Dear Friends please guide me to take care of fishes

Discussion in 'Pets and Animal Lovers' started by vivbass, Sep 4, 2009.

  1. vivbass

    vivbass Gold IL'ite

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    Dear friends,
    i have got a new friends,a pair of Golden,Angel,Ram fishes(he told me some name starts with Ram,i donno itz full name :bonkso short & sweet Ram);-)
    for the past 1 week iam enjoying with them.
    i just want some guidance.
    iam having a big glass bowl & motor for itz oxygen. i have some questions please answer me friends.

    1) morning 10 & night 10'clock iam feeding with a half a spoon of fish food(the shop keeper told me to give the amount only)is that enough for 6 fishes or i should feed more? (Hi-Colour food for Lohans,cechilds.Germany technologies,this is the food iam feeding)also i see only golden fishes are having food,rest of them having very occ'ly. may be because of that my 2 golden fishes are died:-( 1st fish died the next day & the other one today.what will be the reason for my goldies death? it really hurts me:-(
    only the golden fishes are very active why not other fishes are not active means they are not moving from here to there.

    2) i clean the bowl once in 2 days,he told me to clean it once in 15 days,may be because of the food the water colour is changing in to brown,smelly,so i want to give fresh water to them,is it ok? will the coloured water(because of itz food)is ok for fishes?

    3) will the fishes need some sand or shell to clean themselves? he told me, some fungus will form,so it'll clean themselves with that sand.i have put some shell like sand & coloured pebbles. my doubt is will it eat the sand like shell? because it looks like itz food.

    4) for how long should the motor(for oxygen)should run?if the motor is not running we have to change the water daily,if we fix motor,then once in 15 days is ok,this is what he told. i'll switch it off during nights(11pm to 6am) is it ok? also it should be in high speed or normal speed? i can see if i set in high speed goldies are enjoying,but will it affect the fishes?

    5) Any idea about time feeder,anyone is having? will that be useful? if we go out for 4 days will the time feeder is required or we can leave it without food?

    iam sorry friends, too many silly questions,but i want to save rest of the fishes,so please friends reply me soon. the shop keeper is not telling me the reason why itz dying?

    thank you all in advance..
     
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  2. Paulina

    Paulina Moderator Staff Member Platinum IL'ite

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    Hi Viv,

    Really sorry to read about the rather sad experience you faced with the fishy pals.
    Let me hasten to assure you that these are just teething troubles that first time fish rearers go through .We did ! The first few months this happened to us too.
    First of all , what kind of water are you using? If it is chlorinated ....then that is a big No -No! We use the mineral water that we use for drinking .That is free of all chemicals etc.,
    Secondly , it is better to go in for a medium sized Aquarium.The filter and oxygen supply should be on for 24 hours. You can put it off for half an hour or so when you feed them.The amount of fish food you mentioned is enough .Overfeeding results in them dying too.
    When you go in for a fish tank, you need to clean it once in 35 / 40 days.The filter that you have fixed will do the necessary cleaning work all along .These one time investments go a long way and will ensure the health of your fish.The cleaning can be done professionally by the place from where you get the tank .Here, in Chennai
    we have very good maintainence work done by them .
    The bowl system is not good for so many fish .It is Ok for 2 fish.Cleaning it so often disturbs them too.If you have a filter installed , there is no hassle at all.
    We have an aquarium with 9 fish ...4 goldies, 1 black gold, 2 calico gold, & 1 black shark and 1 white one.
    We have got small pebbles of different colours and some plastic plants inside .Fungus has to be prevented with great care.There are special medicinal drops you need to put in every time the water is changed for this.
    Perhaps you need to go to a better or reputable place where you can get the right guidance.
    Hope this helps a little.


     
  3. vivbass

    vivbass Gold IL'ite

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    Dear Paulina,
    thank you so much for the reply:bowdownalso thank you for letting me know about the filter,the SK(shope keeper) didn't tell me about this:ranti even asked him,if we over feed will it die? he just laughed & said a big no:rant:rantsure i'll look about the filter in another shop.

    Dear paulina,is there any specific (branded)food? anything which is colourless?

    My 3 goldies are dead:-( but the goldies are the one which gives nice look to the aquarium,isn't it? lovely colour,fully white,with little bit of orange colour in itz head.

    thank you once again.:)
     
  4. Paulina

    Paulina Moderator Staff Member Platinum IL'ite

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    Hi Viv,

    Really sorry to hear about the loss of your goldies.
    I think you really need to get the advice of a better aquarium shop owner.
    About the food I'm using here ...it is called TAIYO - Grow.It is a Japanese product .
    It looks like brick coloured mustard seeds.I have not seen any colourless feeds for them .
    A 250 gm plastic pack costs around Rs 75 and will last for ages.
    You must definitely change the shop and get better guidelines on fish maintainence.
    We went through all these hassles 4 years ago .Now we are all set and everything moves like clockwork .
    About going on holiday and feeding them...there is no problem .You can buy special food that come enclosed in small round capsules about the size of a 2 rupee coin.These can be put in just before you leave .The instructions will be on the pack .They have their own system built in of dissolving at given times and the fish can feed happily on it .Ask the aquarium shop owner about it.
    All the best for happier fishy experience.
     
  5. drjp

    drjp Senior IL'ite

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    vivbass,
    Sorry to hear about the fishes. As Paulina suggested these are teething troubles.
    I am not sure if you are still interested in setting up aquarium. If you are please search online for setting up fresh water aquarium there is a lot of information.

    Some basic points to consider!!
    1) Not all fish are compatible, even if they are all tropical and fresh water. Especially, Gold fish. If you like Gold fish then design aquarium just for them. One gold fish for 5-10 gallons of water is the density at which they should be grown at.

    2) Chlorine in the water can kill fish

    3) If there is any residual salt that can kill them too

    4) The amount of food you are using sounds a lot. Generally, all the food flakes should be eaten with in 5 min of adding them to water (or before they sink). Too much food leads to nitrite and nitrate accumulation that in turn kills fish.

    5) Last but not least, this fish could have come home infected. So bacteria and fungal infections could be culprits too.

    If you plan to start it all over again, I would be glad to help.
    drjp
     
  6. vivbass

    vivbass Gold IL'ite

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    Dear Paulina,Drjp,thank you dears for the help..:bowdown
    yes,this weekend iam planning to go to another shop & buy the food,filter.
    The water which iam drinking is what iam using for the fishes too,so reg.water,there shouldn't be a problem.
    Now i have reduced food also becoz only 4 fishes are there,iam planning to buy a big tank,especially for the golden fishes which i love to see.
    thank you all once again friends...:cheers
     
  7. drjp

    drjp Senior IL'ite

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    If you are using tap water, it has chlorine. You can either buy a water conditioner or use the water that has been sitting in a bucket for 2 days.

    The rule of thumb for choosing a tank is 1-2 gallons of water per every inch of adult size fish.

    So, if you have 4 gold fish you will need at least a 10 gallon tank, the water needs to be circulating preferably through carbon filters.
    Good luck,
    drjp
     
  8. gsaikripa

    gsaikripa Gold IL'ite

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    sollave illa...viji.. when did you buy?
    sorry to hear about loss of gold fish...
     
  9. Grace3

    Grace3 Silver IL'ite

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    Viji dear,

    Felt sad to read about the dead fish. Don't worry, initially even I have 'killed' so many fishes ...:hide: due to inexperience. Paulina & drjp have given good tips.
    Yes, better change the store from where you are buying.

    Also, don't chose the fish immediately, observe the whole tank. See that there are no dead/sick fish anywhere in the tank !!! Then pick your favorite & watch it to see if it is active .. not just lazily gliding.

    Do not transfer the fish from the plastic packet , in which the shopkeeper gives, immediately to the tank at home. Fill some water in a bucket the previous day itself, and release the fish into that water only, after coming home. They will be very nervous, so let them swim gently in that bucket water. If possible, add a few mugs of your tank water to the bucket water so that they will get used to that water's condition/temperature. Then after some time, using net, gently transfer them to your aquarium.

    Also, the bucket/mug you use for fish, DO NOT USE FOR WASHING CLOTHES ETC. as the detergent/soap will definitely kill them.

    Goldfish are lovely to look at , but generally they poop a lot !!! So we had a plastic siphon kind of tube, which everyday used to gently pull out the poop from the pebbles underneath. This way, the filter also will not get clogged often.

    Keeping a light source in the aquarium also gives very good color/health to the fish, but they increase the green moss [ paasi padiyum ] in the tank. So we avoided after the initial month of 'onning' the light !

    Try to keep to same feeding time everyday.. once the routine is set, the minute you go near the tank at that time, they will come as a group with their mouths open , waiting for their meal .. it will feel so nice when they nibble your finger tips : )

    Read up lot of info. & even see the visual demos online .. so many are there. Within a short time you will have a lovely aquarium .

    All the best :)
     
  10. vivbass

    vivbass Gold IL'ite

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    Dear Paulina, DRjp,Grace,
    thank you all for the wonderful replies:bowdown touch wood my fishes are doing great...yes'day i read lots of articles about the fishes in Google:thumbsup & got to know a lot about them,also i called up my cousin who is taking care of the fishes for the past 10 yrs',he ishaving very big aquarim,itz my mistake without asking any info from him & from you all:bonk:bonk The same things which you all are advised me he also told the same...actually speaking i never knew this before,i thought it'll be very easy to take care & i'll get lots of fishes:bonk
    1) He said before the night we have to store the water for settling down the temperature.
    2) my pot is very small for 3 pairs,now only 2 pairs:-(
    3) It won't lay eggs in glass bowls or in glass tank,it need more coolness,also in Google they suggested some cooler for that.
    4) if we need fishes to lay eggs,we have to buy it from farms,it'll be very costly & they won't give us easily...
    5) Angel won't accept other fishes so itz always chasing other fishes...in the google they advised us to keep 5-6 angel fishes,because in the 2-3 fishes only 1 will be stronger than the other so it'll trouble others...
    Now i had made some changes & enjoying with my fishes...:thumbsup i have stored the water previous day itself,feeding little amount of food,so the water is clear & pour more water.

    Sorry Sai, i forgot.:crazy

    thank you all friends once again.
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2009

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