Fish tank advice.....

Heck no! That'll be as big as your tank!

Your money would be better spent on a better regular filter.

How often are you doing water changes? How much are you feeding?

My_Teenage_Self":20rnp74a said:

Heck no! That'll be as big as your tank!

Your money would be better spent on a better regular filter.

How often are you doing water changes? How much are you feeding?

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we've dropped feeing from twice a day (a tiny amount each time - so technically a pinch full a day)
to less than a pinch full a day.

water changes - i recently (and stupidly) completely changed the water and cleaned the gravel - :facepalm: after reading up about it, i realised how much i could have effed it up and killed all the fish - but they are still around luckily.
but since then i've taken to doing a 20-30% change weekly.
the water 'greens up' about a day or 2 after.

we recently changed filters to a fully submerged Fluval filter - just a sponge filter inside which i clean on a weekly basis (in tank water).
i have also just invested(?) in a gravel cleaner as there is a considerable amount of poo and other debris at the bottom of the tank.

the black fish keeps himself in the corner of the tank right at the top for some reason - like he's trying to get some air?!? :?

my main concern is the black fish (aka daddy fish) as he seems to be spending a lot of time at the top of the tank (i dont think its a buoyancy issue - as he is pefectly capable of swimming and keeping lower in the tank) but its almost like he hates being in there - i dont blame him really.
on the other hand, the other 2 fish seem fine (mummy fish and Theo fish) - can you tell that my son named these fish?

also need to replensih water treatment chemicals - any suggestions?
i was, up until recently, using 'NutraFin plus', 'nutrafin Aqua' and 'Tetra Aqua Easy Balance'.

the room which we keep the tank is gets a lot of daylight, so i'm guessing this is feeding the algae issue - but we cant put it anywhere else as the flat gets rather a lot of sunlight throughout each room...

Seachem Prime is the best water conditioner you can buy. More expensive to buy initially but goes a lot further than others so works out cheaper in the long run.

IDB1":1rm5w083 said:

Seachem Prime is the best water conditioner you can buy. More expensive to buy initially but goes a lot further than others so works out cheaper in the long run.

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so this combined with the nutrfin/easy balance stuff? or just Seachem Prime alone?

the more i read about maintaining these tanks, the bigger the headache i get!

i just want a tank that doesnt turn green FFS! :twisted:

so far my list to help improive the tank condition:

- a plant
- Seachem Prime
- a gravel vacuum (already bought)

i said i wouldn't have anything to do with these bloody fish when the mrs talked about getting them! :x

I wouldn't add anything else to the water other than the conditioner.

Tbh.. it's a lot of hard work with such a small tank, especially with goldfish (because of the mess). Aside from it really being too small for them, the amount of waste they produce is going to mean really big water changes nigh-on constantly - once the filter is mature, you can change up to 100% of the water with minimal risk (as long as the new water is that same temperature etc. as the old)

If I can bore you with more stuff on the size thing (sorry). Fancy goldfish can reach around 8" in a fish tank. In too small a tank the body gets stunted so won't reach adult size (this is where the whole fish only grow to the size of the tank comes from). The problem with that is that the internal organs aren't stunted and keep growing.
Eventually the fish die because their insides are too big for their outsides. Not sure if fish register pain as such but it can't be pleasant.

I recently received 6 baby fish (S.American cichlids) that had been raised from fry in too small a tank.. they were less than an inch when I got them (so only a few weeks old) and, even in my 700 litre tank, one of them died from stunted body/not stunted insides.
The other 5 look like they might be ok but I'm not that hopeful tbh.

You might want to consider a liquid test kit too.. nitrite, nitrate and ammonia would be a good start.
And live food (daphnia) once a week - it's a laxative and helps with the swim bladder problems fancy goldfish are prone to.

Live plants may help with the algae but the fish may eat them.

I have nothing to gain from misinforming you, have kept fish for about 20 years (coldwater, tropical and marine) and had 2 shops of my own.

18" Square and 8' high
You could have crustaceans at the bottom where the pressure is greatest and higher up common type of fishy's


Down side is if you drop anything in accidentally. Wave it goodbye.

IDB1":bmje75pl said:

I wouldn't add anything else to the water other than the conditioner.

Tbh.. it's a lot of hard work with such a small tank, especially with goldfish (because of the mess). Aside from it really being too small for them, the amount of waste they produce is going to mean really big water changes nigh-on constantly - once the filter is mature, you can change up to 100% of the water with minimal risk (as long as the new water is that same temperature etc. as the old)

If I can bore you with more stuff on the size thing (sorry). Fancy goldfish can reach around 8" in a fish tank. In too small a tank the body gets stunted so won't reach adult size (this is where the whole fish only grow to the size of the tank comes from). The problem with that is that the internal organs aren't stunted and keep growing.
Eventually the fish die because their insides are too big for their outsides. Not sure if fish register pain as such but it can't be pleasant.

I recently received 6 baby fish (S.American cichlids) that had been raised from fry in too small a tank.. they were less than an inch when I got them (so only a few weeks old) and, even in my 700 litre tank, one of them died from stunted body/not stunted insides.
The other 5 look like they might be ok but I'm not that hopeful tbh.

You might want to consider a liquid test kit too.. nitrite, nitrate and ammonia would be a good start.
And live food (daphnia) once a week - it's a laxative and helps with the swim bladder problems fancy goldfish are prone to.

Live plants may help with the algae but the fish may eat them.

I have nothing to gain from misinforming you, have kept fish for about 20 years (coldwater, tropical and marine) and had 2 shops of my own.

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jesus, if i tell the mrs about the stunted body/non stunded insides, she may cry! but it might give her the impetus to help me sort out a better tank maybe. although we are very limited on space.
she doesnt like reading up about stuff, she'd rather just get on with it - much to my frustration most of the time!

will try that seachem stuff and get a plant to start with.
i didnt realise how disgustingly dirty goldfish are. they certainly create a lot of sh*t!
we have a Fluval mini filter. i'm also considering buildig some osrt of screen to help reduce sunlight getting into the tank.

when i told the mrs about the tank being too small she scoffed - so hopefully i can shut her up with the info you are providing!

thanks for your help with this IDB1 - i'd quite like to sort it all out properly - it may turn out to be a more acceptable hobby than my bikes

twain":372ym3d6 said:

...it may turn out to be a more acceptable hobby than my bikes

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Until you develop a fascination with Koi... Retrobiking looks decidedly cheap then. :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

twain":3t5xhq6q said:

thanks for your help with this IDB1 - i'd quite like to sort it all out properly - it may turn out to be a more acceptable hobby than my bikes

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You are most welcome.. I hope everything works out well

Oh... fishkeeping tends to be a similarly slippery slope to bikes unfortunately. I know a number of people who started out with a small tank such as you have and are now struggling for room in which to put their nnth tank

mummy fish died the other day
daddy fish keeps sticking his mouth up to the surface - not sure what his problem is.
got a call yesterday saying that he was dead, but he wasnt, he had turned himself upside down and was kind of resting on top of the filter....
i had a go with the gravel vacuum this morning - sooooooo much crap and still more to come out.
will order the seachem stuff today and add this next week - will soaking the filter cartridge in this help when i refresh the water next week?