goldfish problems

[jamjar]

Hi I am looking for some advice from more experienced fish owners than myself. My son has had a cold water tank set up for well over a month now. We thought we had cycled it (ran for over a week before adding fish) but 1st goldfish died within a week (although we believe it was unwell when purchased) the tank was then left for 2 weeks before adding 2 fantails (water test was fine). These two fish are showing signs of ill health and appear to have fin rot. I have done frequent water changes 50%. So my questions are:
Should I be doing daily water changes?
How do I try to cycle my tank with fish in?
Will adding stress coat help the fish now?
Any other advice would be greatly accepted.
Many thanks

[Gemificus]

you should do a 25% water change once a week, it takes 1 week to cycle your tank if you believe your fish to have fin rot you should try to treat them for it

[jamjar]

Thanks for help sorry I didn't mention that I think it is the water that is causeing the problem. I did an amonia test today and that was raised so I did the 50% water change today. I am guessing that the tank is not cycled fully and that is why the ammonia is building up. That is why I am thinking that I need to do frequent water changes at the moment

[Gemificus]

a water change will raise the ammonia levels remember water is full of chemicals and depending where you are the softness/hardness of your water can become a factor, its better when changing the water to leave it a while to stand first so that the chlorine can evaporate but try not to leave it too long as it may become stale or stagnant, stop the water changes and let them settle for a couple of days and look into the fish illnesses to make sure it is finrot that they have then you will need to treat them, also when you clean your filter which is recommended once a month use the water you have taken from the tank to clean it so that you keep the balance,

i hope this information helps you out i have a spare how to look after your goldfish book i can post to you if you want it let me know how things work out

[jamjar]

Thanks for your help Gemi. Unfortunatly we lost a fish overnight. The other fantail is looking poorly its fins are all intact but looking cloudy ?white spot (although I can not see any definate spots). I did treat the water for chlorine before putting in tank but I guess I didn't factor in other chemicals in tap water. Just not sure now what to do to help this one. I have a feeling that the filter bacteria is not established enough and this is why we have poor water quality, problem is I just don't know how to improve it as the tank has been set up for over a month now. Any sugestions. Thanks again.

[MJ75]

Can I just point out the following please :-

A tank won't necessarily cycle within a week. The only way to tell if a filter has cycled is to use ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits and track the cycles progress by daily testing when setting the tank up. Using a liquid maturing agent you will notice a "spike" of ammonia, then nitrite etc. Over time the levels will drop to zero. At this point you can safely stock the tank slowly.

Performing a water change WILL NOT RAISE the levels of ammonia! Tap water does not contain it as it would be unsafe for humans to drink! It will however contain chlorine that is harmful to fish. As has been said earlier leaving the water to stand for 24 hours will get rid of it. Or use a product such as Tetra Aquasafe to dechlorinate it. Changing more than 25% of the tank water is potentially stressful to your fish.

What kind of filter do you have? Are you medicating the fantail with suspected fin rot?

[jamjar]

HI MJ75 the tank has a stingray filter in it been set up for over a month now. All the water I have added I have treated with tap safe or equivilent, but have not always let it stand for hours prior to adding it to tank. At present I have not added anything for the ?finrot as am still not sure if that is what is wrong. I am very open to advice as I don't want anymore fish until we are sorted.

[MJ75]

Originally Posted by jamjar

HI MJ75 the tank has a stingray filter in it been set up for over a month now. All the water I have added I have treated with tap safe or equivilent, but have not always let it stand for hours prior to adding it to tank. At present I have not added anything for the ?finrot as am still not sure if that is what is wrong. I am very open to advice as I don't want anymore fish until we are sorted.

What media do you have in your stingray filter? If you have carbon (aka activated charcoal) then remove it. Go to your nearest pet shop and buy some fin rot medication and dose as per instructions.

Don't feed for the next three days or so and perform a daily 15 to 20% water change. Unless you can rehome the sick fish in a tank with a mature filter? That would be better. You may be able to save the fish doing what I've suggested though.

Hope that helps.

MJ

[andy007]

Hi
There seems to be a number of posts recently concerning cycling a tank. There appears to be many people who have been told by staff at fish shops to set the tank up and leave in running for a week. This is total rubbish.
I have written a section on "Cycling your Filter" on my webbie (link below).
Cycling a filter from start to finish can take up to 12 weeks, but of course you have to be adding a waste product. Normally, pure ammonia is used, but obviously not when there are fish in the tank.

Betta Information | Cycling Your Filter

[mariekni]

could it not be that the place you got the fish from in the first place are to blame? if the fish were ill before you introduced them to your tank and you didnt pick up on it then you are bound to start blaming poor water quality or un cycled tank. just a thought anyway