First large tank and too many fish...

[jelisalyn89]

**check out the picture lower in this post - fish mesmorized by a fake plant - thought it was funny... theyve been staring at it for over 3 hours...)

A friend of mine ended up with too many fish for her tank, so she asked if I would be able to take about 6 of them. I had a 20 gallon tank that we use to use so I said I would take them. I got the tank set up, bought them rocks and a filter good for up to 30 gallons. She handed me a bag of 13 fish... which I believe is way too many from the information I've been reading. I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to make this work? What about an algae eater? cleaning the water frequently enough? Any suggestions? I've never had more than one goldfish in a smaller tank... and I keep reading about bubbles - is that something I should have as well?

oh, and I think they are "commons" from the pictures I've been looking at ... and the poop is starting already...
thanks a lot.

[14+kitties]

It's not so much the number of fish as it is how big they are. Rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon of water from what I have been told. But I'm not a real fish expert. They will be along shortly I'm sure.

[jelisalyn89]

They are probably about an inch and a half in length. I have been reading a lot of things like that... but I also read that when there are several full goldfish that they need more room and I've also read things like one per 10 gallons... so I'm not really sure what to go on.

[MyBirdIsEvil]

There's not enough information to determine anything.

You need to go by their adult size, not their size now. What kind fish are they? Common plecos get more than a foot long, so he'll outgrow a 20g easily.

I'd assume that they're 13 inch and a half fish that aren't fullgrown, so you're probably heavily overstocked. 20 gallon aquariums don't have much stocking room.

A 30g filter on a 20g isn't much filtration. It's the minimum for normal stocking (like a small school of neons or guppies).

And I assume the tank is already cycled? If not, even a few fish is way too many because your ammonia spike will kill or, at best, stunt them.

[jelisalyn89]

I realize it's too many. I wasn't expecting so many... I'm trying to find them homes... hoping they will okay for a short period of time while theyre still small?

[MyBirdIsEvil]

Oh yeah. Those are comets. WAY too many already .

Definitely find them homes. Hopefully a pond, since that's what they'll need, unless you can find someone with a VERY large tank.

[MyBirdIsEvil]

Sorry. I realize my last post wasn't exactly helpful.

In the meantime if you test your water and keep the nitrates below 40 (0 ammonia and nitrites of course. If tank is not cycled keep those perimeters below .25) by doing water changes they should be fine. Comets are hardy fish, so if you check your water daily and do water changes they should be fine for now.

Comets will get about a eight inches to foot long (longer with some strains), btw, which is why I suggest a pond.

[jelisalyn89]

alright, thanks for your help

[jelisalyn89]

I have found 6 of them homes and am now down to 7 goldfish. I have been keeping up with changing the water and I have cycled and conditioned the water each time. So far they are doing alright, still trying to get rid of a couple more...

random note... I put a small fake plant in the tank and all of them have been staring at it for the last 3 hours.... weird..?

sorry about the quality - i took the pic with my phone.

[Vinss]

You have too many fish in the tank, we usually recommend two goldfish per 10 gallons of water, meaning that you should have a maximum of four fish in your 20 gallon aquarium. The fact that you have so many will not kill them instantly, but it will drastically reduce their lifetime. The most deaths we have in the morning dead fish round in the pet shop is in the feeder comet fish tank because there are too many in the tanks.

There are a few alternatives for you. You can accept that they will live shorter lives and keep them in the current non-optimal environement. You could also redistribute them in new tanks or make a pond for them outdoor if you have the space/time/means when the weather gets hotter. Or you could always find someone that has need of feeder fish and donate a few; although this may seem cruel, we sell comets as feeders only, it is their main breeding reason in pet shops.

I don't recomment you add an algea eater or pleco to your tank as it is already overloaded with fish and one more will worsen the case. The water should be changed every week (maximum every two weeks). As for your filter, the larger amount of gallon the filter is fit for the better, usually we recomment 10 gallons more than your actual tank (if a 20 gallon, a 30 gallon filter or more is best). Water should be at room tempeture.

[jelisalyn89]

I am still finding homes for them, I'm not going to be keeping them like this. It was sudden and unintentional if you read the previous posts. I'm down to 7 now and have put two in a separate makeshift tank for now so there are 3 in the 20 gallon tank. I'm doing my best as quickly as I can. I have a filter thats good for up to 30g but Ihave been told that even that is not enough, that that is the bare minimum so I'll be investing in a better filter soon.

thanks

[MyBirdIsEvil]

You have too many fish in the tank, we usually recommend two goldfish per 10 gallons of water, meaning that you should have a maximum of four fish in your 20 gallon aquarium.

That recommendation is still too many. One fancy goldfish per 10 gallons is being liberal. 4 adult fancy goldfish in 20 gallons is WAY overstocked.
On top of that these aren't fancy goldfish, they're comets, which can get to a foot long. They're really meant to be pond fish.

I have been keeping up with changing the water and I have cycled and conditioned the water each time.

I'm not sure if you understand the term cycled.
Cycling refers to the biological bacteria on the filter. Once you build enough biological bacteria on your filter media to filter out 100% of the ammonia and nitrites in your aquarium the tank is cycled.
You don't cycle water as it doesn't grow biological bacteria. They grow on surfaces (sides of your tank, gravel, plastic plants, etc., but mainly in your filter).

random note... I put a small fake plant in the tank and all of them have been staring at it for the last 3 hours.... weird..?

Not really weird. It's the only piece of cover in the tank, so they're congregating around it. Schooling fish tend to do that.

[jelisalyn89]

I have found homes for all of the comets now.. individually so that someone else didn't just throw them all in a tank. I now have 3 small fancy goldfish (oranda, black moor, and fantail) in my 20g tank. I know there should only technically be 2 but I'll just have to upgrade later if need be. I got this tank for free so I can argue with having to buy one eventually. I also upgraded to an aquaclear 70 filter in order to get the ammonia levels down to zero, and added a house and air pump to give them some bubbles.

Sorry, when I said cycled the water I meant that I had added the "nutrafin cycle" to the water after a water change to try and keep the good bacteria up?

[Tundra_Queen]

Hi

You probably know this, but only change 1/4 of the water a week.

[jelisalyn89]

Yes, 20-25% of the water at a time. Thanks for checking though I am new to this, but I'm learning... as fast as I can haha

[MyBirdIsEvil]

Sorry, when I said cycled the water I meant that I had added the "nutrafin cycle" to the water after a water change to try and keep the good bacteria up?

Oh ok. Don't even waste your money on that stuff, it's a gimmick.

The only stuff that is proven to work is Biospira, and it is inconsistent. It has to be refrigerated and can't be used beyond a certain date (and since they don't put the date on it you don't know...)

You probably know this, but only change 1/4 of the water a week.

That's simplistic. The reason people say that is you can shock your fish, but if the water you add has the same pH and temperature as the water you're removing it's not generally a problem.
It's not uncommon for people that keep Discus to do 90% water changes daily or every couple of days. They just make sure the water being added is buffered, the exact same pH, and the exact same water temperature.

[jelisalyn89]

Really? I didn't know that, but it definately wouldn't surprise me. thanks a lot