HELP PLEASE

[Guest Emily124560]

So long story short, I purchased two fancy goldfish a week ago from the pet store impulsively without doing any extensive research. Before you say anything, I am aware that I have made a ton of mistakes. I feel awful about it. The two goldfish are each about 3 inches long. I have them in a 20L tank and I am running a filter rated for 30 gallons. There is also a bubble wand inside the tank for aeration. I have been feeding them each two tetra goldfish variety pellets a day. I was completely oblivious to the fact that you need to cycle a tank before adding fish to it. I was also unaware that 30 gallons is recommended for 2 fancy goldfish. When one of the goldfish started gasping at the surface after the first day I thought it seemed strange so I did some research and found that it could be caused by high levels of ammonia. I went out and bought some ammonia test strips and the reading was .5 ppm. I then did more research and realized that not cycling the tank was a huge mistake and that the tank was also too small for the fish. I panicked and did a 50% water change to bring the ammonia levels down to .25ppm. After doing more research and learning that the tank needed to establish beneficial bacteria I bought tetra safestart, did another 50% water change and added the entire bottle to the tank as directed on the bottle. This did bring ammonia levels down but they spiked right back up. I have been doing frequent water changes since and i bought 6 in 1 test strips. The pH is at 7.2, the alkalinity is at 120, total chlorine is 0 ppm, total hardness 75, nitrite 0 ppm, and nitrate 20 ppm. These levels have been the same for the past 2 days. I do a 50% water change every day to keep ammonia at .25 ppm which I know is not ideal but I do not want to change the water too much and delay the cycling process. I am confused as to why I am seeing ammonia and nitrates but 0 nitrites. I thought in order to have nitrates you need to have nitrites first. Today one of my fish seems to be doing poorly. It sits at the bottom of the tank with its head in the corner and its tail angled up. Research is making me believe it is a swim bladder issue and researching treatments has been overwhelming. The second fish is moving around a lot more but goes to the corner and hovers above the other one for a bit and then goes back to swimming around. I have gotten pretty attached to these little guys already and I have done nothing but stress over them for the past week. I dontknow what I should do. I was planning on buying another filter and moving the fish that isnt doing well into a 30 gallon sterilite bin until I have funds for a full tank upgrade for theboth of them if they make it, but the bin would just be another uncycled tank so I dont know if this would help. The last thing I want is for them to suffer, please help.

[FishyMandy 6,277]

Hi, first of all, dont feel bad, a lot of us started in the same situation!

Second, for cycling a tank, I recommend using Seachem Prime for your water conditioner, as this will detoxify the ammonia up to 1ppm.

Third, I highly recommend getting a liquid test kit, the API freshwater master test kit is a great one, it will last a long time and is a lot more accurate than the strips

 

It has been a long time since I did a fish in cycle, or any cycle for that matter, so Im not entirely confident on giving out instructions for it as I dont want to lead you down the wrong path, but I believe @shakaho is really knowledgeable in these matters

[koko 14,340]

On 1/16/2020 at 12:27 AM, Guest Emily124560 said:

So long story short, I purchased two fancy goldfish a week ago from the pet store impulsively without doing any extensive research. Before you say anything, I am aware that I have made a ton of mistakes. I feel awful about it. The two goldfish are each about 3 inches long. I have them in a 20L tank and I am running a filter rated for 30 gallons. There is also a bubble wand inside the tank for aeration. I have been feeding them each two tetra goldfish variety pellets a day. I was completely oblivious to the fact that you need to cycle a tank before adding fish to it. I was also unaware that 30 gallons is recommended for 2 fancy goldfish. When one of the goldfish started gasping at the surface after the first day I thought it seemed strange so I did some research and found that it could be caused by high levels of ammonia. I went out and bought some ammonia test strips and the reading was .5 ppm. I then did more research and realized that not cycling the tank was a huge mistake and that the tank was also too small for the fish. I panicked and did a 50% water change to bring the ammonia levels down to .25ppm. After doing more research and learning that the tank needed to establish beneficial bacteria I bought tetra safestart, did another 50% water change and added the entire bottle to the tank as directed on the bottle. This did bring ammonia levels down but they spiked right back up. I have been doing frequent water changes since and i bought 6 in 1 test strips. The pH is at 7.2, the alkalinity is at 120, total chlorine is 0 ppm, total hardness 75, nitrite 0 ppm, and nitrate 20 ppm. These levels have been the same for the past 2 days. I do a 50% water change every day to keep ammonia at .25 ppm which I know is not ideal but I do not want to change the water too much and delay the cycling process. I am confused as to why I am seeing ammonia and nitrates but 0 nitrites. I thought in order to have nitrates you need to have nitrites first. Today one of my fish seems to be doing poorly. It sits at the bottom of the tank with its head in the corner and its tail angled up. Research is making me believe it is a swim bladder issue and researching treatments has been overwhelming. The second fish is moving around a lot more but goes to the corner and hovers above the other one for a bit and then goes back to swimming around. I have gotten pretty attached to these little guys already and I have done nothing but stress over them for the past week. I dontknow what I should do. I was planning on buying another filter and moving the fish that isnt doing well into a 30 gallon sterilite bin until I have funds for a full tank upgrade for theboth of them if they make it, but the bin would just be another uncycled tank so I dont know if this would help. The last thing I want is for them to suffer, please help.

 

 

 

Please copy & paste the following form and fill it out to the best of your ability when requesting help for Goldfish Problems:

 

Test Results for the Following:

 Ammonia Level(Tank)

 Nitrite Level(Tank)

 Nitrate level(Tank)

 Ammonia Level(Tap)

 Nitrite Level(Tap)

 Nitrate level(Tap)

 Ph Level, Tank (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)

 Ph Level, Tap (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)

Other Required Info:

 Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops?

 Water temperature?

 Tank size (how many gals.) and how long has it been running?

 What is the name and "size of the filter"(s)?

 How often do you change the water and how much?

 How many days ago was the last water change and how much did you change?

 How many fish in the tank and their size?

 What kind of water additives or conditioners?

 What do you feed your fish and how often?

 Any new fish added to the tank?

 Any medications added to the tank?

 List entire medication/treatment history for fish and tank.Please include salt, Prazi, PP, etc and the approximate time and duration of treatment.

 Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt," bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus?

 Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.?

"If copy and paste doesn't work for you, quote this post and put your answers after each question."