# *Crying* SOMEONE PLEASE HELP



## Ashley (Dec 11, 2007)

Hello! I'm new to this forum and I've been asking questions all over the place for the last month. In September I got two Fancy Goldfish for my apartment. About a month ago my littest one Joey started laying on the bottom of the tank and I knew something was wrong with him...within a few days his fins were matted down to his body and he was hanging out at the top of the tank looking like he was gasping for air and he died a few days later. 

Once I lost Joey I cleaned out the tank and everything and his buddy Shamrock went strong until Thanksgiving. I went home for a few days (my boyfriend took care of him) and I came back and Shammie would lay at the bottom of the tank looking like he was asleep and I knew he wasn't acting right but he was eating and swimming around until yesterday....I fed him and came home from class and his fins were matted down and he's going through the samething Joey did.

Does anyone know what's going on?!? Right now I have no idea what to do or how to help Shammie. I think it's too late and I want to know why that happend to my fish and how I can help prevent it if I choose to get new fish.

Before all this occured I noticed a white fuzzy looking speck on Shammie's side and it went away and he was okay now he's dying....

Any advice would be good and what should I do I know he's suffering and I don't want to flush him while he's still breating, and it's so upsetting I've been crying and I don't know what to do!!

HELP!!

Thank you!
Ashley :!:


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Welcome to Fishforum.com, Ashley.:wave:

Could you please answer the following questions?

1. Size of aquarium (# of gallons) 
2. Is your aquarium setup freshwater or brackish water? 
3. How long the aquarium has been set up? 
4. What fish and how many are in the aquarium (species are important to know) 
5. Are there live plants in the aquarium? 
6. What temperature is the tank water currently? 
7. What make/model filter are you using? 
8. Are you using a CO2 unit? 
9. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? 
10. When did you perform your last water exchange, and how much water was changed? 
11. How often do you perform water changes? 
12. How often and what foods do you feed your fish? 
13. What type of lighting are you using and how long is it kept on? 
14. What specific concerns bring you here at this time? 
15. What are your water parameters? Test your pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. 
16. What test kit are you using and is it liquid or test strips? 
17. When was the last time you bought a fish and how did they behave while in the pet store tank? 

This will help a lot. We need more details.


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## Ashley (Dec 11, 2007)

Could you please answer the following questions? 

1. Size of aquarium (2 of gallons) 
--I know this is BAD but I'm new to having fish and the tank I bought was for my one fish that only lived a day
2. Is your aquarium setup freshwater or brackish water? 
--Freshwaster
3. How long the aquarium has been set up? 
--4 months
4. What fish and how many are in the aquarium (species are important to know) 
--My little Fancy Gold Fish he's the only one
5. Are there live plants in the aquarium? 
--No
6. What temperature is the tank water currently? 
--75
7. What make/model filter are you using? 
-Eclipse 
8. Are you using a CO2 unit? 
--Not sure what that is
9. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? 
--In the mornings I'll open the blinds for the sun to come in but it's not directly on the tank
10. When did you perform your last water exchange, and how much water was changed? 
--Sunday 12/9...50% of the water
11. How often do you perform water changes? 
--Every week and once a month 
12. How often and what foods do you feed your fish? 
--I feed him once a day and with plain gold fish food
13. What type of lighting are you using and how long is it kept on? 
--No lighting
14. What specific concerns bring you here at this time? 
--He's dying 
15. What are your water parameters? Test your pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. 
--Never did that
16. What test kit are you using and is it liquid or test strips? 
--NA
17. When was the last time you bought a fish and how did they behave while in the pet store tank? 
--I bought them in September and they were great! They were swimming around and happy so I picked them to take them home


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Ashley said:


> 1. Size of aquarium (2 of gallons)
> --I know this is BAD but I'm new to having fish and the tank I bought was for my one fish that only lived a day
> 2. Is your aquarium setup freshwater or brackish water?
> --Freshwaster


It would be nice if you can upgrade to 20 gallons. The larger, the better though.


> 11. How often do you perform water changes?
> --Every week and once a month


Not sure if I understood this one.:question:


> 14. What specific concerns bring you here at this time?
> --He's dying
> 15. What are your water parameters? Test your pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
> --Never did that


I'd recommend getting API liquid test kit and determine those parameters. They're totally worth your efforts and who knows if you have plenty of space in your house, you can upgrade the tank and eventually indulge in the hobby.


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## Ashley (Dec 11, 2007)

Sorry I'll clear the water changes up...I will do a 25% water change once a week then once a month I'll change the filter and do a 50% water change



What should I do for my fish he's still breathing but floating around the tank....I know he's not gonna make it...


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

I wish there was better news to offer you for your fish, but unless you can move it to a larger tank, I can't see much hope of survival. 2 gallons is just too small to try to keep goldfish in long term. Waste levels build up too quick with goldfish (they're one of the dirtiest fish there is) and they consume more oxygen than the average freshwater fish.

Your problem is quite obvious to me, even without the test results. Your tank is too polluted, and the water quality is poisoning the fish. This happens when a fish is put into a tank thats too small or not enough maintenance is being done (water changes, gravel vacs, etc), also with overfeeding or feeding the wrong foods that don't get eaten fast enough. 

For future reference, if you decide to try goldfish again...
Fancy goldfish grow to 6 - 8 inches, comets to 14 inches, and koi are not meant for an aquarium of any size, they need ponds because they average 2 - 3 ft full grown. Goldfish grow amazingly fast when they're healthy, so you always want to figure out how big a fish will get before deciding on the size tank to put it in. Fancy goldfish need a minimum of 90 gallons for just 1 - 2 of them, and they can go from 1 -2 inches all the way to 4 - 5 inches within the first yr or 2. If they don't grow fast, then I have to ask what is wrong, because that's the first sign of an unhealthy goldfish. 
Fancy goldfish need to eat food that sinks, there is a specific goldfish pellet food designed to sink for them. Fancy goldfish should not feed at the surface because they gulp air, which causes severe swim bladder issues. Comet goldfish (like feeder goldfish) can feed on flake food until they are too large to gain any nutrition from it. Goldfish are heavy vegitarians, they need plant matter in their diet. Goldfish pellets are designed to provide a balanced amount for a regular diet.
Goldfish are cold water fish, needing temps from 65 - 68 degrees. The warmer the water the less oxygen in it, so most people choose to run extra filtration and air stones to help with more circulation and more oxygen in the water. 

If you can increase the size of the tank before you start again, take things slow, let the tank run about a wk before adding the fish... you'd stand a good chance of keeping your fish healthy. Also, remember the bigger the tank the easier the maintenance. If you choose to go with the bare minimum in size for the fish you keep, expect to do water changes at least twice/wk if not more by the time you're done. When doing water changes, don't change filter media at the same time, as this tends to deplete the population of beneficial bacteria in the tank and can cause the tank to go thru a mini cycle. If this happens, the water conditions become toxic for the fish until it stabalizes.

And, when working with any aquarium, it's a good idea to have test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH on hand. Typically when a fish gets sick this is the first place to find answers, and if fish need medicating, the water quality must first be checked to ensure it is safe to add the medicine. Any ammonia or nitrite and nitrate over 40 can turn many meds toxic instantly. 

I know this probably isn't what you were expecting to hear, but we are here to help and being honest is the only way to do that. There simply is no way to keep goldfish in a small tank, especially not 2 gallons. If you're unable to get a larger tank, please choose fish that stay small and can handle that size of a tank. If you need suggestions, let us know, we can provide you with a list of options.


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## Ashley (Dec 11, 2007)

Thank you for your reply...I woke up at 3am this morning to find Shammie had passed on. 

I can't help but feel I was killing him from the beginning...all I wanted to do was take care of these fish and I couldn't even do that. I'm greatful for your response if you could please let me know what kind of fish would be good for a 2 gallon tank that would be wonderful! I hope to get new fish someday....Thank you!


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

Ashley said:


> Thank you for your reply...I woke up at 3am this morning to find Shammie had passed on.
> 
> I can't help but feel I was killing him from the beginning...all I wanted to do was take care of these fish and I couldn't even do that. I'm greatful for your response if you could please let me know what kind of fish would be good for a 2 gallon tank that would be wonderful! I hope to get new fish someday....Thank you!


 I wouldn't really recommend any fish for a 2 gallon... It's just too small. But if you really wanted to, you could have a Betta, or maybe a platty? An apple snail, some shrimp?


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Ashley said:


> Thank you for your reply...I woke up at 3am this morning to find Shammie had passed on.
> 
> I can't help but feel I was killing him from the beginning...all I wanted to do was take care of these fish and I couldn't even do that. I'm greatful for your response if you could please let me know what kind of fish would be good for a 2 gallon tank that would be wonderful! I hope to get new fish someday....Thank you!


Hi Ashley.

I understand what you mean. We learn from our mistakes so don't worry about it. A betta, shrimps or snails would be the only suitable occupants for that size of tank unfortunately. It'd be nice to upgrade to 15g for more choices and fun.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

sorry for your loss dont worry i have had alot of fish that have died because i wasnt really sure on what to do it happens to alot of people


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Hi, so sorry for your loss, but it was as I had figured. The important thing now is to learn from your mistakes and not make the same ones again. 
There are a number of species of fish you can keep easily in a 2 gallon, but some will require a heater. I will seperate them for you by tropcial and cold water... and please remember, the largest number of any of these fish able to stay in a 2 gallon is 2. All of these fish will also require a filter and a 30% water change once or twice/wk. 
The best thing to do now is to let the tank run for a few days, doing a 30% water change each day. If you reach in and stir up the gravel before you remove the 30% each day, you will then get the majority of the waste out of the tank without disturbing the bacteria culture that needs to grow. This will get the tank ready for the new fish. If you have already broken it down, emptied it out, etc... go ahead and fill it up at least 1 - 2 wks before buying more fish. Let all of your equipment run (filter, heater, light) as if there were fish in the tank, just no water changes if the water is all new. 1 piece of flake food every 3 days will add enough ammonia to get the tank started cycling without fish, so you can avoid future issues. Also, please get the test kits, use them... follow as ammonia goes up and then down as nitrite goes up, and then down as nitrate goes up... when you have no ammonia, no nitrite, and a small amount of nitrate, your tank is then cycled and safe to add fish. Now, for a list...

Cold water (limit of 1 - 2 fish total)
white cloud minnows
gold white cloud minnows (these are very bright and pretty fish!)

Tropical (warm/with heater) water (limit of 1 - 2 fish total)
choprae danios
zebra danios
fancy guppies (I would not mix male with female in a tank of less than 25 gallons)
coral platy (this is a dwarf species of platy, bright dk orange, and again, only 2 males together in that size of a tank)
killiefish (if this interest you we'd have to break it down further because some species of killies get too large for a 2 gallon)
green fire tetras
lampeye tetra
pygmy cory catfish
dwarf frog (limit of 1 per 2 gallons)
furcata rainbows
signifer rainbows
badis badis
scarlet badis
dwarf emerald rasbora
amande tetra

There are probably still a few less common (harder to find) that I've forgotten, but there are a lot of options here. Your limit would be 2 fish, and some are mixable. I would suggest hitting the search engines (or ask and I can find you links) and take a look at each of these fish, get a feel for what you like. Once you know what your preferences are, come on back here and post a list and I'll help you sort what is compatible with what. I have done some very unique thing with 2, 5, and 7 gallon tanks, and they've turned out absolutely beautiful with minimal work involved. Most of these fish have life spans of 3, 5 and even up to 10 yrs, so you could have a long term situation quite easily. All of these fish are compatible with live plants, so I will surely encourage that, and as much decoration as you can fit into the tank. Also, if you need help finding a heater to fit into a 2 gallon, let me know and I'll help you online. Hydor makes a small one that looks like a small heating pad, and it works wonderfully.

Happy fishing!


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

Dawn has given ou a really good list of fish for your tank.

The only thinkg I wanted to add is that many of these fish are happiest in groups. Danios, cories, minnows and tetras for example, realy need to be in groups of 6 or more to be happiest, which you don't have room for obviously. It's up to you, I just wanted to elt you know.

Anothre option I think, that hasn't been mentioned is a mystery snail. At first it doesn't seem too interesting but actually I find they are great to watch. I really enjoy keeping mine.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

While some of the fish I have listed are happiest in a big group, I have successfully kept these fish 1 or 2 in a small tank and they have done very well so long as there is good water quality, healthy food, and plenty of hiding places to reduce stress (and nobody to harrass them). I have also helped many many customers set up these same environments and nobody has had any issues with keeping just 1 or 2 of any of the fish listed above. There are a number of other small fishes that I didn't list because they *don't* do well in smaller groups, such as neons and cardinal tetras. Things like the guppys and platys don't ever need large groups, and a single fish by itself can thrive easily, too.
Hope this clarifies things for you.


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