Is my fish sick?

Froglet

Chameleon is spot on.Your old fish may have got used to cramped conditions and poor water quality but your new fish,which you should not have got until you had more room and a cycled filter,will have come from well filtered water in the fish shop.

However i am appalled that they told you it was ok to change the water every two days and not have a filter! mind you this then means the fish gets sick so you have to go in and buy medication.Fish dies so you buy another .And so on.Good business for them but not so nice for you and the fish.

Change your fish shop!! Ask here http://forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/ for all the advice you ever need in future.Fish keeping is NOT cheap if you want to give your fish a good life.Goldfish grow BIG!!

Drea

My tank is 15 litres and I did research all over the internet before buying another fish to make sure I could. Both a red oranda redcap and black moor are small fish, they don't grow big like normal goldfish. I can have 3 fish of that size in the tank I have.

I only had the redcap for 2 weeks before introducing the other fish and putting them in the tank.

Thanks for your help. Stacey is a lot better today

picklepick

Drea wrote: »

My tank is 15 litres and I did research all over the internet before buying another fish to make sure I could. Both a red oranda redcap and black moor are small fish, they don't grow big like normal goldfish. I can have 3 fish of that size in the tank I have.

Where did you get that info from??
15 litres is no size for even one fish! do you mean 15 gallons?

Fancy goldfish can still grow to 7 or 8 inches and IMO if you have a 15 gallon tank you could have 2 young fish but no more than that. And this is of course with a good filter.

Drea

I originally wanted a goldfish but because I only got a little plastic fish bowl the fish shop owner told me that I wouldn't be able to have a normal goldfish because they grow too big so I would have to get the redcap, which I did.

I then went in to ask them about getting another fish and was told I wouldn't be able to have it in the bowl so I bought the tank and the black moor. I had noticed the tank in the shop window, it was a "beginners tank" and I googled it before even going to the fish shop and most people say that you need 1 gallon per inch of fish. As both fish are only about an inch, I have enough room. The people at the fish shop (two seperate people there at different times - one about the redcap and then one about the black moor) told me that these fish don't grow large. Hence why I was able to have one in the original fish bowl.

They are tiny fish and have plenty of room to swim around in, I really don't think that's the problem and anyone else I've ever asked who keeps fish or at the fish shop (which is incidentally one of the best ones in Edinburgh for actually telling the truth instead of trying to get you to buy things) or indeed most of what is said on the internet seems to agree with me... I'm no expert but I have been listening to people who are.

picklepick

Ok i suggest you read this thread here...

http://forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/showthread.php?t=62926


They might be tiny fish but they are poo machines and they produce a lot of ammonia which, as you have no filter and a very small tank (regardless of what the pet shop told you!), they are swimming about in.

Please dont be defensive, i didnt mean my post to be patronising or to seem like a lecture im just trying to help you

Drea

picklepick wrote: »

Ok i suggest you read this thread here...

http://forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/showthread.php?t=62926


They might be tiny fish but they are poo machines and they produce a lot of ammonia which, as you have no filter and a very small tank (regardless of what the pet shop told you!), they are swimming about in.

Please dont be defensive, i didnt mean my post to be patronising or to seem like a lecture im just trying to help you

Thank you, I'll think about it but if that's the case then I will have to give my fish away because I won't be able to afford a bigger tank or have anywhere to put one that size. I live in a flatshare and have to keep them in my room.

Sorry for being defensive, I think sometimes people forget to say things in a way that doesn't offend. It isn't a case of me buying some fish without thinking about it first.

picklepick

Have you tried freecycle for a bigger tank?
I got mine on there for free last year. Might be worth a shot.

Froglet

Drea wrote: »

My tank is 15 litres and I did research all over the internet before buying another fish to make sure I could. Both a red oranda redcap and black moor are small fish, they don't grow big like normal goldfish. I can have 3 fish of that size in the tank I have.

I only had the redcap for 2 weeks before introducing the other fish and putting them in the tank.

Thanks for your help. Stacey is a lot better today

I do not know where you got the info from about their sizre and what they need.15 litres? no wonder they won't/can't grow.

please read this http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/caresheets/caresheet.php?caresheetID=74

then you will realise what you are condemning your poor fish to.Unless you get them a bigger tank,which you say you can't do,or give them to someone who knows how to house them properly.

If you want to keep fish,a few small tropicals could be kept in your tank,providing you mature the filter first.

amersall

i had a large tank with blackmoors etc, when 2 of mine got swim bladder, a vet told me to not feed them for a couple of days and then only a small amount daily after. that did the trick, they were back to normal in no time

Drea

Obviously I am a cruel person who loves to stunt the growth of animals. Regardless of the fact I just said I will have to give them away. Would you like them? To make sure they are kept properly?

Perhaps you shouldn't "condemn" people who simply have been given the wrong information. Or rather who are given conflicting information.

This is exactly why nobody feels like they can ask questions on this board, people go without knowing the answers for fear of being misstaken for someone who is just cruel.

Now no doubt I will get "I was just answering your question" but sentences such as "then you will realise what you are condemning your poor fish to" really are quite aggressive. Along with "no wonder they..."

Going to leave this post to die out now, I have my answers. Thank you to those were helpful.