tests, that would be great. But if you are on a limited budget, invest in the Prime. Diligent, daily water changes with Prime will keep your fish happy as he is now, and, by the time you get the tests, you may find that you are most of the way or all the way to a cycle.

i agree with Marsha, but

I've tried some of the stuff off the shelf at the pet store, and I don't think it's worth bothering with. I've read that the type that requires refrigeration works pretty good, if it's been refrigerated constantly from the factory. I've never seen any, tho. You're probably better off just going thru the traditional cycle.

OKay, well my filter does 100 gallons per hour. I made sure. So that's something i'm doing right!

I also have a gravel vac *g* Used it to do a 5 gallon water change today. I only changed 5 because I bought the Nitrite, Ammonia and Nitrate tests and got a really low reading on all of them. Pleasant surprise. Not exactly sure WHY though. Can't complain. I'll continue to check it daily and change the water though. They were drop test kits, and i'm assuming they are accurate.

I got some Wardley slow sinking goldfish crumbles. She seems to like them, but of course I plan to supplement her diet. My lfs didn't have much to choose from. There was some Hikari but they were floating pellets, and too large for my tiny girl.

Is Pro-Gold very large? I'm just wondering because she is so small. .about 3 inches with her long tail.. I don't know what she can fit in her mouth. I'll order some if it's a good size.

I bought some Prime as well and put that in with the water change. I seem to have gotten the pH stabalized, as far as I can tell, added some crushed coral that will keep it that way..

I haven't seen any sign of illness or parasites as of yet, so I haven't added a lot of salt. She has black marks (two small patches) but I think that is from her formerly being black as well as orange and white, as they look a lot like fish markings. Her tankmates all were Calicos or patchy black orange and white fish. I bought a 15 watt full spectrum florescent light.. she isn't wincing away from that or hiding so I think she's enjoying it.

so thank you SO much for your advice and help glitterfish!

Thank you to everyone else who gave advice. Also, for the welcomes! I think i'll enjoy this community.

Daryl, thank you for letting me know. I will not add another fish until i'm certain the tank is stable, and I may possibly wait until I get a bigger tank anyways. Seems a better idea at this point. I changed 50% on this water change, but I will change the water .. almost all of it for the one tomorrow. I appreciate your help!

How odd.. I tested my water again after the change and before. Before the nitrite and ammonia were 0, and the nitrates were a bit below 10. pH is 7.2.

After the change.. same readings. Even in the new water tested -before- adding it to the tank.

I'm confused. Am I just lucky, or have I bought faulty tests? They are the Hagen ones.. the colours match the really low zones.. in fact they are even lighter. I don't know!

How long have you had the tank running?

Is your testing kit strips or drops into a test tube? Make youre youre following the directions EXACTLY or you may get false readings.

progold pellets are rather small, and they are easy to break into smaller pieces (just roll them between your fingers) if you find them to be too large, or if you soak them, they crumble *extremely* easily.

I think that your goldfish would probably be fine eating them.

I agree. ProGold is a very good food. My small and large fish can both eat it.

I've had it running since monday. Every time I test it, it's perfect. It isn't a strip test, they are all drops in a test tube and I follow the directions to the letter. *L* Did it again today, still perfect, except Ammonia went up a tad, barely any, so i'll change the water today.

Thank you both! I'll order some Pro-Gold asap then!

My fish freak when they get Pro-Gold. I like to give them a big variety - not just of food types but of food textures. The Pro-Gold sinking pellets dissolve rather quickly in my tank and the fish love to suck up the soft granules. Less "work" and a nice change from the floating Hikari pellets that they also love.

Slightly off topic but I have been in show dogs for the better part of 24 years and one thing I have learned about feeding animals is to not fully rely on one brand of food. Good to "mix it up". I trust Pro-Gold because it is manufactured by fellow Goldie enthusiasts vs. a retail manufacturer. But Hikari is an excellent food as are Tung-Hoi and some of the other [to US] imports. Nothing at all wrong with combining several different foods to get a broad spectrum of nutrients as well as "variety". Don't forget your fresh and frozen foods, either.

Thank you Comet! I bought Pro-Gold, I have Wardley, and I plan on getting some Hikari.. plus some live/gel foods and mix it up with fresh veggies and fruits sometimes. I want an extremely spoiled (though not overfed) fishie.

As for my water.. it's still perfect. Very confusing, but not unwelcome, I have to say. Luka looks really healthy, no flashing or any displays that she might have parasites, erect fins.. and very curious.

She wa really a bit skittish at first but now that i'm "The hand the feeds" she just loves to see me *L* And show off for me.

Welcome to kokos.^-^