AboutShorty Expertise ~my dad got mad and took away my internet. dont kno when ill have it back. sorry...~
I will answer all questions as best I can, and if I am unsure of the answer, I will be willing to do research. I can answer questions about tetras, especially neon tetras. I can also answer questions on common diseases and parasites and how to treat them, and tank setups, maintenance, and cleaning. I can provide info. on cichlids (including breeding), goldfish, raising and breeding fancy guppies, and feeding your fish. If I don’t know the answer to your question, I will research and tell you my findings.
Experience I am 16 years old, but I have owned at least one fish tank since I was in elementary school. I now have a tank dedicated to raising and breeding fancy guppies, with much success. I have another tank with goldfish, which I’ve had the longest, and a larger tank with convict cichlid cichlids, which I have successfully bred, jewel cichlids, and an oscar. I’ve also raised and bred other cichlids as well. I used to have two other tanks, one with angel fish, and the other with tetras, which I recently got rid of. I’ve raised other fish such as catfish and gouramis along the way too. Since I have had fish so long I know much about diseases, and parasites, and how to treat them.
At the time i am writing this now i have:
1 Oscar
2 Jewel Cichlids
1 betta
6 goldfish
1 Kuhli loach
1 Rainbow shark
1 pleco
25 guppies
6 adult convict cichlids
30 young convict cichlids
Organizations I am hoping to volunteer at Hawk Creek.
Education/Credentials im only 16.... but I've been on the honor role my whole life(averages in the mid 90's), and im taking college courses in highschool.
Expert: Shorty Date: 8/27/2007 Subject: Is my gold fish sick???
Question QUESTION: Hi I have two goldfish one is orange and white and about 2 inches and the other is orange and had has the long fan tell. It looks like some of there scales are falling off. I had 3 other fish before and the big gold fish I think eat the other ones fins off. It died. Then there was another I got later and I just woke up one day and its bones was ling there on the bottom if the tank. Then one of the gold fish I have has since I got the tank just died. The tank was making a funny noise and got cloudy and he died the next morning. I changed the filter that was the problem. Now the other 2 scales are coming off and they are my 2 year old fish and he loves them are they sick?? I have cleaned the whole take too.....If you can help please do thank you...
ANSWER: well.. the bones on the bottom of the tank were definitely from the other fish eating it... but u probably know that. the scales falling off could be a number of things, i'll tell you them, and you can choose which one you think best fits the situation... my first guess would be that the fish are biting at each other, and the scales are falling off, they fall off quite easily. They easily fall off from scraping against things or being caught in nets. Also, fish naturally loose their scales, but if your fish are loosing many scales at once, its not natural. goldfish may loose their scales if they are stressed. i would strongly suggest medicating the tank with something called MelaFix for a while. this stuff is great. i would also check and take out anything sharp that could be causing it. Also, to help keep your tank clean, i would buy a bigger filter. i have a 30 gallon filter in a 10 gallon tank of goldfish because they are such messy fish. oh, and if you have a heater in the tank, i would turn the temperature down, goldfish do better in cooler water, and warmer water can cause them to loose scales more rapidly and get frayed tails. lastly your fish should probably be fed more because goldfish, at least from my experience, don't just kill each other, i have 5 in a tank. i would say try to up the feeding a little more and maybe try feeding them different food. i hope this helped.. if there is anything else let me know... good luck! ^_^
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QUESTION: I think that it is a 20 gallon tank or maybe a little bigger. What size filter should I use? What food would be good too? I feed them once a day. Should I feed the twice? Also should you turn the tank light on for them at all? Thank you soooo much for you help!!!:)...Angela
Answer hey! since you have such a big tank, meaning it takes more to get dirty, i would get a filter fit for 30 gallons.(if u got more goldfish a bigger filter would be better) For the food, well, i would feed them 2-3 times a day, and i would suggest feeding them flakes at least once, and normal goldfish pellets, because these fill the fish up better. don't feed them excessively though (no more than they can consume within several minutes). As for the lights, i wouldn't leave them on all the time because it can cause stress, but a couple hours a day shouldn't hurt them. hope ur fishies feel better!
