Goldfish and Plants
So I go and make some changes from comments I have received about this Goldfish Tank. First Madi and Sheri both said, “Get some plants in there”. Now there are plants. Sheri also suggested a veggie clamp which is now in the tank. Haven’t tried to feed them any veggies yet, but this will surely happen in the near future. Everyone has suggested for me to put the gravel back into the tank. Bacteria and algae form on gravel they say. The trouble is Sun and Wabi are both blind and can’t find food in the gravel so I’ve kept it gravel free for sometime now. Thought it through and have decided to put gravel in one half of the tank. The side clear of gravel is where the fish will eat. Other recommendations is never change the filter cartridges or clean the filter media while doing water changes. Then only change like 10 gallons a week. Another suggestion is since I have two filters to change cartridges and/or clean media material in one filter and leave the other one alone for awhile. I’ll be playing with these ideas. Nearly three years now and the water is not cycled yet. Hopefully soon the water will be cycled.
Bewildered
I’ve become so bewildered about these goldfish and this aquarium. Take a look at the far left hand corner of this tank and you will see Wabi-Sabi laying on his side on the bottom. Sometimes he lays on his side, sometimes upside down, sometimes he will lay kinda curled up. Looks as if he is dying, but I don’t think he is. He use to swim around so boldly always protecting Sun, the Oranda in the upper right hand corner of this photo. However, ever since his Wen has grown over his eyes Wabi has become so despondent. Wabi has been doing this side thing and upside down thing for several weeks. He eats and swims but still looks like he is dying. It is very dissappointing. Bubbles has grown so huge and stays near the bottom of the tank all the time, kinda’ keeping and eye on Wabi. Now Sun is doing fantastic swimming around like a champ as well as Lil Joe and Barri.
These poor fish have suffered so much and now for a couple of years. The ammonia level is as usual a deadly green when tested as well as the nitrites a deadly purple in color when tested. The PH and Nitrates are great. Somehow these fish have survived all the chemicals and water changes I have done. A viewer, Sheri, as made some recommendations to me which I am going to do. One I’m not going to mess with the filters for six weeks. I will change about 5 to 10 gallons of water once a week. I am going to put in some floating plants. Also I’m going to get a Veggie-clamp and feed these fish some broccoli.
I’ve thought about giving up working with these fish for the difficulties both they and I have suffered trying to maintain a decent environment. Sometimes the fish are like puppies and happy and other times the tank of fish look so pathetic. Then I figure what good is recording a history of raising these goldfish if I don’t explain the good as well as the bad times? What good is this blog if I don’t share how others have helped and advised me? I will not give up because the truth be known, I really want to be successful and I want to do what is best for these fish. But on top of all of that, I want to share this entire learning experience to all whom really care. I’ve searched the internet and have found forums and blogs about fish with tons of advice, but not a blog where trial and error is recorded. Where mistakes are openly admited and discoveries are discovered. I’m hoping viewers can turn to this blog and learn from my mistakes.
Barri, Bubbles, and Little Joe ~ Fancy Goldfish
Barri, Bubbles, and Little Joe ~ Fancy Goldfish
I’ve done everything I can think of but still can not get my tank to cycle. I’ve been told to change 10 gallons of water every other week and about 15 to 20 gallons every three weeks. I have the finest filters working as hard as can be but the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are extremely high. This is why I always changed 15 to 20 gallons of water almost twice each week, for even though this is lots of work, the levels stayed halfway decent. I put some Zyme Stress in the water hoping this will bring down the Nitrites and am restraining myself from changing anymore water. I changed about 15 gallons 2 or 3 days ago and then I had changed about 10 gallons a week or so prior to that. After 3 years you would think this tank would cycle… This is a 55 gallon tank with 5 goldfish in it. The fish probably total about 35 to 40 inches in length if all of them were lined up tail to nose. Maybe this tank isn’t big enough, but according to all I’ve read it should be sufficient. Oh well… I wish I knew the secret. I wish there was someone else out there with a 55 gallon tank with five goldfish and they could tell me the secret on how it is done.
Bubbles Looking Good
Click to see larger image of “Bubbles Looking Good”
Click to see larger image of Bubbles Painted
I should be receiving my Eheim canister filter tomorrow. Bubbles and all my other goldfish will probably be happy about that. At the moment I plan to run the canister filter and a Emperor 400 filter to help try and keep the water clean in this 55 gallon tank. Have I mentioned goldfish are very hard to take care of. I certainly do not recommend young kids or carefree adults to have goldfish. They are a tremendous responsibility.
Even though I constantly harp about how hard it is to take care of these fish, I truly enjoy them. They are very colorful and pleasing to watch. It appears they have personalities but that is the human perspective of my observance. I was pretty much attached to my goldfish named Mojo and then he died. After Mojo’s death my fish are not so much pets as they are a nice species of which I enjoy observing. I have lost several goldfish since I’ve started raising them over two years ago and I suspect I’ll lose more in the future.
For some reason I enjoy the challenge of raising these fish. My goal is to provide them with a perfect world so I can observe them for the rest of my life. I want the water to be perfectly balanced and crystal clear at all times with the least amount of effort on my part. So far I’ve never had perfectly cycled water for one chemical or another is always high. Also I’m constantly putting a lot of effort and work into this tank.
I’m still learning. I believe I will master this tank in time, but I also feel I will always learn from the experience of raising these fish.
Six Fancy Goldfish
Finally my tank is back into prime condition. Now back to enjoying the fish. Here are all six of my Goldies. The one on the bottom left is a new Ryukin. The little calico Ryukin died when my tank became unsettled. This is the fourth Ryukin I’ve had. All of them have died over the last couple of years. Now the bigger fish, the two Oranda’s and the large Dragon Eye have overcome all sorts of obstacles. My belief is Ryukin’s are a more frail goldfish. My goal is to maintain the perfect tank. It is not an easy job, but I’m learning and maybe things will smooth out as I go along.
Red Splotches on Goldfish
I’m so frustrated. The photo above shows Barri with all these red splotches. Goldfish change colors and their wen grows so strangely that I’ve grown a bit complacent. The water was sparkling clear and I thought all was right with the world, but I tested it and found the PH, ammonia, and nitrate great but the nitrite was hovering in the light to dark purple range. The thin white parts of these fish fins, rotted off within a day as the red splotches and dark red colors coated them.
The fish in the above photo is now known as Raggedy Anna. My wife Anna named her. Look what the red splotches did to her. Her fins are nearly bare bones. She had rolled over on her side and floating on the top of the tank looking pretty much gone. I moved her to a community tank for a bit until I got the Nitrite levels back down and I moved her back. She is still hanging on but I’m not sure for how long.
My guess is my tank (55 gallon) is too small for my six goldfish. Four of the goldfish: Barri, Bubbles, Sun, and Wabi-Sabi are all over six inches long. Bubbles is actually nine inches.
I put some Melafix into the water and some Stress Zyme hoping this will help. I’ve used Stress Zyme before and when I do, Bubble’s eyes cloud over. I think Stress Zyme is not good for all fish. Bubble’s eyes will clear and the red splotches will go away. I was very lucky to save these fish.
Then there is Lil’ Joe. As Raggedy Anna was floating on top of the tank barely surviving Lil’ Joe was nipping at her. I put Lil’ Joe into my 20 gallon community tank for a while.
Right now I’m replacing 5 to 10 gallons of water every day on my larger tank. This is really quite a job. I have to figure out what I’m going to do. I need to figure out how to drain the water and bring water up the stairs. It is quite the job hauling it. To get a larger tank means more water to haul up and down stairs. I need a source of water upstairs as well as a drain to continue with this goldfish raising.
Raising goldfish has turned into a huge job, taking the fun out of it. The community tank takes care of itself. I do maintenance on it once every week or so. Goldfish require everyday maintenance. I wish I knew more. I wish there was an easier way. I have two huge filters, each requiring two carbon cartridges (a total of 4 cartridges). I replace these cartridges every two weeks and that is pretty much at a cost of 20 dollars. We are talking nearly 40 dollars a month on cartridges. Is there a cheaper way? The cost and work of raising of these fish is making me wonder if it is worth it. There must be a better and more efficient way to raise goldfish, but I’m certainly learning by hard knocks.
Aquarium of Goldfish
Today I put two glass hoods on my goldfish tank. I was so glad to get rid of the plastic ones which were all scarred up and restricted light. I also put in a new heater for the thermostat on the other heater was stuck keeping the water too warm. I’m still struggling trying to keep the water well cycled. It is tough. I’ve got the ammonia to light green, almost yellow according to the chart. The best of course is yellow. When Mojo died the ammonia registered very dark green. The PH is just a wee bit high, but all in all the nitrates and nitrites are looking real good. I’m still trying to master this water situation. Since Mojo’s death I change five gallons of water every day to every other day. Every two weeks I give an extreme clean where I completely break down both empire 400 filters, clean them, put them back together and replace all four carbon filters. I clean the ultra-violet light pump, and change 15 gallons of water.
If anyone is planning on raising goldfish, be ready to do a lot of work. It is not easy at all. I have a 20 gallon aquarium which I have community fish in, now this aquarium is easy. A community tank is pleasing and relaxing however, goldfish are more like pets and have terrific personalities. They swim to the front of the tank to meet me like puppies every time I enter the room. Goldfish are great fun, but boy are they a challenge to raise. I will continue to report my successes and failures on this blog. Hoping of course to have less failures as I go along.
And Now There Are Six
The little Red Cap Oranda will most likely be called Lil’ Jo filling in the fins of the Late Mojo. Not sure yet for the name of the calico Ryukin. I still miss Mojo and realize I’m responsible for his death. I grew complacent after putting in some new filter systems and didn’t change the water as often as I should and the Ammonia Levels quickly grew to the toxic level. Even Sun was becoming listless. Lucky for the fish and me I didn’t lose them all.
I scanned the internet trying to figure out how to bring the ammonia levels down. All I learned was maybe I have too many fish. Accordingly I should have 20 gallons per fish. That is good and fine, but I’m unwilling to give up any of my fish and am unable to get a larger tank at this time. So I changed about 30 percent of the water, but the levels were still much too high. I replace the four carbon filters and still the levels were too high. The next day I replaced 5 gallons of water in the Am and again in the PM. Now the ammonia levels are finally dropping. My plan now is to change out 5 gallons of water per day with a major clean once a week. Will see how that works.
This blog is mainly a recording of what I’m learning about raising goldfish and of course about the goldfish I’m raising, as time goes on. I’ve never claimed to be an expert; far from it.
Later I’ll get a larger tank, probably 125 to 150 gallons. However I have to figure out a system of handling the water supply and how to drain the water. Right now I’m hauling the water up and down stairs and this is wearing me out. The larger tank will have to be downstairs near the television. However it works out I’ll be sure to record the experience.
Oranda Goldfish Youtube
I had watched this YouTube before getting Sun his Wen trim surgery. Just to think Sun could live to be 30 years old and to grow as large as the fish in the video. I wonder if I will live that long. Geez…. who would take care of my fish should something happen to me? Anyways, I have five goldfish in a 55 gallon tank, but if you see the size of the Oranda in the video, just what am I going to do in the future? Right now I’m looking at a 125 to a 150 gallon tank in the next few months. A tank that size will probably serve for a few years… Maybe.
Nitrite, Nitrate, Nightmare Survivors
Back in March of this year I put my fish through an awful ordeal. It was a nightmare and my fish suffered. Provided are the THEN and NOW photos of my Aqua-babies.
In the photo of carnage you see Lil Fish in the far left ~ he died. In the middle is Mojoanna with a deep scarred red varicose fantail. Below, almost dying on the bottom is Wabi-Sabi my once gray Oranda. In the upper right is Bubbles my Dragon Eye. To the far right near the bottom is Sun my golden Oranda. Not pictured is Barri, the baby lionhead. My wife had put Barri in her community tank until I made my tank safe. All of this was brought about by my ignorance on not cycling my tank.
However…
In the photo of beautiful life are the same fish minus Lil Fish. In the far left eating food off the gravel is Sun my goldie Oranda. Since the first photo Sun had surgery removing Wen from around his eyes so he could see. Beside Sun, is Bubbles my Dragon Eye. Bubbles is now 9 inches from tail to nose. Above Bubbles is my angel Mojoanna with a flowing beautiful flawless tail. To the far right completely opposite of Sun is Wabi-Sabi my little gray Oranda now turned richly gold with a highly developing Wen. Swimming off in the upper right coroner is Barri, the lion head my wife had a really hard time letting go of, but relented knowing he needed to be with the other goldfish.
Click here to see a larger version of Fish Family of Five.
Portrait of a Telescope Eye Goldfish ~ Bubbles
To see larger image click here Bubbles
Every few months I will try to make a new portrait of each of my fish to help record their growth and development. I believe Bubbles is nearly 9 inches from nose to tail. He is the largest of my goldfish.
None of my goldfish are aggressive nor are they nippers. They are very pleasant and get along well with each other. Each of them have special traits and personalities. All of them make me smile and I sure enjoy having them.
Goldies Glimmering
No doubt there is a lot of work in taking care of five goldfish. However it is probably no harder taking care of five as it would be to take care of two or three. The hardest part is cleaning the tank. I just completed cleaning their tank a little while ago. I clean the tank about every three to five days. If I let the tank go for a full week the room would be smelling and I would have some very un-happy fish.
The other day my wife, Anna, and I watched a show on television about a man with an obsession of collecting and hoarding Asian trinkets and the like. Even though he had gone overboard, he sure had some very pretty stuff. The Chinese and Asian world in general, surely have a flair I enjoy. I love the colors, the designs, music, and arts the Asian’s offer. I will explore the Asian world of colors and the like with my fancy goldfish. I will share what I learn through my photos and this blog.
Fancy Goldfish Swimming
This photo captures all my aqua buddies. Bottom left corner is Sun, above him is little Barri, above Barri is my dragon eye Bubbles, in front of Bubbles is Mojoanna, and to the far right is Wabi-Sabi. Between Sun and the bridge near the bottom of the aquarium is my little cory cat Charlie. I have a smaller 2o gallon aquarium which contains some neons, guppies, balloon mollies, a loach, and a snail.
All of these fish started out smaller than Barri. Now their bodies fill my palm with their tails extending way beyond my palm. I suspect they will grow two palms long. They are housed in this 55 gallon aquarium, but when they grow larger I will have to get a larger tank. Here is a video I took of them a little over two months ago:Five Fancy Goldfish.
I will have to make another video soon so you can see how much these guys have changed. Wabi-Sabi has changed the most. He was a totally gray little guy when I first got him. Bubbles also changed lots. Bubbles fins were totally black and lacy looking, but now he is almost total brilliant gold. My goldfish bring me lots of contentment. I will share my goldfish and their stories as time goes passes. I’m an amateur with these fish and am learning as I go along. I hope you will enjoy watching their journey.
Fancy Goldfish and a Cory
Here are all five of my goldfish. From left to right they are Mojoanna, Wabi-Sabi, Bubbles, Sun, and Barri. The catfish, I just call him Charlie. I had almost ran out of their favorite food which is Saki-Hikari Fancy Goldfish Food. My first supply of this food came from Doctors Foster and Smith on-line store so I ordered from them again. However they were out and put a back-order in for me. So I thought in a week or two longer I would get it, but it never came. This was like over a month ago. So I email them and they say it will be another month before they get any more from their supplier. Since I already paid for the shipping, I’ve let the order remain and maybe in a few weeks I’ll get the two packages I ordered. Well my fish don’t really understand why I’ve rationed them on the good stuff and were getting impatient with me. They kept giving me this worried look. So I go ahead and order a package from Amazon while waiting on the order from Foster and Smith. The food came in yesterday so I give the fish the rest of the food I had been rationing out. They went crazy. They really love this food. I feed them crisps and flakes, but this stuff they go nuts over. So my fish will have to work with me here because the food is rather expensive along with the shipping. I will not feed it to them at every feeding, but every other day or so I will. I sure do enjoy these fish. They are a pleasure to watch.
Fancy Goldfish and the Pet.com Buddha
Wanting to give my goldfish aquarium more of an Asian flair, I acquired a Buddha from Petco.com. I will be taking a lot of photos of these fish and to make it interesting I need interesting Decor. I make sure my fish have plenty of swimming room first and foremost. The fish are the main subjects, but props are nice.
I had ordered this Buddha and a couple more items from Petco and they shipped them right away however, Fedex miss-delivered my package. The tracking had the item out for delivery and later had it delivered, only not to me. Petco was real good about it and sent me another order. While waiting on the new order the old order appeared by way of a staff member of the local high school. The high school was the recipient of my miss-delivered package. I called and emailed Petco to let them know I had received the items. Petco was able to stop the second order. The second order was shipped from Canada, to Tennessee, and made it’s way to Kansas before it was turned around and headed back to Canada.
Swimming Bubbles
So Bubbles is swimming around thinking about supper time. Bubbles, just like all my goldfish, really loves to eat. For that reason I try to keep various types of foods for them so they can have a variety. I usually feed them two times a day, early morning and evening. Sometimes at noon I will give a smidgen of something for a snack.
Good tasting small bottom pellets like Saki-Hikari and less expensive medium bottom pellets like Omega One are really enjoyed by my guys. I always include either flakes or crisps when I feed pellets. A couple of my fish prefer to eat from the bottom while others like to eat from the top. Then eventually they all gather at the bottom to finish up as the flakes and crisps sink downwards. I’ve been using the TetraFin Brand of flakes and crisps. I also have Aqueon Goldfish Granules that slowly sink to the bottom. I have two types of floating pellets. One is rather expensive and I really do not recall the brand. The other floating pellets I use are Wardley’s.
Of all the above food, Saki-Hikari is hands down the most preferred by all my fish. I do keep the variety because my fish never know what they are going to get.
Fancy Fish Dining on Saki Hikari
Recently I purchased some Saki-Hikari Fancy Goldfish food from Foster and Smith Aquatics. These are very small granules which sink to the bottom and my fish simply love them. For experiment I put in a few floating pellets and some flakes along with the Saki-Hikari. The fish ignored the pellets and flakes moving the small pebbles like little earth moving machines to get to the Saki-Hikari.
Quartet of Four Fancy Goldfish
Mojo swimming straight down acting the clown.
He is so pretty even upside down.
The Dragon heading upwards with a destination in mind.
His colors so elegant and refined.
Wabi-Sabi going forward with great determination,
Seeking further wisdom of his vocation.
Little Barri, the growing lion. moves on ahead,
As delicate as a caterpillar may tread.
Each and every one a pet,
These four making a great quartet.
Telescope Eye Goldfish ~ Bubbles
After Fish had died, I got Mojo a new friend. I also acquired a new aquarium for the two of them. Bubbles and Mojo now swam around freely in a 20 gallon aquarium. The ten gallon aquarium was retired out into the garage. Just like the ten gallon, the 20 gallon sat right beside my computer monitor. By now I was growing a real fascination with these fancy goldfish. I was at least testing the water for ammonia at this point and changing about 1/2 of the water quite regularly. Pure luck had this aquarium going pretty good. I had no idea of how dirty these fish can make a tank. I was just beginning to realize the obligation I was getting myself into.
I enjoyed watching Mojo and Bubbles swim around as I worked with my computer. I’d find myself watching these two fish for long periods of time.
