Petco fish opinions needed

[MonkeyZero]

Ok thanks

Now what about calicoes. Nice fish?

 

[ladycrotalus]

Quote:
Fluffy cotton looking stuff is either fungus or a bacterial infection called Columnaris. Ich is totally different, it is a parasite that looks like the fish was sprinkled in salt granules.
Comets arent fancy, they are long bodied goldfish. Fancies are egg shaped goldfish.
I wouldn't add scavenger fish. Plecos have been known to eat the slime coat off of goldfish. Plus they excrete alot of ammonia too. They also need more then what algae grows in the tank. They need algae wafers, driftwood for fiber, cucumber and zucchini slices, and shrimp pellets. Common plecos also get 2 feet long. Snails, dont do well with fish that excrete alot of ammonia. Goldfish constantly go threw the gravel looking for food they might have missed so scavengers arent needed with goldfish. The only things goldfish need, is frequent partial water changes, strong filtration, and a varied diet.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Sometimes Shubunkins are called Calico. The ones I like are shaped like the feeders with longer tails. I'm not so fond of the round or bug eyed goldfish.

Once I let the kids in the neighborhood pick out goldfish for my pond. And of course they all wanted the weird fancies. So I spent like $50 on goldfish that were completely eaten in 2 days.

I don't think you need to worry about the chickens or dogs eating the outside fish. Cats and raccoons will go after them.

Imp-Buys expensive Sushi

 

[ladycrotalus]

Quote:
Nope the tank isnt cycled. It takes 3 to 6 weeks for an aquarium to cycle. Read these sites about the nitrogen cycle. http://www.bestfish.com/breakin.html
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

The fancies will get out competed for food because they are slow, plus they are more sensitive. As well as prone to swim bladder problems because of their body shape.

 

[MonkeyZero]

Ok let me try to understand

The man who gave us the tank gave us the water in LOTS AND LOTS of buckets(the trunk of the van was SOAKED)(this water was a month old. He was a really strong filter(not to strong) The tank was empty.
Then we cleaned the tank and added in some of the old water and some fresh water. My dad did some wierd pH stuff(i dont know what).
The tank has been with us for a week I'd say.
So the tank isnt cycled yet?
Do I have to cycle to add in the fish? Or should I wait?

 

[Imp]

I'm not saying it's the right way of doing it, but I was never patient enough to cycle indoor tanks. They were lucky to run overnight. I certainly wouldn't buy expensive fish to start, but if you are looking a gold fish, I think your fine. During power outages the only fish to guarantee survive were the goldfish and plecostomus.

Imp

 

[ladycrotalus]

Quote:
There is more bacteria growin on the walls and gravel and in the filter unit then in dirty water. If the tank was dry then the bacteria were dead. Also doing that thorough cleaning killed the bacteria too.

To cycle an aquarium, an ammonia source is needed. Either fish, a piece of rotting shrimp, or a couple tablespoons of urine to get the process started. Honestly using fish isnt a good way to go about it. Its very stressful, if not deadly. Since you already have a comet, then i guess there is no choise but to do a fish cycle.

Test kids needed are pH, Nitrite, Nitrate, and Ammonia.
Its a good idea to test weekly. Also partial water changes should be done weekly.

 

[key west chick]

Sounds gross but we used dead feeder fish from the pet store to cycle our tanks.

 

[MonkeyZero]

Ewwwy!
I opened the filter box. The filter is UCKY!
The tank wasn't completely dry.
Its like taking a cup of water, then throwing the water out. The cup is still moist. And it was hot and humid since the lid was on. The tank was moist
We took simple paper towels and wiped it.
However the gravel was wet and we didn't bother to clean it since it was clean

K so how about this mixture?

1 comet
1 black moor
1 fantail

OR
1 comet
2 black moors

OR
1 comet
1 calico
1 fantail or moor?

ANd a few shrimp

what mixture do you like?

 

[ladycrotalus]

Quote:
The tank isn't cycled. If there are any bacteria alive, then they need to multiply to take care of the bio-load. Say in 6 weeks your tank is cycled. Your ammonia tests out to be 0ppm, nitrites 0ppm, and nitrates are under 25ppm. If you add another fish the tank goes through a mini cycle. The bacteria number grows to accommodate the new fish's waste output.

The shrimp will either be eaten or die from the ammonia. I certainly wouldn't put invertebrates in a new tank. They wont survive the ammonia or nitrite spike.

The fancies are gonna be bullied by the comet.