newbie needs goldfish help. thank you

[Laticauda]

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.

You think 5 years is a long time for a goldfish? I know women who have goldfish that are 25 years old! So, that in itself shows a lot the difference between growing up stunted in a too small tank, and being taken care of the appropriate way.

Even with the brownish tint, I'd say it's better for the fish to be in clean water with some biological content to it, than in dirty/filth water.
Walmart does not sell the test kit, you will have to go to a LFS or a PetsMart/PetCo to get it. The only thing they have at walmart are test strips, and those are inaccurate and a waste of money.

The red dot is irritation from the bad water quality. If he was in fresh, clean water, I will bet you $100 that his fins would get better and his red spot would go away on its own.

Imagine it this way, someone took some bleach, and left it on your skin, would your skin break out in a red rash? Well, that's what is going on with your fish, the ammonia is burning him, stressing him out and causing these problems.

 

[crucial09]

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.

I picked the healthiest ones out of the tank lol
I'd say over 50% of the ones in there were dying, or sick with fin rot and other virus's.

I'll ask the pet store but I don't think they have a sweet clue lol

 

[komodo182]

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.

That should be a sign to you that they did something wrong if it only lived 5 years.

Comets get very large if you give them the space and proper care which clearly your friend did not.

 

[Laticauda]

The store's water parameters have nothing to do with the problems your fish are having. The water at the store is dirty and full of nitrAtes, which is not as toxic as ammonia.

Fresh, clean water will solve your problem. Ammonia is the problem.

 

[crucial09]

You think 5 years is a long time for a goldfish? I know women who have goldfish that are 25 years old! So, that in itself shows a lot the difference between growing up stunted in a too small tank, and being taken care of the appropriate way.

Even with the brownish tint, I'd say it's better for the fish to be in clean water with some biological content to it, than in dirty/filth water.
Walmart does not sell the test kit, you will have to go to a LFS or a PetsMart/PetCo to get it. The only thing they have at walmart are test strips, and those are inaccurate and a waste of money.

The red dot is irritation from the bad water quality. If he was in fresh, clean water, I will bet you $100 that his fins would get better and his red spot would go away on its own.

Imagine it this way, someone took some bleach, and left it on your skin, would your skin break out in a red rash? Well, that's what is going on with your fish, the ammonia is burning him, stressing him out and causing these problems.

I know 5 years is not long for a goldfish but its long for those conditions, and my conditions are far better than that.

Well that dirty/filth water is straight from the tap, and treated with dechlorinate and cycler starter only. and filtered a week through.

cycler starter, working or not, would not cause bad water quality and kill a goldfish, or else everyone elses less tough fish would be dead and no one would use the cycle starter.

So refilling it with the same tap water, and treating it with dechlorinate only does not seem logical in anyway to me.

 

[Laticauda]

Well that dirty/filth water is straight from the tap, and treated with dechlorinate and cycler starter only. and filtered a week through.

cycler starter, working or not, would not cause bad water quality and kill a goldfish, or else everyone elses less tough fish would be dead and no one would use the cycle starter.

So refilling it with the same tap water, and treating it with dechlorinate only does not seem logical in anyway to me.

You don't seem to understand. The fish being in the water is creating ammonia, which is staying in the water, which is burning the fish. It has nothing to do with your tap water.

How long have the fish been in the tank?

 

[komodo182]

Well that dirty/filth water is straight from the tap, and treated with dechlorinate and cycler starter only. and filtered a week through.

cycler starter, working or not, would not cause bad water quality and kill a goldfish, or else everyone elses less tough fish would be dead and no one would use the cycle starter.

So refilling it with the same tap water, and treating it with dechlorinate only does not seem logical in anyway to me.

Does your tap water have chlorine in it?
The bacteria in the bottle of cycle you have is probably just dead and therefore decomposing, thus producing ammonia ( at least that has always been my thoughts)

You can never change too much water, someone once told me that and I agree with it

 

[crucial09]

You don't seem to understand. The fish being in the water is creating ammonia, which is staying in the water, which is burning the fish. It has nothing to do with your tap water.

How long have the fish been in the tank?

The fish have been in there a 1 day only lol

they won't produce that ammonia that fast.
Neither will a small bottle of cycle starter.

And the biomax in the filter removes ammonia anyways.

 

[Laticauda]

The fish have been in there a 1 day only lol

they won't produce that ammonia that fast.
Neither will a small bottle of cycle starter.

And the biomax in the filter removes ammonia anyways.

Biomax only removes ammonia once it has been colonized with the beneficial bacteria, which your media has NOT.

After only one day, and the feeding regime you listed, ammonia will easily be over 2ppm. You need to change the water.

CHANGE THE WATER CHANGE THE WATER CHANGE THE WATER.

I don't know how much simpler I can put it.

 

[komodo182]

The fish have been in there a 1 day only lol

they won't produce that ammonia that fast.
Neither will a small bottle of cycle starter.

And the biomax in the filter removes ammonia anyways.

Goldfish would produce ammonia that quickly and biomax will not remove ammonia at all. Biomax is a place for bacterial growth. You need bacteria to grow in the biomax for the biomax to be useful. Even then, the bacteria will only convert ammonia to nitrite. It will not remove it. Then another bacteria will convert nitrite into nitrate. This takes time.

Water changes will help until you can find someone to give you some mulm and get your water tested. Goldfish are big waste producers. They eat and make waste and swim sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I am not a goldfish hater in any way.