Anyone know anything about goldfish?

[squirtle]

Thanks for that Anne! Guess that guy at Petsmart didn't know much about fish, he told me I needed 1 and 1/2 inches of it at the bottom of the tank

I am sorry to hear about Frodo

 

[cazx01]

yes sorry to hear about frodo, he be in fishy heaven now with squidgy

also squirtle, you have to be careful in some of these petstores, as youll find most of the time they will tell you you need this and that just to get you to buy the stuff, when half the time you dont need it at all

 

[squirtle]

Yes, I agree.... Probably why my bf laughed at me and made me take 2 bags of gravel back to the store

 

[cazx01]

yes...thats happened to me too

 

[loubelia]

When I was a little girl, I also had goldfish and a few did the belly side up for a bit. I remember my mom's advice from a local pet store with goldfish: live bloodworms. We gave some to the fishies, and it worked, they tipped right side up. don't know why....it just okay-ed itself

You could try it, in the future...and see if it still works....?!

 

[cazx01]

ahhh yes bloodworms, my fish love them, i give them bloodworms 3 times a week as a sort of treat

 

[squirtle]

mmm mmmm mmmm

bloodworms!

Do you just buy them at a pet store? And are they like dried food, or are they alive?

 

[weatherlight]

Natural color gravel probably makes them feel a LOT more at home than just glass. But if I were a fish, I'd take glass over bright green or pink gravel. Goldfishes also like to scavenge by taking gravel in their mouthes and spitting them back out. It's a natural behavior that I would allow. (Just have to get the right kind of gravel so it doesn't get stuck...that requires treatment, and I imagine it would be rather uncomfortable.) Yes, they can survive without it, but cats can survive without scratching posts... A quality gravel bed also aids greatly in biological filtration, even if you don't use an undergravel filter.

You can get bloodworms live at some stores. Live foods can transmit disease or parasites, so be careful. Many live foods also come frozen and freeze-dried, so you can feed that to fishes without the risk of live foods. I personally don't think it's right to kill some sentient beings to keep others alive (although I haven't taken Daphnia Bio so I don't even know if they have a CNS, but I'll err on the side of caution), so I'll probably feed fish Evolution.

I think more distractions could help the smaller cichlid, but I don't know if I should be saying it, as I would hate myself even more if I encouraged someone to support the slave fish trade...

>.< Those African lake cichlids are really beautiful though. Such a shame they can't get along A lot of hiding places will hopefully do it. Tank dividers are pretty cheap if it comes to that...

Size has nothing to do with being a living, feeling being. I don't understand people who say "I don't know why I'm so sad, it was only a cat" or "...it was only a dog" or "...it was only a fish." To me, that's like saying "...it was only an Asian" or something Particularly when there's some sort of real relationship--and fishes can learn to recognize individual humans, ask the ones they like for petting, take food from their hands, and so on.

 

[ttmom]

I know. I was very upset when our Betta died. I felt so guilty even though it appeared to have died a natural death.

 

[ttmom]

We've found that the albino catfish can be very aggressive even though all the people at Petco have said they aren't. Has anyone else had that happen?

 

[graykittenlove]

Originally Posted by TTMom

We've found that the albino catfish can be very aggressive even though all the people at Petco have said they aren't. Has anyone else had that happen?

I've had the same problem. So much so that I won't ever buy another albino.

 

[bren.1]

I have a betta at school, I call him Gandalf. He always swims to the side by my desk when I come into the room. i guess he's just hungry, but i like to think it's his way of saying hi. I was going to let another teahcer foster him over the summer, but I have decided to buy a small tank, like 2 or 3 gallons, and take him home. The cats could tip his current bowl too easily.

A few weeks ago, we had a major fish tragedy. we lost 3 tin-foil barbs and 2 bala sharks. We were having a problem with ammonia levels, that I was treating, but not successfully. I have since found out that both kinds of fish require 55 gallon tanks, and can grow to 14 inches. The people at PetSmart didn't mention any of that. Anyway, we now have 2 barbs, 2 sharks (one lived through the ammonia episode) and the pleco which also survived the ammonia. We'll be buying a larger tank before the fish outgrow it this time.

BTW caz, out pleco grew very fast! It was about an inch when I bought it 3 years ago, now it's at least 8 inches long. It tripled in size the first year, I love to watch how gracefully it swims, especially upside down.

 

[weatherlight]

Heh, there are reasons beyond just respect for fish that I wouldn't buy from stores. Their primary motive is profit, which translates into not only treating the fishes like disposable commodities, but also trying to get the consumer to open wallets (including for damaged goods that they failed to care for). You wouldn't buy a dog from a puppy mill without knowing anything about dogs, and assume that the miller will tell you all about how to care for the pup.

What's the scientific name for this "albino catfish"? I've never heard of such a species.

Bettas are happiest in tanks of at least 10 gallons, temperature of about 75F. A 10 gallon tank should be sufficient for a slow betta (I wouldn't keep active fishes in a tank this small, it's like locking a puppy in a bathroom 24/7), and it will cost about 9USD so it wouldn't leave you broke either. A heater you can get for under 10 bucks as well, I think. And since bettas are quite undemanding, just add a hood, some gravel/plants/rocks/hiding places of your choice, and a gentle filter (like a cheap sponge filter) and he'll be in heaven ^^

The safest thing to do is get the largest tank available. It's much harder to kill fishes that live in a large tank than a small one. If you have problems like ammonia, the concentrations will be much lower in a 75 gallon than a 20 gallon

 

[cazx01]

Originally Posted by TTMom

We've found that the albino catfish can be very aggressive even though all the people at Petco have said they aren't. Has anyone else had that happen?

i ahve to of these and i have to say that these are 2 of the most peacefull fish i own, they leave the other fish alone and just get on with whatever they are doing

 

[ttmom]

Here's information on the albino catfish:

Ictalurus punctatus (Albino Catfish)
Class:
Order:
Family:
Scientific Name: Ictalurus punctatus
Other Scientific Name(s): Silurus punctatus
Common Name: Albino Catfish
Distribution:
Diet: Prefers small live fish, earthworms, brine shrimp, blood worms, glass worms and tubifex worms. Frozen brine shrimp, plankton, beef heart, glass worms and blood worms. Freeze dried, pellet and tablet food will be accepted on occasion
Temperament: A predator that will eat any tank mate they can get into their mouth
Sexing:
Breeding:
Special Care:
Other Comments: A very popular fish food in the United States. This catfish is illegal in the following states: Arizona, Missouri and Oklahoma

So I guess they are naturally agressive. I know they've eaten many of our other fish that we did have so we only get fish larger than them now.

 

[weatherlight]

"Sexual maturity comes at five to eight years of age, but these fish live a great deal longer, some as long as 25 years. In the Great Lakes, this advanced age can be accompanied by a body size of 30 pounds." Holy...

I don't think this would be an easy one to care for at home LOL

 

[aquarius]

Sounds like swim bladder disorder to me. It is very common in goldfish. A lot of times they are upside down after meals, and then can right themselves again, but severe cases, they can not right themselves at all. I have agoldfish with this disorder, and I have tried everything to help him with it. Some people have alot of luck fasting them for 3 days, then feeding peas for 3 days.

Aqua