# new tank owner



## wyntersmum (Jul 31, 2011)

hi we got our daughter a start up fishtank for cold water fish we got her 2 gold fish and everything was going great. we did a first clean and still ok but then after 3 days the water is going cloudy it has a filter ect so i changed water again we brought 2 golden lurch put them in and within an afterternoon they had died. then one of the goldfish has died aswell. we have one left and again after 3 days the water has gone cloudy. 
sorry we are new to this the last time we had fish was you just put them in a bowl and away you went but its all changed now.
thanks for any help.


----------



## Fishyfins (Feb 28, 2009)

ok, before we begin, what size is the tank, and how long has it been up and running?


----------



## wyntersmum (Jul 31, 2011)

sorry cant remember the size, i got it from [email protected] its a start up one with pink lid get little stickers you put on the outside and an electric filter that comes with it. sorry a real novice here.


----------



## Fishyfins (Feb 28, 2009)

Im sorry to tell you, but that tank is just too small fish goldfish, and thats be whats causing your problems. Its not your fault, you've been given bad advice by a shop, and we dont blame you at all! ill explain 

Basically, we, as fishkeepers, learned from our mistakes early on. we now know that such small aquariums are not good for fish, especially goldfish, and indeed bowls have now been outright banned in quite a few places due to their cruelty (many states in the USA, as well as several places in Europe, including Italy).

fancy goldfish (the round bodied ones such as oranda, moors and lionheads) actually need a minimum of 50L per fish to be able to thrive, and standard goldies (the long thin, typical goldfish like fantails and shubinkins) need a minimum of 100L per fish. your tank will be an absolute maximum of 20L, probably more around 10L! This is because they are pottentially huge fish, and produce a huge ammount of waste to go with it, even when small. such small tanks just cant cope with the ammount of waste they produce. You may have also heard that fish grow to the size of the tank? think again! the reason people say this is because long ago, when goldies where kept in such tanks, they did stay fairly small. this is because the huge ammount of waste in the tank would basically stunt their growth. this causes an issue though, because their insides continue to grow, and eventually rupture, leading to a painful, unpeasant death some time later (if the toxins didnt kill the fish first). we now know that for the goldies to be happy and healthy, we need to give them big tanks right from the start!

The problem is a lot of pet shops just dont care, including pets at home, and will tell you "what you want to hear" to sell you something, regardless of the welfare of the animal.

basically, what has happened in your case, is that you have added far too many fish, to too small an aquarium, far too quickly. as i say, the goldies alone would have needed a huge tank to take their waste. with that many fish in their, the filter would have been unable to cope, and the water filled with toxic waste chemicals (causing the white murk you described), and death. normally as well, aquariums need to be left to "mature" fishlessly for 3 or 4 weeks before the fish are added, to make sure there is bacteria in the filter to actually remove the waste. during this maturation, you need to add bacteria and ammonia (or source of (not fish)) yourself.

I wouldnt say things have changed much, just that we learned from our mistakes XD

But all is not lost! that tank of yours would make an ideal home for smaller fish. i would reccomend a small shoal of 3-5 white cloud mountain minnows. pretty little fish, and more that suitable for that little tank of yours. easy to care for, tough as old boots, readily available in shops, and produce little waste. If you do, however, want goldfish, you will need to get a much much larger tank im afraid, otherwise your either doomed to fail, or you doom the fish to a very short unhappy life 

hope this helps. as i say, its not your fault! goldfish are a lot more difficult to care for than people think, and need a lot more than most shops would have you think.


----------



## wyntersmum (Jul 31, 2011)

thanks so much for your advice. i will look into the fish you have advised.
thanks again. i will live and learn.


----------

