# water quality



## speedfreak04 (Sep 1, 2011)

ok. So I am new in the fish world. I have a 55 gal. tropical community tank and a goldfish tank. I started with GF and the addiction grew from there. I had two "feeder" fish GF as babies in a 15 gal tank, about 2 months ago they both got the cotton fungus. I treated for that and one of them died. I have since learned that most likely the reason they got the fungus is because I didn't have air in my tank (I know, shame on me). Well, one has died and the other is doing ok except every since the treatment I haven't been able to get the water stable. Per my strips the water is really hard and acidic PH. My GF seems to be doing ok, he's thriving but I worry and stress about him everytime I check my tank. Did I mention he is about 4.5 inches now. Should I worry? Do something different? or just leave it alone? Please advise.:animated_fish_swimm


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Goldfish are pretty tough - I think if you don't add anything to the tank but fresh dechlorinated tap water, the tank will stabilize after a week and maybe 2-3 50% partial water changes. After that, you could scale back to 1 50% PWC a week and see if the tank fluctuates any more. The fungus treatment should be removed either by fresh carbon, water changes as mentioned, or both in conjunction.

Are you not worried about your tropical community tank? They would be much more affected by unstable water conditions.

Just my thoughts...


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## Peterjay (Feb 15, 2011)

Best thing you can do is pick up a liquid test kit and forget about the strips - they aren't accurate enough to depend on. Also, your tank is too small for goldfish. There are lots of reasons that fungal infections develop - injuries, diseases, overcrowding, poor water quality, etc. I'm sure your GF is benefitting from aeration, but I doubt that was the sole cause of your problem. I'd do frequent water changes until you can provide a more suitable home for your goldie. Big fish + small tank = trouble.


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## speedfreak04 (Sep 1, 2011)

Hi Gizmo. 
Thanks for the info. My tropical community is really stable. I have not had any issues with that...yet?! Knock on wood! 

Thanks Peterjay...so you think 15 gal is too small for One GF now??? He seems pretty happy.


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## Peterjay (Feb 15, 2011)

Yeah, it won't take him long to outgrow it. Goldies get surprisingly big and they generate a lot of waste. He'll do a lot better in a bigger tank, your water will be more stable, and you'll have room to get him some company. He'll be OK for a while - you should check out Craigslist - there are some incredible deals on tanks if you keep an eye out.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Are you testing for ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates? What makes you think your water quality is poor? Is your ph fairly stable or up and down? How often are you performing water changes? What was used to treat the fungus? And to be clear, your tropical community tank is the 55g and the gf tank is 15g?


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