newbie needs goldfish help. thank you

[Warborg]

Despite the rough condition comet goldfish(feeders) are put through, they tend to be tough fish. I wouldn't worry the damage to the fins.

Sometimes it can take weeks for a tank to cycle... most people use goldfish because they are tough.

My advice would be not to put anything else in there for at least a month.

Side note: Goldfish can be monsters too. I had one that was 10 inches and growing.

 

[Laticauda]

Just because a fish "survives" the cycling of a tank, does not mean the fish is healthy afterward. Going through a cycle does countless "silent" harm to the fish, and has lasting effects.

 

[komodo182]

Comets are very fast growers. I put 9 ~one inch comets in my 70 gallon when I first got the 70 gallon and within the year, the largest was 9 inches long. I gave them to someone with a pond since 70 gallons would not be enough to house 9 comets. My filtration was 2 emperor 400's and an ac70 on each side of the tank (so I believe that was ~1400 gallons per hour of water movement) Nitrates were not able to be controlled in this tank (mostly because I am lazy and only do 80% water changes once a week).
So comets are fun, but they just grow very quickly and require a lot of work in my mind.
Best of luck, I do advice tetras instead for a 10 gallon. Less waste and less work.

 

[crucial09]

Before you put fish into the tank, there was nothing there to start a cycle.
Once you put the fish in, they produce wastes (ammonia) and since there is nothing to convert this ammonia into less harmful chemicals, the fish are suffering. Here is a previous post I made that details the cycling process.


Since you don't have another tank, you can simply go to walmart and buy a 35 gallon tub as a secondary water body. Please read more on the GAB link I posted for detailed instructions on how to cycle your filter, while keeping your fish safe, and not putting them through the cycling process.

I put aquaclear cycle starter in before the fish.
This is bacteria that starts the aquarium cycle of beneficial bacteria that converts that ammonia into less harmful chemicals.
And I have biomax ceramique beads in the filter that help to break down ammonia.
And the water was treated with conditioner that takes out chemicals like chlorine, chloramine, nitrite, and nitrate.

This ran for over a week at a fairly warm 75F tank before the fish were introduced.

Won't those bacteria introduced before the fish start the bacteria cycle thus making the water safer for the fish?

I feed them peas, shrimp, and flakes.
Broccoli will be put in there soon too.

Warborg,

thanks for that advice too.
I will watch it closely. And when I do water changes I won't use my crappy tap water, I will use well water, which is very clear and my girlfriend has used it on her tetras and betafish with them living for years.

Comets are very fast growers. I put 9 ~one inch comets in my 70 gallon when I first got the 70 gallon and within the year, the largest was 9 inches long. I gave them to someone with a pond since 70 gallons would not be enough to house 9 comets. My filtration was 2 emperor 400's and an ac70 on each side of the tank (so I believe that was ~1400 gallons per hour of water movement) Nitrates were not able to be controlled in this tank (mostly because I am lazy and only do 80% water changes once a week).
So comets are fun, but they just grow very quickly and require a lot of work in my mind.
Best of luck, I do advice tetras instead for a 10 gallon. Less waste and less work.

I had two comets in a 10G tank and they survived over 10 years, prob 12 years.
They grew big but no where near 9 inches. and they lived long happy lives.
I did frequent water changes and 1 every 2 weeks I cleaned the entire aquarium

 

[komodo182]

I put aquaclear cycle starter in before the fish.
This is bacteria that starts the aquarium cycle of beneficial bacteria that converts that ammonia into less harmful chemicals.
And I have biomax ceramique beads in the filter that help to break down ammonia.
And the water was treated with conditioner that takes out chemicals like chlorine, chloramine, nitrite, and nitrate.

This ran for over a week at a fairly warm 75F tank before the fish were introduced.

Won't those bacteria introduced before the fish start the bacteria cycle thus making the water safer for the fish?

I feed them peas, shrimp, and flakes.
Broccoli will be put in there soon too.

Warborg,

thanks for that advice too.

I don't think you will fine many people on here that use cycle or stress zyme and the such. Bacteria has certain needs to survive, so I don't know how it could survive long periods of time in a bottle... Also, temperature could be an issue with shipping of the bacteria. I used to use cycle a long time ago and the pet stores had no problem selling it to me, but I stopped since I really don't think its helpful. Just my two cents though. If you want to cycle your tank, ask a friend or pet store for some mulm.

 

[Warborg]

Just because a fish "survives" the cycling of a tank, does not mean the fish is healthy afterward. Going through a cycle does countless "silent" harm to the fish, and has lasting effects.

That's a good point, I wasn't clear in my statement.

I just meant to explain that they tend to be tough(up front) I didn't mean it to sound that he should personally use them for cycling as it sounds like he wants to keep them around for a while

 

[Laticauda]

Well, without ammonia to feed those "bacteria in a bottle" it just wasted the bottle. Some here (myself included) are very skeptical about those particular items as to whether they even work. And even if they do work, there was no "fuel" for them to live during the time there were no fish in the tank. The fastest anyone (I've heard of/or read about) has ever cycled a tank using Seachem Stability was in 8 days, and that was with an added ammonia source.

You need a test kit. The test kit will tell you 100% whether I am right about this or not. If you can't afford the kit, then take the water to petsmart or petco, ask them to test it with the dropper bottle tester kit. Ask them to give you the exact numbers of the results (don't accept "it's ok" because 9 times out of 10, it's not, and they don't know what they are talking about.)

Showing any ammonia - is bad.
Showing any nitrIte - is bad.
Showing nitrAtes - in low numbers is good, but I really doubt your tank is "mature" already, for reasons stated above.

If you want your fish to survive, change 50-75% of the water, using water conditioner right now (temperature matched to the water they are in now), and another 50-75% in an hour. This will tide them over until you can get the water tested. If you have to prolong your visit to get the test results, try to do 100% water change with temperature matched water that's been treated with dechlorinator.

I promise you, I would not lie to you about this. Seriously, why would I? You asked for help, and I'm trying to help you. I also hope that you can understand there is a lot of false information out there (lots of it provided by pet store employees) to get you to buy product, even though it's not necessarily good for the fish.

 

[crucial09]

A friend of mine had a comet that lived 5plus years.
2 years in a 1.5g tank, and at first it was straight tap water.
Then 1 on a 2g tank, and 3 in a 5g tank.

they are tough, so with regular water changes I think it will be fine.

I am still curious as though what that red dot it on the base of his dorsal fin in the youtube video I linked.

I will get the test kit at walmart if they have it, tomorrow.
But I won't change the water right now because the tap water here is the problem I think because of it's brownish tint.

 

[Jay88]

You say gold fish...i say feeder fish! nah but on a serious note, it looks like the water condition in your tank might not be suitable for them. Maybe ask the pet store what water parameters they had, since you said they were very healthy in those tanks.

Goodluck though.

 

[Laticauda]

That's a good point, I wasn't clear in my statement.

I just meant to explain that they tend to be tough(up front) I didn't mean it to sound that he should personally use them for cycling as it sounds like he wants to keep them around for a while

No problem, I just wanted to make sure anyone reading wouldn't take what you said the wrong way (and we all know, lots of people do.) I know I all too often in my craze to post as much info as is running out of my brain,I tend leave a lot out!