Regular Member goldphishe Posted January 9, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted January 9, 2008 Fidel died last night after a long battle with swim bladder problems. I am extremely upset by this. I didnt expect him to die when he did. I noticed that as soon as i removed him from the tank, shortly after my other fish (che) started swimming eradically, like he was searching for him (they grew up together and have never been apart in the 2 years that ive had them. My 20 gallon tank seems so empty without fidel, and im worried that Che is going to get lonely. I really do want to get another fish in there soon. but i have a few questions. first, the water chemistry is fine. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, ph 7.5, nitates around 40 right now (but i will do a water change today to bring that down again) so here are my questions: 1) i am going on vacation in 2 weeks. should i wait until i get back? the person who takes care of my tank while we are away (for a week) is extremely reliable, so i am not worried about their care while i am gone. 2) i've had che 2 years and he's about 4" long (not including fins) and about 2" deep (again not including fins) do i need to get a fish that is similar to him in size (fidel and him were about the same size because again, i got them at the same time, and i got them from the same hatching as far as i could tell) i was hoping to get a little one and raise him like i did the other two (when i started with che & fidel they were about the size of a quarter) 3) fidel was an egg shaped fish, where as che is leaner (as you can see in my sig pic) i know that the egg shaped goldies are more prone to SBD. i dont think i ever want to go through that ordeal again, it was heart breaking. can you guys recommend a particular breed that will be hearty and less prone to SBD? thanks for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member nickie73 Posted January 9, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted January 9, 2008 I am so sorry to hear about Fidel's passing. If I were you, I would wait until after you get back from your trip to get another fish. You need to QT a new fish for a few weeks before adding it to your tank with Che. Also, after you add the new fish, you need to keep a watch on him/her for a while. As far as SBD goes, you need to stay away from compacted fish, such as Pearlscales; fish that are more round in appearance. Also, as it seems Che is a fantail? you need to get a fish that can see well so that it won't have to compete with Che for food. That means staying away from Bubble Eyes and Telescopes. However, I do have a Demekin and a Fantail together and they seem to be doing okay right now. You can keep a Moor/Demekin with a fantail as long as you make sure the Moor gets it's share of food. My Demekin has never had any problems with SBD, but there may be some that do. I think that basically all fancy GF are prone to SBD and you can't really tell if they will have those problems or not. However, you can look at the fish and not pick one that seems to be floaty or has problems swimming. Good luck to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member goldphishe Posted January 9, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 9, 2008 thanks for the advice. but do you think i can get a little one? or do i need to get one similar to che's size? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member nickie73 Posted January 9, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted January 9, 2008 I would try to get one close to the size of your fish you have now. However, many ppl here in the forum put small fish with their big ones and they have no problems. If you do, you can always get a divider to put in the tank until your little one gets bigger. That is what I had to do. My demekin was way smaller than my fantail, so I seperated them to keep the fantail from picking on her until she got bigger. Now, 5 months later, she is almost as big as he is and there is hardly any picking at all now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member pumpkinPatch Posted January 9, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted January 9, 2008 Another good thing about waiting til you get back is you won't have to think & worry about your new fish while you're on vacation At least that's what would happen to me. Sorry about your loss, good luck finding a new buddy for Che! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dlinks Posted January 10, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted January 10, 2008 as long as the small one is twice bigger than Che's mouth then it's fine. (from other members talking) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Pixiefish Posted January 10, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted January 10, 2008 Be sure to quarantine any new fish you get. There is a pinned article on how to do this in the Disease and Discussion section. How funny your fish are/were called Che and Fidel - are you a fan of the 'revolution'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jinyu_fan Posted January 12, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted January 12, 2008 You shouldn't have any problem with putting in a small fish. I just put a little 1-1/2" from quarantine into the main tank with 2 bigger fish (a 4" ryukin and a 4.5" ranchu). The little one adjusted fine and the 2 bigger ones don't bother him. I agree that you should wait until you come back from vacation before getting a new fish. This way, if there is any problem with the new fish, you will be aware of it immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member goldphishe Posted January 13, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2008 i honestly think that my fish misses his tank mate. he's been mopey since he died, and he hangs out in the corner of the tank where fidel used to go when his swim bladder was getting worse. i went to the LFS today and picked up a couple of live plants, expecting him to mow them down like he used to, but he's basically ignored them. its so upsetting to see him so sedentary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Lolafish Posted January 13, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2008 20 gallon tanks are so small, in my opinion, I wouldn't put two fish in there. I don't think it could handle the waste output of two adult sized goldies. Your goldie will be fine without a tank mate, if that's the only reason you wanted to get another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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