What should my nitrate levels be for goldfish? I have a 25 gallon tank , filter and bubbles. I dont use a heater, I heard goldfish do not need them? I had two small big eyed goldfish and one died. I have 1 left and went to Walmart and got those test strips and its saying its way to high. I just did a water change of 50 percent vac up the gravel and changed the filter. Everything is crystal clear . Should I add live plants? What kind should I use? How can I drop my nitrate levels another way? Thanks alot again and again
nitrate levels for Goldfish
- Thread starter pooksypickles
- Start date
Generally feeding once a day, as much as they'll eat in a few minutes is plenty.
How much water do you usually change on a weekly basis? Goldies are very messy fish and I would expect that the nitrates hang out relatively high in their tanks.
I dont think goldfish do very well with plants, many times they'll eat or uproot them, plus I believe the plants like warmer water than the goldies (I could be wrong on that, I'm sure someone will correct me if I am)
Best (only) way to lower nitrates in an unplanted tank is to do water changes. Couple things though before you go crazy doing water changes. Test your tap water to see if IT has any nitrates in it. Then you know your tank wont ever be below that level unless you add a lot of plants. Also, test strips like the ones you got really aren't that accurate. They tell you "high medium low" etc and not a number on a scale. SO if you get bored/have the money etc you might look into checking out the other kind of test kits that have a test tube and bottles of reagents to turn your water colors. This way you can tell us what the number is...because depending on the tank and the kit...you may only have 40ppm and thats not TOO bad.
How much water do you usually change on a weekly basis? Goldies are very messy fish and I would expect that the nitrates hang out relatively high in their tanks.
I dont think goldfish do very well with plants, many times they'll eat or uproot them, plus I believe the plants like warmer water than the goldies (I could be wrong on that, I'm sure someone will correct me if I am)
Best (only) way to lower nitrates in an unplanted tank is to do water changes. Couple things though before you go crazy doing water changes. Test your tap water to see if IT has any nitrates in it. Then you know your tank wont ever be below that level unless you add a lot of plants. Also, test strips like the ones you got really aren't that accurate. They tell you "high medium low" etc and not a number on a scale. SO if you get bored/have the money etc you might look into checking out the other kind of test kits that have a test tube and bottles of reagents to turn your water colors. This way you can tell us what the number is...because depending on the tank and the kit...you may only have 40ppm and thats not TOO bad.
Like FroggyFox said...
My goldies get weekly 25% water changes and I never skip a week because they are pretty messy (but not as bad as my Oscars!)
If one of your fish died, check your ammonia and nitrite levels also, just to rule them out. Goldies grow fast and that increases bio-load a lot faster than people think.
As far as nitrates... get the fish store people to tell you what it is in Parts per Million (PPM). 40 PPM is usually OK, as long as it does not spike above that.
As for plants... goldies eat most plants. Weekly water changes is easier and does a better job controlling nitrates in your situation.
My goldies get weekly 25% water changes and I never skip a week because they are pretty messy (but not as bad as my Oscars!)
If one of your fish died, check your ammonia and nitrite levels also, just to rule them out. Goldies grow fast and that increases bio-load a lot faster than people think.
As far as nitrates... get the fish store people to tell you what it is in Parts per Million (PPM). 40 PPM is usually OK, as long as it does not spike above that.
As for plants... goldies eat most plants. Weekly water changes is easier and does a better job controlling nitrates in your situation.