Please Help

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Sexy26237

New Fish
#1
Jun 27, 2006
5
0
0
arizon
#1
ok so i wasn't one of those people who came on here lookin for any easy answer, without working for it, i have been online for the past 2 1/2 hrs looking for my answer, i looked in this forum for a while before signing up so i am sorry to bother you with such an idiotic question...

my son came home from school the other day and told me that he wanted a fish for a pet, i was all for it, so i went to wal mart ( i know i've read already a bad idea) and i bought what i thought were two goldfish, well that is what the paper said, at least unless i read the wrong one. well now i don't think they are gold fish anymore, cuz i can't find a pic of them under goldfish anywhere and for the past two days they have blowing bubbles all around the bowl. and i prolly need a bigger bowl too....i do think (uneducated guess) that one may be a male only because one has very tiny fin looking things on his nose, they are pretty hard to notice unless your looking for them

can anybody help me to figure out what they are i don't want them to die.
 

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CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
#3
Jul 19, 2004
3,682
33
48
39
Cape Cod
#3
Look like goldfish to me... there are lots of different colors. Unfortunately, goldfish do get too big and are too messy for bowls. I second the suggestion for a tank for them soon. In the meantime, you could try daily or every other day water changes to keep the water in the bowl cleaner... make sure to use dechlorinator.
 

Seleya

Seleya

Superstar Fish
#4
Nov 22, 2004
1,384
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Cape Cod, MA
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#4
The one on the left is a shubunkin -- a calico comet goldfish. Could you post a sideview of the one on the right?

They definitely need much more room, more sooner than later, as they grow. I realise they are quite small now, but they can grow to be a good foot long if kept properly.
 

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Sexy26237

New Fish
#5
Jun 27, 2006
5
0
0
arizon
#5
i just wanted to say thank you, and they are both the same type of fish, but the pic makes it look different. and i did buy a tank. and put a floral design in the ex-fish bowl. :) got the water declorinator and my sons fish look happy, well at least i think cuz now they wont leave each other alone lol. so thanks again for all of the help. next time i will try not to be such a newbie with my questions ;)
 

bighit22

bighit22

Large Fish
#6
Apr 22, 2006
157
0
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34
New Mexico
#6
hey, dont worry. thats the only way anyone can learn. im sure someone would want to ask the same question and was too afraid to be ridiculed. congrats on being brave. what size of tank did u get?
 

Lotus

Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#7
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#7
Even with the tank, you'll still need to do weekly water changes to keep the fish healthy and the tank clean.

Basically, get a siphon from the fish store, remove between 1/4 and 1/2 of the water each week, and replace it with fresh dechlorinated water that's about the same temperature. Don't clean the filter pad for the first month, but after that, you can swish it out in the old water you removed from the tank.

Good luck with the fish :D
 

E

Etheostoma

Large Fish
#8
Aug 28, 2005
300
0
0
Missouri, USA
#8
Whatever happens, don't give up on the hobby if the first attempt fails. Aquariums are a very good tool for exposing kids to, and at least marginally interesting them in (or teaching the value of), science & math.

I've bought a disgusting amount of equipment at criminally low prices from people who just up and one day decided to jump head-first into the hobby with no knowledge and disasterous results to their impulse, and their wallets.

You're off to a good start in the learning experience. Check out the beginner sticky for more info.

Best of luck!
 

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Sexy26237

New Fish
#9
Jun 27, 2006
5
0
0
arizon
#9
*thumbsups i went back to wal-mart and got a simple 5 gallon set up that came in the box. now i know that this is very amature but i figured it worked, and ya know it did come with a filter type thing, so should i still have to clean it manualy as often as i would with out it. but i found the type of fish that they were they are shubunkin, so thank you for that too. my son loves to feed them.
 

seastaar88

seastaar88

Superstar Fish
#10
Feb 1, 2004
1,705
1
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42
middletown, CT
#10
Whatever happens, don't give up on the hobby if the first attempt fails.
Click to expand...
everyone starts somewhere. you learn from mistakes! :) we've all been in your position at one time or another.

my advice would be to see if you can trade the goldies for a couble of small hardy fish like white cloud minnows (that will better suit a 5G tank) until you get the hang of things.
 

Seleya

Seleya

Superstar Fish
#12
Nov 22, 2004
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Cape Cod, MA
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#12
Keep your eyes out for a larger tank setup. They are going to need much more room than the 5 sooner than you may believe. You'll know you're doing a good job keeping them the sooner they outgrow that tank. ;) You could also consider a small garden pond or large container garden (think stock tank), which can be very pretty.
 

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Sexy26237

New Fish
#13
Jun 27, 2006
5
0
0
arizon
#13
ok nvrmnd, they died today :( don't know why they were fine yesterday, then got real sluggish, started swimming wierd, then died i guess i will try again....? but thank you for all of your help
 

Zman16

Zman16

Large Fish
#16
Aug 1, 2005
865
1
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32
Pennsylvannia
#16
They probably died from the ammonia in the tank. 2 goldfish is alot of bioload for that small tank.

When I started with community tanks I had a really overcrowded tank. Every fish in it died except for the cory cats which are still alive today... except for one of them. :(
 

Oralacerta

Oralacerta

Small Fish
#17
Jul 5, 2006
17
0
0
Syracuse
#17
Yeah, the tank wasn't cycled so they probably died from an ammonia spike. Before you decide to get another fish, make sure you cycle your tank, which means putting a small amount of ammonia or rotting food in the tank for a couple of weeks so nitrifying bacteria have time to build up in your filter (bacteria that feed off waste). Biospira (a product containing that essential bacteria) is an alternative to this and works instantly, but is hard to find.

Also buy some water testing kits so you can keep an eye on your nitrate/nitrite/ammonia levels.

That will prevent you from losing fish again.

Believe it or not, smaller tanks are actually more difficult for beginners to maintain because waste (ammonia) builds up much quicker in a smaller volume of water.

However, one betta in a 5g would be an easy bio-load to deal with, just be sure to keep up with a weekly water change schedule to control that ammonia. :)

Good luck!! :D
 

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