The goldfish were o.k. for a few days and then one died and
the others are now doing poorly.

Others? How many are there?

Goldfish are thick-bodied, fast-growing fish that produce a lot of waste. They
will eventually get to be quite large, so they need 20-30 gallons each. And
they should not be kept alone. Therefore, I wouldn't keep goldfish in anything
less than a 50 gallon tank, and even then, only two goldfish, no more and no
less.

I suspect your problem is that your tank is overstocked. Have you checked your
water quality? (Ammonia and nitrite?) You said "the last of your fish," as if
there was only one, or only a few. If there was only one harlequin in the
tank, and you replaced it with a bunch of goldfish...well, it would be like
cycling the tank all over again.



Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Sorry for the lack of details. The original # of goldfish was three, roughly
1+" in length w/o tail. They've only been in the tank for 6 days and so I
don't think over stocking is the issue. The two left are holding on, barely.
I changed more water this morning, to no avail. I haven't checked my nitrate
& ammonia since I've relied for years on the philodendra and other plants to
keep those levels down and I did a massive water change a couple of days
before putting the fish in.

Sorry for the lack of details. The original # of goldfish was three, roughly
1+" in length w/o tail. They've only been in the tank for 6 days and so I
don't think over stocking is the issue.

It could be, if there weren't many fish in the tank before. It would be like
cycling the tank all over. Three one-inch goldfish is a lot of fish, for a 20
gallon tank. Ammonia could build up rapidly.

The two left are holding on, barely.
I changed more water this morning, to no avail. I haven't checked my nitrate
& ammonia since I've relied for years on the philodendra and other plants to
keep those levels down and I did a massive water change a couple of days
before putting the fish in.

Check your nitrite and ammonia. If you don't want to spend money on test kits,
take a water sample to your LFS, and they can do the tests for you.

My tanks are heavily planted, with power compact flourescent lighting and CO2
injection, but I would still monitor the water parameters, if I were adding
that many fish to a tank that size, all at once.

As for the philodendron...it is poisonous to mammals. Not sure about fish, but
a lot of people use it in their goldfish tanks and ponds, with no ill effects.

What symptoms are your fish showing?


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Lethargy: one lies on the bottom not moving around much while the other is
more active and has appetite. I tested for ammonia with a tetra test kit
that's about 5 years old. No ammonia. However, there was a slight reaction
to nitrite, nothing much. And pH was about 7.3. I have good NYC water so
there can't be anything really out of line. I looked at them with a
magnifying lens and they seem to have a few small white spots so maybe it's
ich. The shop I got them at is not a very good place to buy fish but it is
the only one in my neighborhood. So maybe they came sick although they
looked fine at first.

"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
Check your nitrite and ammonia. If you don't want to spend money on test
kits,
take a water sample to your LFS, and they can do the tests for you.

My tanks are heavily planted, with power compact flourescent lighting and
CO2
injection, but I would still monitor the water parameters, if I were
adding
that many fish to a tank that size, all at once.

As for the philodendron...it is poisonous to mammals. Not sure about
fish, but
a lot of people use it in their goldfish tanks and ponds, with no ill
effects.

What symptoms are your fish showing?


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

I tested for ammonia with a tetra test kit
that's about 5 years old. No ammonia. However, there was a slight reaction
to nitrite, nothing much.

I would expect the tank to cycle very quickly, since it was holding fish for
awhile, even if not many. If there's nitrite now, there probably was an
ammonia spike earlier. So it might well have been water quality problems that
made the fish sick. You've removed one-third of the bio-load (with the death
of one fish), and the tank's biological filter has had a week to adjust. So
the water quality is likely much better now than it was when the first fish
died.

I looked at them with a
magnifying lens and they seem to have a few small white spots so maybe it's
ich. The shop I got them at is not a very good place to buy fish but it is
the only one in my neighborhood. So maybe they came sick although they
looked fine at first.

That could be. Or could be that poor water quality made the fish vulnerable to
ich. Ich is extremely common in cycling tanks. *Any* measurable nitrite is
stressful to fish.

Just FYI...male goldfish sometimes display white spots on their heads and gill
covers. These "breeding stars" mean the fish is ready to mate. Ich, OTOH, is
generally seen on the fins or tail first. I don't think your goldfish would be
displaying breeding stars yet, since they are still very young. But it's a
possibility goldfish keepers should be aware of.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/