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My Poor Gold Fishies About to Die

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Deal Expert
Dec 4, 2010
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Quarantine Bubble

My Poor Gold Fishies About to Die

I inherited some fishes and to be perfectly honest, I don't know how to care for them. The little machine that makes bubbles has stopped working and I don't know what it's called.

Can I go to WalMart and pick up another one? How much are they?

Oh yeah, they're floating at the top. Not belly up yet. Just getting air.
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Deal Fanatic
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Dec 27, 2007
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I think they do that normally for air like betta, you just need bacteria I think what I think that filter thingy is for
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Jan 7, 2007
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Poormond Hill
Supercooled wrote: I inherited some fishes and to be perfectly honest, I don't know how to care for them. The little machine that makes bubbles has stopped working and I don't know what it's called.

Can I go to WalMart and pick up another one? How much are they?

Oh yeah, they're floating at the top. Not belly up yet. Just getting air.
Sorry to be so rude. But some people spend their entire lives in this site and yet don't know about the
Pet Forum
Please seek help for the poor goldfish. If you can't, hit them on their head with a hammer to put them out of their misery. Please do not flush them down the toilet while they are still alive!
A life spent making mistakes is not only more memorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
Deal Expert
Feb 24, 2007
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It's a filter pump to remove the unhealthy residue from the water.
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Nov 22, 2008
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It takes a while for the water in the tank to settle with the right environment for the fish. Did you refill the whole tank with new water? If yes, you will just have to let the tank settle on its own (ie. Build the right bacterial conditions). You might lose some as some aren't able to adjust to the new environment or wait it out until the tank settles itself. There is not much you can do except for making sure the water condition is optimal like the right temperature range, zero ammonia, and right pH. You can get a test or different types of drops to adjust the water condition.

It would also be helpful for the fish to be fed properly. Don't just sprinkle the food on the top of the water as this might cause for them to gulp down too much air while they eat and this can cause problems for the fish. The proper way to feed them is for the pellets or flakes to sink while they eat. You can soak the food in some of the tank water in a small comtainer. Poor out the soaked water and then lower the food into the tank. Don't overfeed them. Most new goldfish owner commonly overfeed their fish. Goldfish can eat themselves to death and will always act like they have never been fed. Feed them enough food that they will devour in about two minutes and then scoop out the uneaten food.

Good luck. You can always scour kijiji or Craiglist list for free fish if you need to replace them. Many people do get tired with the upkeep of an aquarium and fish pet aren't as fun to play with as cats or dogs.
Sr. Member
Mar 15, 2011
572 posts
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Waterloo
jacobe wrote: It takes a while for the water in the tank to settle with the right environment for the fish. Did you refill the whole tank with new water? If yes, you will just have to let the tank settle on its own (ie. Build the right bacterial conditions). You might lose some as some aren't able to adjust to the new environment or wait it out until the tank settles itself. There is not much you can do except for making sure the water condition is optimal like the right temperature range, zero ammonia, and right pH. You can get a test or different types of drops to adjust the water condition.

It would also be helpful for the fish to be fed properly. Don't just sprinkle the food on the top of the water as this might cause for them to gulp down too much air while they eat and this can cause problems for the fish. The proper way to feed them is for the pellets or flakes to sink while they eat. You can soak the food in some of the tank water in a small comtainer. Poor out the soaked water and then lower the food into the tank. Don't overfeed them. Most new goldfish owner commonly overfeed their fish. Goldfish can eat themselves to death and will always act like they have never been fed. Feed them enough food that they will devour in about two minutes and then scoop out the uneaten food.

Good luck. You can always scour kijiji or Craiglist list for free fish if you need to replace them. Many people do get tired with the upkeep of an aquarium and fish pet aren't as fun to play with as cats or dogs.
+1

The machine which made the bubbles is a combination of an Air pump: http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/marina-75-a ... 0042404294 and Air stone http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/penn-plax-a ... 0190230455
You can remove the airstone from the end to test and see that the air pump is still producing air, if it is than all you need is a new air stone as they slowly deteriorate over time.
Though, you don't usually see an air pump for most gold fish aquariums. If you get a good filter which incorporates air, then you should be good to go.
Just be sure to do a monthly filter cleaning and water change (about 25-50% of the water deepening on the size of your tank).
Also goldfish are cold water fish and as such shouldn't require a heater, just let the tank even out to room temperature.
Deal Expert
Dec 4, 2010
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Quarantine Bubble
These aren't your typical small fish. These are quite old.
Deal Expert
Dec 4, 2010
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Quarantine Bubble
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Thanks for the advice and links guys.
Deal Addict
Jan 16, 2007
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Toronto
You're better off doing weekly water changes of 10-20% of the water until the bacteria level stabilizes in about a month or 2. No need for water heater. If they are at the surface trying to breath, that means they are suffocating due to a lack of O2 in the water. Get any ole water pump/filter asap.
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Dec 4, 2010
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Quarantine Bubble
NubNub wrote: You're better off doing weekly water changes of 10-20% of the water until the bacteria level stabilizes in about a month or 2. No need for water heater. If they are at the surface trying to breath, that means they are suffocating due to a lack of O2 in the water. Get any ole water pump/filter asap.
So only about 1/5 of the water change at a time? I would h ave figured you change the entire tank but you guys are saying it's vital to keep the bacteria in there.

The pump stopped working about 2 days ago and I started noticing they were surfacing for air.
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Sep 21, 2010
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Well, at least you're seeking help. Ya, I used to raise when I was a kid, so memory is a bit spotty. Can't use tap water straight away, must 'let it settle' for 1 day in a separate container to get rid of the chlorine, or put some sort of tablet in it? I can't remember. This site will help. Please get a pump asap.
Member
Apr 22, 2015
388 posts
76 upvotes
Toronto, ON
Forget the bubbles they need a pump to clean the water, goldfish are pretty dirty and poop a lot that tank will get toxic really quick. A good pump at Walmart shouldn't be more than $30 or so, it will tell you on the box how much gallons it's recommended for. I would say throw a few water snails in there to clean any algae as well.
Deal Expert
Dec 4, 2010
19536 posts
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Quarantine Bubble
I bought one from Walmart today for $20 thinking it will suffice. The rated gallon capacity is 10-15 but looking at my old pump, it's very diminutive in comparison. I think I'll need to get another one or simply a smaller tank.

If what you say about letting tap water de-chlorinate I might have a problem because I have nothing close to that size to hold the water in save a bathtub.
Member
Apr 22, 2015
388 posts
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Toronto, ON
Supercooled wrote: I bought one from Walmart today for $20 thinking it will suffice. The rated gallon capacity is 10-15 but looking at my old pump, it's very diminutive in comparison. I think I'll need to get another one or simply a smaller tank.

If what you say about letting tap water de-chlorinate I might have a problem because I have nothing close to that size to hold the water in save a bathtub.
They sell the water treatment drops as well in Walmart so just fill the tank put a few drops in and put the fish in
Deal Addict
Aug 1, 2005
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Windsor
Much bigger tank might be useful too. What size tank is that?

For my water changes, I bought a 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot, and washed it out a bunch of times, and it's dedicated to water changes... Never use soap to clean them. Think it's about $5 for the bucket.

I use a Fluval 204 on my 29 gallon tank, but mine's full of guppies, not goldfish so it's not undersized.

My dryer heats up the room significantly when it's in operation, your fish might not be happy with the temperature changes or the vibration/noise.
Deal Expert
Dec 4, 2010
19536 posts
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Quarantine Bubble
CompWizrd wrote: Much bigger tank might be useful too. What size tank is that?

For my water changes, I bought a 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot, and washed it out a bunch of times, and it's dedicated to water changes... Never use soap to clean them. Think it's about $5 for the bucket.

I use a Fluval 204 on my 29 gallon tank, but mine's full of guppies, not goldfish so it's not undersized.

My dryer heats up the room significantly when it's in operation, your fish might not be happy with the temperature changes or the vibration/noise.
Good advice about the dryer.

I don't know what the tank capacity is but it's probably 100litres? It's the size of the dryer or washer tub for sure.

There used to be more fishes in there but they died.

They seem to be happy for the time being since I installed the smaller pump. They're not longer surfacing for air and are eating again when I feed them whereas before they were disinterested.
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Jan 16, 2007
1209 posts
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Toronto
Supercooled wrote: So only about 1/5 of the water change at a time? I would h ave figured you change the entire tank but you guys are saying it's vital to keep the bacteria in there.

The pump stopped working about 2 days ago and I started noticing they were surfacing for air.
You should only change 1/5 of the tank water max is because you don't want to stress the fish/bacteria in the tank and kill one or the other off. Chloramine and the difference in temperature in tap water is the reason you should should only change max of 20% of water and have them in buckets over night. Once the tank is established, I do a mix of hot and cold water and use chemicals to counteract the Chloramine. I still stick to the 20% max water change, but stretch it out to about a month max. Also, the larger the tank the less frequent you need to change water, given a fixed number of fishes.

Also, do not buy any of the stuff that removes amonia/nitrates/nitrites from the tank. A new tank needs to "cycle" thru all those chemicals to become established. If your fishes seems stressed out, just do a quick 20% water changes. Once established, the tank and the fishes will be fine. Just stick to a one month water change schedule, assuming tank is not overloaded with fish.

Finally, get an aquarium filter. Unless you like doing frequent water changes and religiously removes the fish poop / uneaten food from the tank.

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