need advise on goldfish "herding" behavior
danae sanchez
Just yesterday, my friend moved five small goldfish out of her 20 gallon tank and into a
5 gallon tank. She filled 3/4 of the 5 gallon tank with water from the 20 gallon. She
placed new, (from the pet shop) rinsed gravel into the 5 gallon tank.
The temp in the 20 gallon was 78 degrees.
The temp in the 5 gallon is 72 degrees.
The 5 gallon tank has the same room lighting as the 20 gallon tank.
She setup a Penguin Bio Wheel filter for the 5 gallon.
We have a nice water flow going across the surface of the water.
She added Stress Coat accordingly.
Today, we have noticed that all five of the goldfish are huddled together in the corner
of the tank, close to the bottom. I have never seen or read about this behavior. We
can't understand what is going on. If one goldfish moves, it is only to get into the
center of this huddle.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
danae
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GTong
In article <341765...@cris.com>, danae sanchez <dana...@cris.com> wrote:
>Just yesterday, my friend moved five small goldfish out of her 20 gallon
tank and
>into a 5 gallon tank. She filled 3/4 of the 5 gallon tank with water from
the 20
>gallon. She placed new, (from the pet shop) rinsed gravel into the 5
gallon tank.
Why did she do this? A 5-gal tank with five goldfish in it will pollute
*very* quickly and is a notoriously bad environment for goldfish!!
Pet shop gravel is a bad idea. It brings in a whole bunch of new pathogens
that your friend's goldfish are not used to in their 20-gal home. They can
easily cause illness and even death.
>The temp in the 20 gallon was 78 degrees.
>The temp in the 5 gallon is 72 degrees.
Temp drops can be very harmful. This is a significant drop and may cause
an outbreak of ich among other things. Your friend needs to keep an eye on
these fish!
>She setup a Penguin Bio Wheel filter for the 5 gallon.
>We have a nice water flow going across the surface of the water.
Five gallons is really way too small to keep stable--water quality, temp,
pH. Plus your friend's using a new filter, which means the tank has to
cycle. Does your friend know what that means?
>She added Stress Coat accordingly.
Why? It's totally unnecessary.
>Today, we have noticed that all five of the goldfish are huddled together
in the corner
>of the tank, close to the bottom.
New environment. Possibly already polluted environment. Advise your friend
to get water tests for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. And to learn about
cycling a tank and preparing water for water changes. New water is best
when aged (sit out overnight with an aerator) and the same temp and pH as
the old water.
Better yet, move the fish back to the 20-gal and get a filter that'll
circulate the water at least 10-12 times per hour.
--
"Every infinity is composed of only two halves."
(Remove ".out" for my email address.)
Tomtom812
>my friend moved five small goldfish out of her 20 gallon tank and into a
>5 gallon tank.
Hmmm - did I read that right - she moved fish that need at least 5gals per
fish into a five gallon tank??? The fish are probably in shock from both
change in water conditions, housing , and temperature. You didn't state
how big the fish were, but for them to grow to anything nearing thier full
potential, they need to be at a very minimum 2 fish per 10gal. tank. A
change of surroundings is probably why they are huddled together (they are
stressing)
Was some of the water from the original tank used? If not, that 5gal will
go through the dreaded "new tank syndrome" pretty fast so keep an eye out
for the fish at the surface gulping for air.
Good luck
Tom
http://members.aol.com/tomtom812/goldfish-beginners.html
Andy
OK one thing at a time:
>Just yesterday, my friend moved five small goldfish out of her 20 gallon
tank and into a
>5 gallon tank. She filled 3/4 of the 5 gallon tank with water from the 20
gallon. She
>placed new, (from the pet shop) rinsed gravel into the 5 gallon tank.
That she used water from the old tank is good, provided it was OK to begin
with (no ammonia or nitrite, <10 ppm nitrate). The new gravel will require
4-6 weeks to become effectively bioactive. 5 fish in 5 gallons is too many.
If the fish are babes, say less than 3/4", they could be alright for a
while, but not very many months at the outside.
>The temp in the 20 gallon was 78 degrees.
>The temp in the 5 gallon is 72 degrees.
A 6 degree temperature change all at once is a shock.
>The 5 gallon tank has the same room lighting as the 20 gallon tank.
No problem
>She setup a Penguin Bio Wheel filter for the 5 gallon.
>We have a nice water flow going across the surface of the water.
Again, if the biowheel is new, it will require 4-6 weeks to become fully
bioactive. If so, your friend may be in for trouble as there are no
bacteria in the system to handle the wastes already being produced by the
five fish.
>She added Stress Coat accordingly.
FWIW
>Today, we have noticed that all five of the goldfish are huddled together
in the corner
>of the tank, close to the bottom. I have never seen or read about this
behavior. We
>can't understand what is going on. If one goldfish moves, it is only to get
into the
>center of this huddle.
If you (or your friend) regard this as abnormal behavior, then the fish are
stressed. They should adapt to the temperature soon, and their new
surroundings within a week or so. However, the problem of filtration is
something to be reckoned with and so is the overcrowding issue. In the
short run filtration is going to be the biggest problem. In the long run
the fish would be better off with more space. Tight conditions are not
healthy for goldfish.
One other note about huddling: My goldfish do this frequently, especially at
nap time. Often I will find a pearlscale sandwiched between a ryukin and an
oranda, the fantail perched on her tail next to them, etc. So they do this
sort of thing. They seem to want the companionship.
Regards,
--
/Andy
hola...@classik.msn.com
correct "classic" to reply
David Cunill
>Pet shop gravel is a bad idea. It brings in a whole bunch of new pathogens
>that your friend's goldfish are not used to in their 20-gal home. They can
>easily cause illness and even death.
>
I agree with everything else you said. But I don't understand this
one. Can you explain in more detail?
Thanks
Dave