When you are Buying Aquarium Fish forYour Kid

Keeping fish is a great hobby with will keep kids out of trouble at least for a while. But this hobby is not something like Collecting Stamps or those superhero or baseball cards. Here we are talking about live fish which feels hunger as well as pain. Basically its same like having a dog or cat in many ways except you cant hug them. So if you are planing to let your kid to have a fish then make sure you re-plan it and make sure your kid understand what he is get into. Also you need to understand what you are getting into. In most cases you will be the one who taking care of it.

There are several big NOs. These things, you should understand as well as explain to your kid. It's important he/she/they learn how to take care of the pet fish properly. 

Don't buy those tiny fish bowls for them. No matter what people say Those glass bowls are a very  bad idea for keeping fish. No Fish like to live in tiny space like that. It's a big no for Goldfish and even for Bettafish its not good. Remember natural habitat of Betta fish are big wet lands, swamps and paddy fields which are miles and miles long. They love to swim and explore. Please make sure you understand this and teach this to your kids too. Nobody like to stuck in tiny room.

Don't get those single tail Goldfish like common Goldfish or Comet Goldfish from Carnivals etc unless you plan to have a 4 Feet / 60+ gal fish tank. Goldfish types live long and get very big. Unless you have space / money  for this don't let kids to get those fish even from a pet shop.

Don't buy fish that too expensive and not easy to keep. For example Discus Fish are very beautiful but they are very expensive and you need advance level of experience to keep them. They need frequent water changers, special food and have to be very careful about tank makes.

Don't buy fish right away when you got a pet fish. Either pre plan what type of fish you are buying. You can research on net with your kids about it. Let them to learn all about the fish they want to have. Or When you are at pet shop take photos and ask names of the fish they like and research about them. After that you can buy.

Always go for easy to keep, small and hardy types of fish. Good examples are Tetra, Platy, Molly etc. First buy just a couple of pairs and let them to keep these fish for a while. Make sure they don't loose interested before buying more. Let them to feed fish once or twice and day and teach them about right amount  of fish food to put.

Don't buy everything same time. First you need to buy the Tank, Lights, gravel and Filters. Setup your tank and let it settle few days before putting fish in.

Buy your kids about the fish they have / going to have or about Fish Keeping. Read the book with them and discuss about it. Make it more interesting for them and also useful. These books can teach them a lot and It might help you to avoid future fish disaster or 2.

Asking for Help when your Pet Fish in trouble

Ammonia Burns have become infected

Today I saw a Facebook post by a newbie fish keeper asking help about his or her Bubblehead Goldfish. There was a photo of the fish which looked like dying and there were no any other details. People has been trying to help giving all sorts of advice. But sadly its not going to work. Nobody can decide things with just looking at a photo.

First we need to find out if fish got sick so suddenly or it's been acting strange for a while. Or this might have happened after a water change. All these facts are important. If this has happened after a water change thing it is probably something to do with water conditions. Maybe too much Chlorine or change in PH Value. Or it might be water temperature.

If it's Goldfish or Discus Fish one of the most common problems are Swim bladder. This happens for Goldfish because of over feeding and as for Discus fish it's usually because of low quality food. This is something can could become fatal but in many cases fish can recover easily after right treatment.

Dropsy is another common problem. It can happen by parasites or because of organ failures due to various causes. Unfortunately if it's an organ failure then there isn't anything you can do. You can recognize this condition with scales that stand out with a pinecone-like appearance.

Ammonia Burns is another issue. This usually happens when your tank water is dirty. There are bunch of symptoms but a very common one is fish having strange red blotches or streaks  appear out of no where. these become black later. Can be even worse if it's a Nitrate Poisoning. Fish could die even before you figure something is wrong.

Bought Ranchu Goldfish

I have never had Ranchu Goldfish before. I had wanted to but where I live Ranchu is not a popular or common goldfish type you can find in pet shop. Mainly because they are usually expensive and not easy to keep like other more common Goldfish types like Oranda or Ryukin. I saw them several times in one pet shop which is known for exporting rare fish but they were too expensive for me.

So This weekend I went the near by petshop which is known for cheap tanks but horribly neglecting fish. There I found three Ranchu guys in a tank along with 2 Pearlscales. And I was horrified to see these 2 Pearlscales has massive lice attached to their bodies. I was shocked to see that and demanded owner to do something about it. I asked him to isolate these 2 poor fish and put some meds or salt. But he just put group of angel into that tank. I was skeptical about the whole thing but then to Amazement I found most of lice are gone from those 2 Goldfish. So those angel fish have done their job.

Anyway I bought those 3 Ranchu right away. I did want to rescue them but also I wanted to have them since I have never had them before. I just paid $6 for 3 of them. They were not quality fish or anything but still Ranchu. You can see those 3 guys in above photo. 2 males and 1 female. Metal color one in middle is the female. They are right now in my quarantine tank.

They will be the final and last addition to my already crowded 55 gallon tank. That tank already has like 10 Goldfish, 2 tiny angelfish and 2 baby Pearl Guramies. Too many fish for it's size but all of these guys are small and I do have a good filter system and also do frequent water changes like once in 2 days.

More Pearlscale Goldfish

It's been nearly month since my last post so I thought to create another post since so many things happened.  I lost two of these lovely Pearlscales and it must be the heat. Now I have set up air pumps in full power for all my out door tanks I haven't had any deaths since then. Here, this is the hottest time of the year and heat is even unbearable for us.

Well even though I said I won't buy anymore Goldfish from that shop but I went there to buy fish food and air tubes but then end up buying some more fish. This time I bought a lot ! Also I found out these Pearlscales are supplied to the ship buy one of my old friends. he confirmed me these are not throw outs from export fish. He breed Goldfish and sell. But even this lot were so not great so I think the reason for bad quality is because they haven't treated well. Probably hadn't fed any good quality food and haven't done water changes. Anyway I bought 2 pairs of Pearlscales again. They are smaller and cheaper and haven't even got their colors yet.

This time I bought something I really shouldn't have. That's two Koi's !!! One Yellow color Koi and a white one with red spot on head. I think these are the Koi type called Tancho. I just had to buy because they are still very small and beautiful but I don't know what I'm gonna do with them when they grow up!

Plus I bought another three Shubunkins. This time I carefully inspected them before choosing. I made sure they have correct body shape but didn't bother much about their colors. So they are mostly red and black but have nice longer tails.

I added two small Calico Goldifsh which I found in a tank right below the Shunindin tank. They have long bodies and very short caudal fins. I hope they would look nice when they grow bigger.

Oh I bought five Angelfish too. They are the type called Koi Angelfish. I bought five of these guys are all except one have white bodies with black here and there. Now I have more fish than I should have. These Angelfish are not exactly peaceful so they need a separate tank. I would be cool if I found another few Angelfish from different types and setup an Amazon river tank.

No More Fish From That PetShop

Pearlscale Goldfish

Last few weeks I have bought nearly a dozen Goldfish from this petshop where they looks like mistreat fish. It's no point of complaining them about it but I did buy some Goldfish from there and noticed most these fish are not exactly perfect fish. They have some kind of error in somethings like body, fins etc. But I didn't mind it since I just want to have some Goldfish right now and didn't thought much about the quality. For average I i don't think most these stuff are noticeable.

Last time I bought 5 Oranda Goldfish and three Shubunkins. It looks like these Shubunkins are not perfects ether. They do have some sort of bend in their spin which is not visible unless you look carefully. But it's there are I think all these fish are what a breeder would call "cullings". Most visible thing is those Pearlscales I had bought early had short grill plates. So it seems this guy has bought or taken all throw away fish from a breeder and selling it for higher price.  I don't mind he selling these fish and since I bought anyone buying from there going to breed so no harm done and also those poor guys get homes. But selling them for price they are not worth making it look like they are quality Goldfish is bad.

So that's the last time I bought any fish from there. At least Goldfish. I don't think I will buy any other fish from anywhere soon but still this petshop won't be the place I go for that when the time comes. Anyway I don't there are lots of adult Oranda Goldfish in market these days. Someone must have released a big stock to a market. Probably and exporter who missed an order.

But I haven't seen any Lionheads or other fancy goldfish in market for a while now. Even PearlsScale Goldfish are hard to find these days. I bought a BlackMoor pair and haven't seen any of them in petshops in my area either.

If you want a good book about how to take care of Goldfish and also how to find high quality Goldfish then check these books, Fancy Goldfish: Complete Guide To Care And Collecting or Kingyo: The Artistry of Japanese Goldfish. Both these books are seriously good reading material for any Goldfish keeper. Check Amazon for reviews and I don't think you will regret buying these books. I haven't. haha.

More Redcaps and Shubunkin

Freshwater Aquarium Problem Solver by David E. Boruchowitz

First of all this photo above is not from my fish. It's the cover of book called Freshwater Aquarium Problem Solver by David E. Boruchowitz. Not about Goldfish but it's about how to take care of an Aquarium and what to do in tricky situations. A great book for kids and anyone who is inexperienced about the subject. Good book for those who start keeping fish without no idea what they should do and they decided fish committed suicide when he/she made a stupid mistake and messed up tank.

Back to my story, well I finally gave up resisting the idea of buying pair of Shubunkins. I wanted to them for a while now but didn't want to over crowd my tanks. But at end I had to have them and since I have already setup air pumps for my out door tanks I thought to do it. So yesterday I went to petshop and I was in for a surprise. That Oranda tank was refilled ! This times lots more fish. There were few redcaps too! So I had to recuse them! lol

I ended by catching 5 goldfish. Four of them look like Redcaps and I'm sure two are redcap Orandas. There is pair of long body Goldfish I'm not sure Oranda or not. Will see after few months weather they have Redcap or a Redpatch. Also I took 3 Shubunkins. Not  the most beautiful but they are colorful and nice. Also they are very small still so plenty of time to have more colors. 

I feel like having three more Shubunkins and many one Gold color Oranda. I must forget about the idea since now I'm nearly at limit unless I do some changes to my tank setups. Summer heat is getting even hotter and I'm glad I have already taken care of outdoor tanks oxygen problem with air pumps.

Killer Goldfish

This is the culprit aka Killer Goldfish

Sadly my bully Goldfish turn out to be a killer Goldfish. I thought he had a beef only with BlackMoors but since Black Moor is gone he had started focusing on those two poor Orandas. To make it worse I had no idea. I was little bit busy with work so had less time to check them frequently (Usually I check several times a day)

I found bigger Oranda dead next day and I couldn't figure what had happened to him. There were no wounds or anything So I didn't suspected it's this killer guy. And next day I found other Oranda on surface with a huge wound which look like a combo of several biting. I separated the poor guy but didn't make to to next day.

I should have separated these guys when I noticed the bullying first time. I didn't move Orandas to other tank because I thought they are too weak for that one which had no air pump right now. Anyway too late for that now and lesson learned in hard way. :(

I have no idea what made him do it. Now there's no chance of putting him with other Goldfish so he will have to live as a loner rest of his life. I might have to give him to someone who just want to keep one fish many in a 10 gallon tank. I wonder if he would be aggressive toward other fish too. Not Cichlid who would have him for breakfast. other fish like plates or mollies.

Here's a photo of Oranda which died from wounds.