fish tank

[friedegg45]

hi all i have been offered a free fish tank, filter etc including about 7 goldfish and 1 algae eater the tank itself is about 3.1/2 foot long and 1.1/2 tall does any body know much about these fish and should i clean it all out if so what do i clean it with cheers for any info that you can leave thanks again

[bikeguy33]

renee would be the one to talk to about the goldfish.....but as to the other, unless the tank is in terrible shape as to water conditions etc...i wouldnt start over since it is easier to fix an existing tank than it is to cycle a new one. that inparticularly means keeping wet filter media and everything inside the tank. a 40-50% water change may be in order tho....

[murdock6701]

you could also talk to demfish or sammy - their goldy keepers as well - sorry, it's not my area, good advice Bill!

[Carl]

I third what Bill stated! ;D

If you are at all concerned with the health of the tank you could add a one time treatment of Potassium Permanganate which is an oxidizer that will not wipe out your bacteria with one treatment (multiple treatments, yes)

Carl

[demfish]

Bill is right, best to start off with a water change.
Not sure how many gal tank that it is, but goldfish are dirty fish, as in lots of poo. Have been told over and over myself that they need 10 to 20 gal per goldfish. I had my four in a 30 gal tank and as long as I did water changes every couple days, they were fine. Now their in a 55 gal and I change the water once a week (love it) I keep the tank bare on the bottom (easier to clean)just a few rocks to make it look better.
Any questions you may have just ask we/I will try to help ;D

[goldenpuon]

Do you know how many gallons the tank is? It sounds like somewhre around 40 gallons. the ideal is 1 goldfish per 10 or more gallons.

Clean the tank depending on yoru bioload. You would clean out the filter with a tooth brush about every 3 weeks and change the carbon every month or more if needed. For gravel, us a battery operated vaccum or a siphon to clean out debris. Also, a 25% water change once a week will do although you could probably get away with every 2 weeks.

For th alage eater, what kind is it? Is it a pleco? If it is a plec, they get very large, say over 12 inches. And with 7 goldfish and a pleco, in the long term, they would outgrow their tank or become stunted.

Also, are you started your tank from scartch or is it cycled? I know this sounds like a lot but it isn't that much onc eyou get the hang of it. I have a 40 gallon myself with some goldfish and also a bunch of other tanks.

Hope that helped!

Renee

[eve]

if the algae eater is a warmwater species, you will need to put it in another tank, which is tropical, or you will have to get rid of it

also i don't recommend keeping algae eaters with goldies in the first place, as they like to suck on the slimecoat of the goldies

also, to know how many gallons your tank really is, please provide all 3 measurements of the tank

height, length and width

[goldenpuon]

How do algae eaters suck on a goldfish's slimecoat? ( I know that this may be off topic but i am just curious). I once made a mistake of putting an algae eater in with goldfish before I started on EA. The goldfish would nibble on the gravel and also accidently the algae eater.

I also second what Eve said. I have heard before that tropical fish don't do well with goldfish.

[Carl]

Nov 26, 2008 18:31:59 GMT -5 goldenpuon said:

How do algae eaters suck on a goldfish's slimecoat? ( I know that this may be off topic but i am just curious). I once made a mistake of putting an algae eater in with goldfish before I started on EA. The goldfish would nibble on the gravel and also accidently the algae eater.

I also second what Eve said. I have heard before that tropical fish don't do well with goldfish.

This is similar to how rough handling can remove the slime coat, except an Algae Eater (the Chinese are the worst IMO) has the right "equipment" to do this efficiently.

I agree with Eve, that even though these fish may have so far been kept together, someday the algae eaters may go after the goldfish slime coat and the effect on the goldfish is the same as someone peeling off your skin.

Carl

[goldenpuon]

You mean nibbling/sucking on the goldfish? That definetly soudns liek a reason not to keep them together IMO.

[josephsteve]

I like this type of fish tank, which large in size