Things You'll Need:
- 2-1/2 gallon fish tank with light, pump and filter
- 2-3/4 gallon water
- 3 or 5 gallon bucket
- collander or strainer to rinse tank decorations and rocks
- 3 (max) gold fish (don't get these yet though..)
- 1 - 5lb bag of tank rocks
- tank decoration(s)
- new fish tank kit (ask for it at the pet store) will include tank conditioner, and "Cycle" nitrifiers.
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Step 1
First, thoroughly clean your new tank with warm water and mild detergent. Vigorously rinse twice to make sure there is no soap residue in tank.
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Step 2
Pour rocks into collander, thoroughly rinse tank rocks in the sink (twice) before adding to tank. Place rocks in the bottom of the (still)empty tank.
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Step 3
You need to rinse any tank decorations you have purchased for your tank as well. Make sure you rub all the edges, to make sure all manufacturing/packaging residue is off. Place the decorations on/among the rocks in the tank. DO NOT ADD WATER YET!
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Step 4
Fill a clean bucket with 2 3/4 gal of water, and tank conditioner. Follow the directions on the bottle, as each brand may have different concentration. Let this water sit for 24 hours.
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Step 5
After 24 hours, you can add the pre-conidtioned water to the fish tank. Once the water is in the tank, turn on the pump/filter and add nitrifier to the water. This will need to sit in your tank, preparing the water to host fish. You should wait 7 days before adding fish to this tank. In 7 days, the nitrifiers will enhance the water for your fish, and help prevent fish loss. Waiting 7 days will also allow the water in your tank to reach a constant temperature.
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Step 6
Now it's time for the fun part! Go buy some goldfish! You can add no more than 3 goldfish to this tank, fish need about 1 gal per "inch of fish".
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Step 7
When you get the fish home (usually in a plastic baggie) put the entire (sealed)bag into the fish tank. This will acclimate the fish to his/her new envirionment, and to the new tank's temperature. After about an hour, you can let the fish out of the baggie.
Comments
xxzalexx said
on 5/2/2008 The larger the tank the easier it is to maintain and it is less likely to suffer from sudden (often fatal) ammonia spikes.
Also using double the recomended amount of filtration (a filter rated for a 40 gal tank in a 20 gal or running two 20 gal size filters) makes keeping goldfish much easier.
Seick said
on 3/13/2008 I had a common goldfish and kept it in a very small tank. Perhaps 3 gallon? But it really wasn't too big. It was about 11x6 and about that tall aswell. The fish was completely healthy and happy. Goldfish really aren't complicated. As long as you pay attention to it and give it fresh water often, it'll be fine. What's interesting though, is that people always say fish are boring but my goldfish was really interactive. You can't pet it or call it, but the fish is always doing something interesting. My point was, though, that a goldfish won't die because it's in a small tank. It just won't live as long as it can. The name "zombiefetus" really makes me want to believe you too, by the way. [that was sarcasm if you didn't catch it.]
zombiefetus said
on 12/19/2007 Goldfish need 20gallons of space for the first fish and 10gallons for every fish added after that. They are very messy and very large fish. Putting a goldfish in a small tank like this will kill it.
KatieTheJRT said
on 4/14/2007 This works! Thx!~!