Stunted Growth?

[Videl2k4]

Hi, I have 4 goldfish 2 comet and 2 fantails in a 15 gallon tank, the oldest one is one of the comets and about 4 years old and was born in a pond, the other comet is about 2 and the fantails I have had for about a month, I took over the care of the fish because they where not being taken care of that well they did not have filtration till about 2 months ago when I took over.

The biggest of the 2 comets is only about 2 and a half inches long and the oldest has only just recently turned orange, I am wondering if they are going to be permanently stunted as I bought a 55 gallon aquarium yesterday and have started to fill it after it is done cycling I will be moving the fish to it in hopes they will start to grow.

As far as I can tell the comets are healthy they are very active eat well and look fine just wondering if anyone has dealt with this and if anyone thinks they will grow.

[Hidr]

I would start looking for a 75 gallon. They may start to grow again now that they are in a larger tank. Or they might now. Just have to wait and see.

You can cycle your new tank in a few days by using the old filter and/or the some media from the old tank. Bag up some of the rocks if you have them and add them to the tank. Assuming your going barebottom and I would so as not to displace any water since the tank is still to small for them.

Good luck

[Helen]

hi shibbs! welcome to koko's.. yes, i agree with hidr that the 55 is still too small unfortunately.. however, i notice that you've alreday purchased it.. okay.. would you consider rehoming one of the comets? it will sure improve the environment of your fish by a lot..

is your filter in the 15 gallon cycled? if so, the advice that hidr gave is perfect to speed up your cycle process.. and even with a cycled 55 gallon, you will still need to consider rehoming one of the comets..

how well do you know about fish tank maintenance? we're happy to help you learn about the process.. do you have any water test kits available?

can you offer the following water parameters and information?

ammonia:

nitrAtes:

nitrItes:

PH:

how often do you change their water? and when you do, how much of it do you change?

what type of filter is in the 15 gallon and what type of filter is in the 55 gallon?

how much do you feed and how often?

we'd love if you could post some pics of your fish so we can meet your little darlings

[dogsbykat]

Great job on taking over care of these fish While Hidr and Stakos are right that they will probably outgrow the 55 gal, you're providing them with 40 extra gallons of clean water that is going to feel like heaven to them It's hard to say if a stunted fish can still grow. My Atticus lived in a bowl for 4 yrs before I got him in January; he seems to be permanently stunted at 4 inches + tail.

[Cynders]

Yes congrats on the 55! However like the rest said they may stay small since it's been so long. Or they might grow very slowly or stay the same size. Can't wait to see the little guys!

[kazaba]

It is so great that you are taking action to improve the quality of life for these fish!

I did the same with my goldfish; neither of them are technically "mine", but I took over when I noticed how horrible they were doing. The one fish, Bubba, is a 3+ year old Oranda. He's lived in a 1 gallon fishbowl all his life! Here is a link to a post I made showing how he's changed so much within one month after moving into a 40 gallon tank (which currently houses 2 fish):

Stunted Goldfish Growth

So, it is possible that they will grow, but even more importantly, they will undoubtedly be much more healthy and happy!

Good Luck!

[Videl2k4]

hi shibbs! welcome to koko's.. yes, i agree with hidr that the 55 is still too small unfortunately.. however, i notice that you've alreday purchased it.. okay.. would you consider rehoming one of the comets? it will sure improve the environment of your fish by a lot..

is your filter in the 15 gallon cycled? if so, the advice that hidr gave is perfect to speed up your cycle process.. and even with a cycled 55 gallon, you will still need to consider rehoming one of the comets..

how well do you know about fish tank maintenance? we're happy to help you learn about the process.. do you have any water test kits available?

can you offer the following water parameters and information?

ammonia:

nitrAtes:

nitrItes:

PH:

how often do you change their water? and when you do, how much of it do you change?

what type of filter is in the 15 gallon and what type of filter is in the 55 gallon?

how much do you feed and how often?

we'd love if you could post some pics of your fish so we can meet your little darlings

Thank you all for the replies.

Unfortunatly the 55 is going to be it for now if they do start to grow bigger in it and it looks like they will need a new home then I will go bigger, The 55 was a good price from the local pet store I was not planing to get a bigger home for them yet.

When I was a kid we always had fish tanks, the smallest was about 30 gallons and the largest was a 180 gallon, these where all tropical community tanks except the one large oscar tank that had 2 large oscars and one pleco.

the filter on the 15 gallon is a Aqua clear 30 and I do partial water changes about once a week.

the filter for the 55gallon is a Tetra ex70 that came with the aquarium It does not look like that good of a filter so I will see how it does and other replace it or add a second to the tank, does anyone use these filters? could you tell me how well they work?

One thing I do have to pick up is a water test kit, which I will pick up as soon as I can.

I will try and post some pictures on my next days off of work.

Oh and I feed them twice a day some small pellets and flake food, I was reading in other posts about the peas and will start doing that.

[Helen]

i've never used the tetra filters, so i will leave that for someone with experience to come along and advise you

re the food, it may be best that you cut feeding down to every second day until they're out of the 15 gallons.. and it be best that you do a 60% water change every day as well..

if the water is looking cloudy, there are lots of toxins in it.. the only way to reduce that is to feed much less.. i would personally feed every 3rd day if i had the set up you do.. and i would be aiming for 40% twice per day water changes.

the test kit will certainly assist us in knowing if your filter in the 15 gallons is cycled. we will await those answers and take it from there.

it's really nice to see that you are trying to better their environment

[Videl2k4]

The water in the 15 is very clear, until I clean the gravel then stuff will be floating around until it settles out and the filter cleans it up which hapens very quick, as for food I only put in a small amount each feeding to try and cutdown wast at the bottom of the tank, though the fish are right away searching the bottom of the tank for more food.

I was asking about the filter for the 55 because it just looks cheap it's filter media is just a piece of plastic that is suposed the be a bio scruber and sponge with carbon in it, I am quit impresed with the filter on the 15 so I my go buy 2 larger of that one for the 55.

I do have a question about gravel, why do people go gravel less? Is it because it makes the bottom of the tank harder to clean? I plan to put gravel at the bottom of the 55 but just a thin layer just enough to cover the bottom of the tank.

I have become quite attatched to these fish, it is to cute when I walk up to the tank and all 4 fish are in a row are at the glass begging for food.

Anyone have any experience with the amonia and ph testers the suction to the inside of the tank? Hard to explain they are round and have the pie shaped different colours that show what the amonia and ph levels are, I realize that they can not be the primary source for testing the water but thought they might be a good indication between tests.

Oh and I forgot to mention the filter in the 15 gallon is cycled

[Cynders]

Many of us go gravelless because it holds a lot of poo and debris and makes cleaning much harder. It also houses anaerbobic bacteria and can contain dead pockets with no aeration that holds toxic gases.

Those ammonia testers were no good for me. I'd just use the drop test kit. It's much more accurate

[Videl2k4]

So I have the 55 gallon set up filter is running I also bought some Nutrafin cycle and added the 25ml per 10 gal it calls for for the first day. (anyone have experience with this product and how well do you think it works?)

also I cleaned the 15 gallon and put about 5 gallons of that into the 55.

I did finally buy a water test kit and everything in the 15 seems fine.

I have noticed that the 2 comets have been growing so I will when they look to be outgrowing the 55 have to get a larger tank just for them.

I also did add gravel to the 55 but just enough to cover the bottom of the tank.

Was trying to take pictures but every time they see the camera they hide so I'm going to try and get them used to the underwater camera and see if I can get pics that way.

[Videl2k4]

pics.

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I think it worked.

[number20121]

Looks very nice, I love the purple fake plants! The fish look great and I am sure they love all that room! Good job so far

I have used Nutrafin Cycle before when I accidentally murdered my cycle by forgetting to plug the filters back in for a day... It worked very good and within a couple days the water cleared up and soon everything was the way it was supposed to be.

[Videl2k4]

There was the same type of plants in the 15 gallon and I really like them they look a bit more realistic than other fake plants, The cycle stuff worked great the new tank was cycled in two days I am going to keep testing the water everyday for the next few days though and the 15 gallon is still running just in case.

I think the fish are a lot happier in there new home.

[blackteles]

There was the same type of plants in the 15 gallon and I really like them they look a bit more realistic than other fake plants, The cycle stuff worked great the new tank was cycled in two days I am going to keep testing the water everyday for the next few days though and the 15 gallon is still running just in case.

I think the fish are a lot happier in there new home.

Nutrafin Cycle does very well and I've used it quite a bit to my advantage. Just be sure to keep testing your water daily for at least a week to make sure the cycle has been completed. Best of luck!

[Videl2k4]

Sorry to drag up an old thread but just wanted to update on my fishes and there new home.

I am very happy to say that they are all doing well and look happy (well as happy as I can guess a fish could be).

I did go out and buy a new filter an Aqua Clear 110 and it does a great job, I did also get 2 more fish one is a Redcap Oranda and the other is what I think is a Chocolate Oranda and they are mostly growing like crazy, the oldest Comet which now I am thinking is a Common is growing slowly and not quite keeping up to the rest but that is alright, and I definitely have plans for a larger aquarium in the near future especially now that there is six of them I am thinking a 150 or 180 gallon as I would like them to get big but still have room to swim.

[Seymoura]

Thanks for updating your story.

It's easy to get fond of the critters, isn't it?

I'm glad that they are all happy in their new home.