Cleaning out a small goldfish tank

Hey there,

First of all, thanks to Mel, Ingrid, and Deanna for your replies. I was
going to come back here and tell you that I thought your advice was a bit
over the top, and that my fish tank would be fine as it was. I was going to
say, if you want such a big tank for your fish, why don't you do the right
thing and let them back in the ocean where they belong, rather than keeping
them trapped in some aquarium, which no matter how big, will never compare
to their natural habitats.

But I then started reading more after your advice, so I've followed it. :-)
I bought a new tank today to replace the large goldfish bowl which we had
beforehand. The new tank came with a Fluval 2 filter. Hopefully, it will
do the job. If not, we'll just get a bigger filter later on. The tank also
came with a light in the hood, and the tank is 80cm x 30cm x 40cm, which
holds 96 litres, or 21 gallons.

I've got two fish in this, a Blackmoor, and something else - I will take a
photo later in the week and upload it to my webspace so someone can identify
it! ;-)

If anyone can recommend any real plants that will look nice in the tank and
be okay with my fish, then please feel free to do so. We've currently got
some of those plastic plants, but they look ever so tacky. Also, if anyone
can recommend any other aquatic life that would work well within our
aquarium, then please let me know.

So thanks to everyone for their help, it's much appreciated - not by me or
my bank balance so much, but my two little fishies! :-)

Thanks,

Stephen



"ste ©" <ste.TakeThisOut@sm9.co.uk> wrote in message
news:6b_Ib.4178$hM6.35091567@news-text.cableinet.net...
| Hi there,
|
| I've got a small goldfish tank with two goldfish. To clean it, I've been
| putting the fish into a bowl of clean water, then cleaning out their tank
| and gravel in the bath.
|
| The tank is probably too small to bother with a filter, but is there any
| other way to keep the water clean without changing it every week? Are
there
| any small water creatures I can get that will keep it cleaner for example?
| I've also read somewhere about some sort of 'water hoover,' would that be
| any good for what I'm talking about?
|
| Thanks for any advice.
|
| Regards,
|
| Stephen
|
|
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning out a small goldfish tank 

That's great news Stephen!! Another one converted...<g>
Your fish will be so much happier in their nice new tank and I bet you that
in 6 months you'll understand why they need the 10 gallons when you see how
big and healthy they they have become.
You'll probably find that the Fluval 2 will do the job while the fish are
smallish, but once they start growing bigger and producing more waste you'll
probably find you need to upgrade or add another. To keep the water crystal
clear it's best to have a filter/or a combination of filters which will turn
the volume of your water over between 8-10 times per hour. Again, this might
sound excessive (like the 10 gallons rule!) but once you've got it you'll
see why.
As for plants, most will get wrecked within hours with goldfish. I have had
success with Java fern which I grow on chunks of bogwood but anything else
I've tried has been eaten.They do sometimes last a bit longer if you give
the goldfish a supply of romaine lettuce on a veggie clip as they tend to
pick at that instead of the plants.
Some plastic plants do look a bit tacky, but there are some better ones
around. Silk ones tend to look more realistic and although I've never bought
them I've seen them around in a few shops round here so I expect they're
readily available.The plastic ones will look better with age though as they
get a coating of algae etc.
As for other mates for your fish, opinion becomes divided. I have heaters in
my goldfish tanks so keep a couple of bristle places with them. These are
just about the only type which are suitable with goldfish so don't be
tempted to try anything else. Unlike most other places they stay herbivorous
for their entire lives and only get to 6 inches max. They would need a piece
of bogwood to hide under and chew. Trouble is once they were all full grown
your tank would be overstocked again so only get one of you know you can
upgrade when the time comes. I also have an apple snail. Despite what people
tell you they aren't that great at cleaning the algae off the tank (like the
bristlenoses), and also create an awful lot of poop. Hillstream loaches
would be another option. These are coldwater, stay very small (3 inches ish)
and are safe with goldfish. They like a lot of current though so you might
need to add the other filter to keep them happy.
Hope this helps anyway,
Mel.


"ste mc ©" <ste.RemoveThis@sm9.co.uk> wrote in message
news:btv5hu$bthe6$1@ID-99150.news.uni-berlin.de...
> Hey there,
>
> First of all, thanks to Mel, Ingrid, and Deanna for your replies. I was
> going to come back here and tell you that I thought your advice was a bit
> over the top, and that my fish tank would be fine as it was. I was going
to
> say, if you want such a big tank for your fish, why don't you do the right
> thing and let them back in the ocean where they belong, rather than
keeping
> them trapped in some aquarium, which no matter how big, will never compare
> to their natural habitats.
>
> But I then started reading more after your advice, so I've followed it.
:-)
> I bought a new tank today to replace the large goldfish bowl which we had
> beforehand. The new tank came with a Fluval 2 filter. Hopefully, it will
> do the job. If not, we'll just get a bigger filter later on. The tank
also
> came with a light in the hood, and the tank is 80cm x 30cm x 40cm, which
> holds 96 litres, or 21 gallons.
>
> I've got two fish in this, a Blackmoor, and something else - I will take a
> photo later in the week and upload it to my webspace so someone can
identify
> it! ;-)
>
> If anyone can recommend any real plants that will look nice in the tank
and
> be okay with my fish, then please feel free to do so. We've currently got
> some of those plastic plants, but they look ever so tacky. Also, if
anyone
> can recommend any other aquatic life that would work well within our
> aquarium, then please let me know.
>
> So thanks to everyone for their help, it's much appreciated - not by me or
> my bank balance so much, but my two little fishies! :-)
>
> Thanks,
>
> Stephen
>
>
>
> "ste ©" <ste.RemoveThis@sm9.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:6b_Ib.4178$hM6.35091567@news-text.cableinet.net...
> | Hi there,
> |
> | I've got a small goldfish tank with two goldfish. To clean it, I've
been
> | putting the fish into a bowl of clean water, then cleaning out their
tank
> | and gravel in the bath.
> |
> | The tank is probably too small to bother with a filter, but is there any
> | other way to keep the water clean without changing it every week? Are
> there
> | any small water creatures I can get that will keep it cleaner for
example?
> | I've also read somewhere about some sort of 'water hoover,' would that
be
> | any good for what I'm talking about?
> |
> | Thanks for any advice.
> |
> | Regards,
> |
> | Stephen
> |
> |
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning out a small goldfish tank 

"LoaderLady" <tammy003.RemoveThis@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:9iKMb.8052$881.1097326@news20.bellglobal.com...
> Plants: nothing with small leaves which goldfish can get in their mouths.
> Java Fern is highly recommended. I had a goldfish rip apart a piece of
> hornwort in seconds but I think she was possibly after some baby snails
and
> not the plant itself. I had wisteria in my tank and the fish left it
alone,
> too, but the snails wrecked it. It is pretty, but requires alot of light.

Wisteria as in the woody vine??? Or is this also a name for an aquatic
plant?

--
Laurie, Dark Phoenix
dark_phoenix.RemoveThis@netw.com
"Every dog has it's day, but nights are reserved for cats." -
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning out a small goldfish tank 

Hi Mel,

Thanks for your reply. And nice to hear that I'm slowly being converted!
;-)

I'm sure that as my fish get bigger, I'll get an even bigger tank, but this
one came as a kit for £100, and seemed to have everything I needed for now.
As you say, I might end up needing a bigger and better filter in this tank,
and I'll have a browse around when I get to this stage. One thing I don't
like about this filter is that it's a black box in the corner of the tank -
an external filter that's hidden from view might be nicer in the future, if
they're any good.

I hope my plastic plants look better with age, but if not, some real plants
of those silk plants that you recommend should do the trick. I'll have to
browse around my local shop to see what they've got.

And as for the snails, I guess I'd need a heater in the tank of just have
fish for now, no worries.

One question I've got is this: should I leave the light in the hood on all
night, or turn it off at night? I turned it off last night because it was
lighting my room up! Also, I was thinking that fish in the wild are used to
light and dark conditions. But if it would be better to leave the light on
24/7, then I could.

Thanks,

Stephen



"Mel" <*@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:P6QMb.1777$1q3.1380@news-binary.blueyonder.co.uk...
| That's great news Stephen!! Another one converted...<g>
| Your fish will be so much happier in their nice new tank and I bet you
that
| in 6 months you'll understand why they need the 10 gallons when you see
how
| big and healthy they they have become.
| You'll probably find that the Fluval 2 will do the job while the fish are
| smallish, but once they start growing bigger and producing more waste
you'll
| probably find you need to upgrade or add another. To keep the water
crystal
| clear it's best to have a filter/or a combination of filters which will
turn
| the volume of your water over between 8-10 times per hour. Again, this
might
| sound excessive (like the 10 gallons rule!) but once you've got it you'll
| see why.
| As for plants, most will get wrecked within hours with goldfish. I have
had
| success with Java fern which I grow on chunks of bogwood but anything else
| I've tried has been eaten.They do sometimes last a bit longer if you give
| the goldfish a supply of romaine lettuce on a veggie clip as they tend to
| pick at that instead of the plants.
| Some plastic plants do look a bit tacky, but there are some better ones
| around. Silk ones tend to look more realistic and although I've never
bought
| them I've seen them around in a few shops round here so I expect they're
| readily available.The plastic ones will look better with age though as
they
| get a coating of algae etc.
| As for other mates for your fish, opinion becomes divided. I have heaters
in
| my goldfish tanks so keep a couple of bristle places with them. These are
| just about the only type which are suitable with goldfish so don't be
| tempted to try anything else. Unlike most other places they stay
herbivorous
| for their entire lives and only get to 6 inches max. They would need a
piece
| of bogwood to hide under and chew. Trouble is once they were all full
grown
| your tank would be overstocked again so only get one of you know you can
| upgrade when the time comes. I also have an apple snail. Despite what
people
| tell you they aren't that great at cleaning the algae off the tank (like
the
| bristlenoses), and also create an awful lot of poop. Hillstream loaches
| would be another option. These are coldwater, stay very small (3 inches
ish)
| and are safe with goldfish. They like a lot of current though so you might
| need to add the other filter to keep them happy.
| Hope this helps anyway,
| Mel.
|
|
| "ste mc ©" <ste.TakeThisOut@sm9.co.uk> wrote in message
| news:btv5hu$bthe6$1@ID-99150.news.uni-berlin.de...
| > Hey there,
| >
| > First of all, thanks to Mel, Ingrid, and Deanna for your replies. I was
| > going to come back here and tell you that I thought your advice was a
bit
| > over the top, and that my fish tank would be fine as it was. I was
going
| to
| > say, if you want such a big tank for your fish, why don't you do the
right
| > thing and let them back in the ocean where they belong, rather than
| keeping
| > them trapped in some aquarium, which no matter how big, will never
compare
| > to their natural habitats.
| >
| > But I then started reading more after your advice, so I've followed it.
| :-)
| > I bought a new tank today to replace the large goldfish bowl which we
had
| > beforehand. The new tank came with a Fluval 2 filter. Hopefully, it
will
| > do the job. If not, we'll just get a bigger filter later on. The tank
| also
| > came with a light in the hood, and the tank is 80cm x 30cm x 40cm, which
| > holds 96 litres, or 21 gallons.
| >
| > I've got two fish in this, a Blackmoor, and something else - I will take
a
| > photo later in the week and upload it to my webspace so someone can
| identify
| > it! ;-)
| >
| > If anyone can recommend any real plants that will look nice in the tank
| and
| > be okay with my fish, then please feel free to do so. We've currently
got
| > some of those plastic plants, but they look ever so tacky. Also, if
| anyone
| > can recommend any other aquatic life that would work well within our
| > aquarium, then please let me know.
| >
| > So thanks to everyone for their help, it's much appreciated - not by me
or
| > my bank balance so much, but my two little fishies! :-)
| >
| > Thanks,
| >
| > Stephen
| >
| >
| >
| > "ste ©" <ste.TakeThisOut@sm9.co.uk> wrote in message
| > news:6b_Ib.4178$hM6.35091567@news-text.cableinet.net...
| > | Hi there,
| > |
| > | I've got a small goldfish tank with two goldfish. To clean it, I've
| been
| > | putting the fish into a bowl of clean water, then cleaning out their
| tank
| > | and gravel in the bath.
| > |
| > | The tank is probably too small to bother with a filter, but is there
any
| > | other way to keep the water clean without changing it every week? Are
| > there
| > | any small water creatures I can get that will keep it cleaner for
| example?
| > | I've also read somewhere about some sort of 'water hoover,' would that
| be
| > | any good for what I'm talking about?
| > |
| > | Thanks for any advice.
| > |
| > | Regards,
| > |
| > | Stephen
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|
 >> Stay informed about: Cleaning out a small goldfish tank