From: thester@nyx.cs.du.edu (Uncle Fester)
Subject: Re: Goldfish water quality was (Re: Ammonia removal re-charge)
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Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 19:57:18 GMT

In article <1992Sep15.163109.20763@col.hp.com> howardr@col.hp.com (Howard
Rebel) writes:
>In article <1992Sep15.062820.1193@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> thester@nyx.cs.du
edu (Uncle Fester) writes:
>> stuff about recharging removed
>>Goldfish are a very good reason for Ammo-chips.
>>I have to keep two power filters in my 20 gal high, with just 4 goldfis
.
>>One power filter has the normal carbon/floss cartridge.  The other has 

>>filter cartridge _and_ about 1/2 cup of ammo-chips.  I also have UGF wi
h
>>a powerhead.  If I did not use the ammonia removing resin, I would
>>probably have to change the water more than once a week as I still have
to
>>now.  And no, I am not overfeeding either. 
>
>You may not be overfeeding but something is very wrong.  You should not
>be having this type of problem.  
>
>What size and type of goldfish (length from nose to base of tail)?
>Did this tank ever cycle?  
>Is the UGF filled with decomposing waste? (how often and how do you clea
 it)
>Why do you have to change the water: Cloudy, Ammonia, Nitrites?
>What are the ammonia and nitrite levels after a week?
>What, how much, and how often do you feed?
>Is there a youngster dumping food into the tank?
>
>You tanks filtration is not well suited to Goldfish but could be made to
>work as is if properly maintained.  I would make a few changes if it
>were mine.
>
>First toss out that UGF or convert it to a reverse flow UGF with a very
>good filter on the input to the UGF.  At any rate
>unless these are large fish (in which case the tank is too small) you do
>not need it anyway.  You are better off without gravel on the bottom of
>the tank but if you require it then it must be vacuumed at least once a
>week.  Two power filter pads with floss (and possibly carbon) should be 
>sufficient  to filter this tank.  The pads should be rinsed in water 
>from the tank once a week and returned to service.  Water changes would
>be about 25% per week over and above evaporation losses.
>-- 
>Howard Rebel hpcsos.col.hp.com 
>


Ha.  I have to chuckle when I get these sort of responses.  No reflection
on you or your advice, mind you, but goldfish are very dirty fish.  As I
said, my tank is a 20H.  It has been going for about a year and a half now.
I have 11 aquariums throughout my home of various sizes.  I have been
keeping tropical fish for 13 years.  The goldfish I have, Carassius
auratus (Linnaeus) as pictured/described in _Handbook of Tropical Aquarium
Fishes (p.273) by Axelrod and Schultz_ are about 4 to 5 inches each (four).
I change 1/4 the water weekly (as I said) due to ammonia levels:
approximately 0.25 ppm at that time. (not always since ammo-chips retard
this until they need to be re-charged or completely changed).
I clean the gravel at the same time I change the water.  Not much of
anything is ever present, excepting normal amounts of waste.  The
waste/gravel water looks clear except for some silty residue which falls
to the bottom.  Same as all of my tanks.  
I feed them twice daily.  One day of the week they get nothing.
Tetra flakes and an occassional tubifex cube is the staple.
I need the gravel for the grass that is growing in there.  All of my tanks
have live plants and thrive despite the belief that they need to have RUGF.
The grass is the only thing the goldfish don't nibble though.
They eat all the food I give them in much less than 5 minutes.
No, no little ones are throwing anything in my tank.
Besides normal wastes, goldfish contribute ammonia from gill aspiration in
higher levels than most other tropicals.
You are correct that my tank is too small for these fish.  But I manage to
keep things under control through regular water changes and zeolite.
I use the methods I describe because they work for me and what I have.  I
don't plan to move my goldfish to a larger tank though since my largest
tank (55 gal) is given to the sole occupation of discus.  My budget
doesn't allow me (right now) to obtain a larger tank, but eventually I
will, just as I did the rest of my equipment.  
I was just making a case for one of the good uses of zeolite.
Besides, if I put them in a larger tank, they would then grow to their
proper size (too late now) which is a lot larger than they actually are.

Uncle Fester
(in case you're interested, the rest of my tanks range in size from 10gal
to 35 gal.  I keep angels in my 35's.  My goldfish tank is the _ONLY_ one
that has this problem, if you wish to call it that.)

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