my goldfish is starting to change colour, when I got him he was orange with small black splodges, now his black splodges are getting bigger, he seems more black than gold now! is this normal? at one point all his black went white and now it's black again. 2 fish have recently died but I haven't had any of them long at all. does my black and orange fish sound diseased and passing it on to others?

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5 hermanns (little T, Turbo, Timone, Pumba and Paris)
2 Red foots (Elliot and Tommy)
1 chihuahua (rex)
1 jackrussel/daschund (scrappy)
2 cats (sparky and mieque)
6 glodfish (henry the 2nd, splodge,Bart, Homer,Speckle and ginge)
3 gerbils (timmy, raisin and squirt)
R.I.P Frank & Mr.T (hermanns torts) love you always.

colour changing from dark to pale is a sign of stress, probably caused the disease since all fish carry the illness but stress and other problems bring them out.

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1.1 leos, 1.1 fat tails, 0.2 Beardies, 1 Whites, 2.0 Cresties, 4.1 Cats, Fish: 4.4 P. Dovii, 5.5.6 Peacock Bass (5 sp), 1.1 C 'Cobra', 1.1 festae, 1.1 green terror, 1.1 nics, 1.1 C. Marmorata, 1.1 C. Johani, 1.1 C. 'Strigata', 1.1 C. 'red tapojas'; 1.1 P. Friedrichsthalli, 1.1 Mots, 1.1 managuense, 1.1 H. Bocourti, 1.1 H. Pearsi, 1.1 H. Carpinte, 1.1 H. Cynoguttatum, 1.1 V. Argentea, 1.1 V. Zonatus, 1.1 N. Salvini, 2.2 Grammodes, 3.4 Hoplarchus Pssiticus, 2.2 Trimacs, 3.4 haitiensis, 1.1 tetracanthus, 3.2 Red tiger mots, 14 Uaru (2 sp) 1.1 Umbies, 2 Arapaima, 3 Red tail catfish, 1.1 P. Leopoldii, 1.1 P. Motoro, 3 Silver Arowana, Var. polypterus, var. Channa sp, M. wyckii, 3 siamese tigers, 2 jelly catfish, 1 Golden dorado
Member number 1717

so now that he's got his colour back does this mean that he's ok? I want to get another fish to replace the one that died last week but i wanted to make sure that the black and gold one wasn't carrying anything that would pass to the new fish, as i've had 2 random deaths in the last couple of weeks, basically i fed them in the morning (they all ate) and when i got back from work one was floating, i replaced him and the replacement had the same thing happen, i feed them them everyday, have a filter and clean them at least once a week, and when i clean them i put tap safe in, give it 5 minutes then put the fish back. i don't think i'm doing anything wrong. will it be ok to get another fish next week?

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5 hermanns (little T, Turbo, Timone, Pumba and Paris)
2 Red foots (Elliot and Tommy)
1 chihuahua (rex)
1 jackrussel/daschund (scrappy)
2 cats (sparky and mieque)
6 glodfish (henry the 2nd, splodge,Bart, Homer,Speckle and ginge)
3 gerbils (timmy, raisin and squirt)
R.I.P Frank & Mr.T (hermanns torts) love you always.

you don't need to empty the tank if you have a filter. yes do regular water changes and use a water conditioner. just basic aquarium stuff. what size is the tank?

I was just getting most of the water out but i think my filter is pretty poor as the water was still fairly murky, so now every week i clean the tank completely, wash the gravel and scrub the inside of the tank. i use one of those fish vacuums to clean it. it's 14L, one of those elite tanks.

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5 hermanns (little T, Turbo, Timone, Pumba and Paris)
2 Red foots (Elliot and Tommy)
1 chihuahua (rex)
1 jackrussel/daschund (scrappy)
2 cats (sparky and mieque)
6 glodfish (henry the 2nd, splodge,Bart, Homer,Speckle and ginge)
3 gerbils (timmy, raisin and squirt)
R.I.P Frank & Mr.T (hermanns torts) love you always.

you don't need to give the tank such a thorough clean out every week and make sure that you aren't cleaning your filter with tap water as I made this mistake with my first goldfish tank but now that I've learnt my water stays crystal clear.

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i think you need to test your water for amonia and nitrite as i suspect that this may be the cause of your fish deaths, how are you cleaning your filter and how often you say the water is murky or is it cloudy, dont buy more fish till you test the water, how many fish did you have to start with in the tank

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you really shouldn't keep goldfish in a 14l tank. goldfish should be kept in ponds really as they can grow to 18inchs when adult. i wouldn't be surprised if your ammonia reading is off the chart

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1.1 leos, 1.1 fat tails, 0.2 Beardies, 1 Whites, 2.0 Cresties, 4.1 Cats, Fish: 4.4 P. Dovii, 5.5.6 Peacock Bass (5 sp), 1.1 C 'Cobra', 1.1 festae, 1.1 green terror, 1.1 nics, 1.1 C. Marmorata, 1.1 C. Johani, 1.1 C. 'Strigata', 1.1 C. 'red tapojas'; 1.1 P. Friedrichsthalli, 1.1 Mots, 1.1 managuense, 1.1 H. Bocourti, 1.1 H. Pearsi, 1.1 H. Carpinte, 1.1 H. Cynoguttatum, 1.1 V. Argentea, 1.1 V. Zonatus, 1.1 N. Salvini, 2.2 Grammodes, 3.4 Hoplarchus Pssiticus, 2.2 Trimacs, 3.4 haitiensis, 1.1 tetracanthus, 3.2 Red tiger mots, 14 Uaru (2 sp) 1.1 Umbies, 2 Arapaima, 3 Red tail catfish, 1.1 P. Leopoldii, 1.1 P. Motoro, 3 Silver Arowana, Var. polypterus, var. Channa sp, M. wyckii, 3 siamese tigers, 2 jelly catfish, 1 Golden dorado
Member number 1717

iv had 3 at the most in there, i don't think there proper goldfish, was has big eyes the other is tiny, there my survivors and the one i just lost was small and completely round like a bubble. i usually scrub the filter in the water iv taken out the tank.how can i sort out the ph if it ain't right?

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5 hermanns (little T, Turbo, Timone, Pumba and Paris)
2 Red foots (Elliot and Tommy)
1 chihuahua (rex)
1 jackrussel/daschund (scrappy)
2 cats (sparky and mieque)
6 glodfish (henry the 2nd, splodge,Bart, Homer,Speckle and ginge)
3 gerbils (timmy, raisin and squirt)
R.I.P Frank & Mr.T (hermanns torts) love you always.

goldfish put out a lot of waste. and yea, ammonia levels will quickly climb if you don't have proper filtration. you want a large aerobic bacteria bed in your filter. when you pull some water from your tank that is the time to rinse your filter pads/sponges in the waste water to clean out the gunk and protect the beneficial bacteria. filters don't really "CLEAN" the water but rather, process the water by exposeing it to bacteria that breaks down the ammonia and nitrites into less harmful compounds such as nitrates. you want a mature filter. you are not only raising fish but also bacteria. the good bacteria loves oxygenated water. if you empty your tank and scrub your filters, then you are starting all over. also gold fish need cool water. anything over 70f stresses the and beats up their immune system. also warmer water holds less o2 than cooler water. you can buy the good bacteria in a bottle to seed your tank and to break it in faster. also, you can run zeolite in your filter or use an ammonia absorbing chemical to keep your levels low until your tank cycles. the beneficial bacteria grow slowly. it's all just basic water chemistry, also a good water conditioner must be used on all new water from the tap going into the tank. and goldfish need a little salt in their water to maintain osmotic balance. what ever fish you keep, the physics and principles of water chemistry is all the same. and if you want to keep fish successfully, i mean SUCCESSFULLY, you need to understand water chemistry like a second language. i can write a book on fish keeping but have limited space here. try to learn about the nitrogen cycle and everything will fall into place. i spent years and years in aquatics. remember, a fish tank is a closed system and all factors are interrelated.