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Setting up tank for goldfish....

15K views 269 replies 19 participants last post by  djembekah 
#1 ·
So as some of you know from my other thread, I just rescued two Comet Goldfish when my cousin was giving them away as "prizes" at her daughter's birthday party (ugh).

I haven't been able to rehome them and I'm pretty attached to them already....so I decided to keep them (I think this is how the addiction starts LOL).

I went on Craigslist and found a guy selling a 10 gallon tank and a bunch of accessories (decorations, fake plants, food, filter, cover, rocks) for $10. I went and picked it up today. I KNOW 10 gallons isn't big enough for Comets, but they are still babies and I figured this would at least give me a few months to save up for something larger.

I guess my first question would be where do I start? I think someone mentioned that you didn't have to cycle a 10 gallon tank if you didn't want to, is this okay? If it's recommended that I cycle the tank, how should I go about doing it for these guys? No idea how to cycle D:

Also, I assume the filter is a must? I'm probably going to get some crap from my parents because I'm "using electricity," but if I have to use it, I will. What do I need to know? I was given an "Internal Whisper Power Filter" for a 10-30 gallon tank by Tetra.

Sorry if I'm repeating a bunch of things already posted. I just want to do what I can for these little guys!
 
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#239 ·
I love your tutorial for preparing zucchini! Pictures are always great, and your dog is adorable! Is he a yellow lab? He looks like one. They hold a special place in my heart because my first pet was a yellow lab.

I suck at fish photography, too. That's why you hardly see any pictures of my fish. I want to try to take some pictures of my bettas with natural light, but all I have are the cups which produce a warped image due to the curving.
 
#240 ·
Izzy - he is a yellow lab, but more on the white side LOL! We called him a polar bear as a puppy because he totally looked like one -



Labs will always have a special place in my heart as well. I grew up with a black lab since I was 3 years old, and lost him in 2007 (the summer right before I started college too). Worst experience of my life and I miss him so much, but Deezel is a great dog and has helped me heal <3

Yeah, I need to get a glass container or something to photograph everyone in xD
 
#241 ·
Awww!! Your polar bear/puppy is soo cute. I actually have the opposite situation. I got my yellow lab when I was 7 and lost her the year after I went to college (2008). Now I have a black lab. Labs are such great dogs. <3

Actually I remember copperarabian saying that acrylic containers are best for photographing fish because light travels through them better than glass. Copper recommended getting a beanie baby case as they are tall enough, have a lid, and are a thin acrylic. I've been looking for them ever since she recommended him.
 
#247 ·
Olympia - Deezel? Yeah, its all in the food and the amount you give to them. He is on Taste of the Wild, which is a dog food that is very high in protein, which means its quite fattening. I give him a half of a cup twice a day - doesn't seem like a lot, but the high protein will make him feel just as full as if he was on a lesser food, but received more.

Combine that with a decent amount of exercise (he goes on a walk daily, sometimes every other, maybe even less) and he's at a good weight. He was actually getting a little thick for a while because my mom was giving him more food because she though half a cup was mean lol. I think he's slimmed down since then though.

Here is a good full body shot of him


As Ro did like the zucchini! It sank though and she wouldn't go down to eat it, so I'm not sure how much she actually got.
 
#248 ·
As Ro did like the zucchini! It sank though and she wouldn't go down to eat it, so I'm not sure how much she actually got.
When I give my goldfish veggies, I make sure they don't sink by stringing them to a suction cup on the side wall of the tank. I run a plastic zip tie either through or around the food and the ring on the suction cup. (It is originally for air tubing, so has a ring to put the tubing through.)
If the food is something thick, I will punch the zip tie through it and loosely dangle it. If it is something more loose, like spinach, I will roll it and pull it tight.

I used to do it with fishing line, but found a pack of several hundred food safe mini zip ties on sale for almost nothing and they have made life easier. :-D i usually leave the food in the tank overnight (mine forage like crazy while I am sleeping...) and take out whatever is leftover in the morning. Then I cut the zip tie.

My goldfish don't like zucchini very much, but they devour broccoli. :-D I blanch it and dangle it by the stem... They go crazy picking the little leaves (?) off the top.
 
#249 ·
My LPS sells a veggie clip for feeding goldies! :D
 
#250 ·
Sorry I went AWOL for a while. My boyfriend's dad was in from Sweden and we spent the weekend with him.

We feed our black lab mix A Taste of the Wild, too, but that is because she has food allergies. We get the venison. She still has that lab energy, so she gets plenty of exercise. Daily 2 mile walks, fetch, and I want to start jogging with her (mostly because I would never go without motivation lol).

That does look like a 55 gallon tank! Congrats!! That should hold little Ro and a friend or two for a while.

I also use a lettuce clip for my goldies. I have the basic clownfish one that you can find at any pet store. I hand feed my guys (and they actually are both males, I found breeding stars on both). That way I don't have to worry about them not getting the food. But I don't think now is a good time to start trying to hand-feed Ro because it take a few days of not eating, and she needs her meds daily.
 
#251 ·
Ugh, I love goldfish but I don't think they love me. The one fish I have plans on taking from my cousin is flashing and darting around real bad. I'm trying to see if he has any external parasites, but I don't see anything. He was eating and would spit it out, but I guess today he didn't eat and looks kinda shocked.

:(
 
#252 ·
Sometimes I thought my guys were out to get me, too. It sounds like he does have something. A goldfish that won't eat isn't good news. I wonder he could have the same thing as little Ro. I wouldn't be surprised if both were suffering from parasites. Do you know how often your cousin does water changes?
 
#255 ·
I'm glad to hear that Ro is doing well. See any regrowth on her fins?

Even with daily water changes, in a tiny bowl, those goldies are going to have it rough. When you get Ro in the 55 gallon, you should nab that little guy and put him in your 10 gallon tank. Since you have started treating Ro, I wouldn't put them together until both are healthy.
 
#256 ·
Oh yeah I had no plans to put them together until they were both feeling better.

I think I lost my big guy though... I took him home with me in Paarth's old tank to try and treat him. I don't see gill movement and he's been in the same spot for a few hours now. His cheeks keep twitching. Found him this morning with his fins torn JUST like Ro's were. I posted pictures on the GAB...

And now Ro is sitting at the bottom of her tank and didn't eat today. Why me :(
 
#258 ·
It's not you, Kelsey. Feeder fish get treated worse than anything else because they are seen as even more disposable than normal fish. Who knows how they were treated as fry. Dirty water and bad food could have easily caused a weak immune system. This thing that is hurting them could be something that fish with sound immune systems just shrug off and only attacks weakened fish. This is not your fault. You are doing so much more for these little guys than they would have gotten elsewhere.
 
#259 ·
koimaiden is right. You are doing the best you can. :)
 
#261 ·
Thank you so much guys <3 Just hoping Ro hangs on to get that salt treatment in her enough to make her feel better. She has been looking better.

It just makes me want to go to PetSmart/PetCo and buy them all to save them from such horrible diseases like this. I went into PetCo the other day and ALL the goldfish (even fancies like the little pearlscales) had ick and were clamping. I wanted to cry.
 
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