Rehomed Cliff, Gained A New Telescope

[enesta]

Due to my comet hogging all of the food from my black moor on top of only having a 29 gallon for them both, I rehomed the comet. There's a very good fish store near here with a pond that took him. Unfortunately she said he may be too small for the pond and may have to go in one of their tanks (which are a lot smaller than what I have) and put up for sale. I hope I did the right thing and that no kid buys him and puts him in a bowl. I was very broken up over this; it was the first time I cried since my dog passed 4 years ago. Yes, I did over giving a fish away. I just felt awful, he went through so much I really wish I could've given him what he needed. I hope he finds it.

Anyway - I came home with a new telescope eye that I haven't named yet, I figured he'd be a good tank mate for my black moor. He's bigger though. I didn't quarantine him first because he looked very healthy and active, but did add a little salt to help with stress and combat anything he may bring.

Pictures are below. He's very active in the tank, playing in the bubbles and exploring all over. I think my moor (slate) really misses the comet though; he's staying at the front of the tank looking at me and won't go play. Also, the telescope eye keeps going up behind him and sniffing his butt or something, like a dog. I saw him do this in the shop too. I hope he isn't horny! Is it possible for them to mate? I wouldn't know what to do if that happened.

Also, is his tailfin supposed to be that short? There was a smaller one with a long flowing tail, but I thought I read somewhere that that could indicate stunting.

[dogsbykat]

I think it sounds like you made a good decision. Cliff would have outgrown the tank or been stunted and 2 teles is a much better match. Your new guy is lovely, some have smaller tails, it still may grow out. It does concern me that you didn't qt him, though, before adding him to the main tank. You may want to treat both with Prazi, just to be safe

[Cynders]

He is so cute. Tailfins grow at different paces. It may be better that it is short and may possibly indicate that he is not stunted and has a good growth rate ahead of him. If you see a small fish with a super long tail and huge eyes that may be a tip off. He is stunning. It's ok to rehome. Don't worry, I know it was hard for you, especially if the comet was stealing food. You thought about your other fish's life which is good. It was in the best interest of your cute moor.

[ashlee18]

The short tail is so cute. I agree with Buggy though. I'd prazi them both now for safety. My teles didn't show signs of flukes until four weeks after I got them

[enesta]

Thanks guys, I hope they get along. It's okay to treat with prazi even if nothing may be wrong? I'll pick some up tomorrow or Monday.

[Cynders]

Yes it's ok. They most likely do have flukes if they came from a lfs. Have you treated them both with salt yet?

[enesta]

Well the moor has been in the tank over a month. He's been through a sickness and treated with salt, the new guy just came today and they're both in .5% salt right now. I planned on upping it to 1% in the morning.

[dogsbykat]

I think Prazi is always a good preventative measure I think they'll get along fine, once they're settled

[Cynders]

Oh no never go up to .5%! Only go up to .3% At .5% you risk stressing them and messing up your cycle. I would bring it down to .3% Over a course of 24 hours. Never never never go above .3%

[ashlee18]

I'm thinking .05% was meant

[enesta]

Yes, I meant .05%! Sorry, I'm still a newbie

[ashlee18]

Well I was confused at first since people would do 1% or .1%. I always figured they meant the same thing The second being the correct one.

Edited October 24, 2010 by ashlee18

[Cynders]

My mistake, yes going up to .1% will be fine You can go up to .1% in one go, then the next 12 hours you can go to .2% And then in another 12 hours you can go to .3% and that should kill off any baddie for you

[shellbell4ever]

I think re homing your comet and getting another fancy was a good decision And your new guy is adorable I wish I could find another orange tele around me I would also agree with the other post's as to salting to 3% followed by a round of prazi just to be safe better late than never

[number20121]

Overall a good decision, but I think I personally would have made sure the comet goes to a forever home where I know what it is going to be like. I don't think many goldfish at LFS actually do go to a home where people know what they are doing, especially when it comes to commons and comets. Look at us, even most of us started out wrong. Just saying. Maybe I'm wrong though.

Anyway, the new guy is cute! Maybe it is a boy who's interested in your Moor? With his short tail he looks like a yellow submarine

[spillie]

So easy to get messed up with salt when talking in terms of percents. I find it easier to just think of teaspoons per gallon. 1 teaspoon per gallon, dissolved first, to start (.01%) --gradually raised to 3 teaspoons per gallon max (.03%). Just remember it stays in the water until you take the water out, so if you removed 10 gallons and were at .01%/1 teasp. per gallon, then you would put 10 new teaspoons in with the new ten gallons. I find it easiest to dissolve in the microwave, by the way. Your new fish is adorable! And your other fish will come around, they just need to get to know each other.

[koko]

What a cutie you got there

[Wendy]

almost look like a ryukin hump in one shot, cute fish

[enesta]

Overall a good decision, but I think I personally would have made sure the comet goes to a forever home where I know what it is going to be like. I don't think many goldfish at LFS actually do go to a home where people know what they are doing, especially when it comes to commons and comets. Look at us, even most of us started out wrong. Just saying. Maybe I'm wrong though.

Anyway, the new guy is cute! Maybe it is a boy who's interested in your Moor? With his short tail he looks like a yellow submarine

I already feel really horrible about it When I went I was under the impression that he'd go in the pond, it wasn't until they had him in their container that they said they may have to put him in a tank for sale because of his size. I'm really hoping he gets in the pond, I know that'd be better than most permanent homes elsewhere, they take great care of their fish. Otherwise I hope someone who has the proper resources purchases him. I'm second guessing myself for sure, I may go back and see what's going on with him, but that may just depress me even more.

[Cynders]

I know it's hard but you shouldn't be beating yourself up over it. You were thinking about the welfare of your fish, and commons and comets are notorious for being bullies with fancies. They just aren't compatible. Your single-tail most likely has a better chance of going to a pond or a good home instead of the moor who may not have been cared for as well if he was placed in the lfs. Don't beat yourself up

[enesta]

Yeah I guess you're right. The new guy is breathing from the surface some (a lot right now), but there's plenty of oxygen...

[Cynders]

It may be from flukes, so when you get the prazi take a look at this link for prazi treatments. It depends on your lfs stores prices sometimes.

Or he could even just have a naughty habit. Some fish do it after being fed because they can still taste the food at the top of the water.

Edited October 24, 2010 by Haruka

[enesta]

I'll call around today, shipping would take a week unless I want to pay an arm and a leg.

Does thick brown poop about half an inch to an inch long indicate overfeeding? I'm not sure what goldfish poop should look like. Also, I noticed the new guy has some black around his gills and tips of fins which I thought to be normal discoloration, but after looking around I saw that it could be ammonia burn?

[number20121]

If it is ammonia burn, then there is nothing you can do about it since he most likely got that from the store. Just keep the water clean! Have you tried looking in LFS for Prazi Pro? As said in store it often is more expensive BUT you don't pay shipping. And as you said, you won't have to wait a week. I had to drive a bit up to that LFS that carries Prazi Pro and paid 16.99 for the 4oz bottle (which lasts for a good while as it treats 500 gallons of water) but I had it right then and there and could get started treating on the very first day I noticed the flukes.

I want to mention though that I don't think single tails and fancy tails are not compatible. In my opinion it depends on the fish, the size of the tank, and if you are willing to take a bit of extra care of the fancy tails so they get their share of food. My comet and shubunkin don't bully any of the fancies. Of course, that doesn't mean that there will never be any issues but in that case I will either upgrade to a much larger tank for all of them - which is what I plan to do either way - or if that won't help, I will only move the single tails to the new, larger tank and keep the smaller fancies in the 55 gallons.

I just don't want to give my beloved fish away to somewhere where I don't know how they will be treated.

Please do not get me wrong, I am not bashing you for doing it differently!! Just giving my about what I personally would try to do

[enesta]

You couldn't make me feel any worse than I already do. I really thought he was going to go in the pond. I'll call them when they open right away and see what's going on with him. If he's in the pond I'll leave him, they take very good care of their fish. Otherwise maybe I'll go back and get him and put him in this 20 gallon I have sitting around that has no filter. I can keep him there and continue to look for a new home for him. But I really don't have the money to keep 3 tanks going. But I'd rather be in debt than have a stomach ache constantly over it and not be able to get it off my mind on how he's doing.