Help with new goldfish, it's all going wrong

[Booboostwo]

DD won two fish at her school bingo (preschool gambling is all the rage apparently) and we went to collect them today. As expected it was a con and we got fish worth 3 euros but paid 110 euros for their aquarium ( and two more friends).

The advice the shop gave us was a bit crap. They gave us water from their tank to put in ours but it was so little it barely covered the sand. So we had no choice but to add a lot of tap water which disturbed the sand and made the whole water very muddy - of course we have not put the fish in there yet!

We have a filter which is trying to clean the mess, a heater which is working and have put a chemical in to try to balance the water. We got really worried about leaving the fish in their bags so now they are in a contained with their original water, the contained itself is balanced inside the tank but not in contact with the muddy water. This way the container will remain reasonably warm we hope. Was that the bets thing to do?

We also placed a piece of cardboard partly over the container trying to hedge our bets between allowing oxygen and preventing the fish from jumping out. Was that a good idea?

Will the sandy water have settled by tomorrow? I am very disappointed in the rubbish advice we got. I've never owned fish before but I tried to follow the instructions.

Yeay what a great update.

... you know number 4 was probably napping.

Weekly I get a "Mum fish is dead" no dear it's sleeping mine sort of sits on the gravel not moving. Occasionally it floats up and it corrects itself and sits back down.

I've just had to order aquarium salt as my latest addition, my fighter has issues with his beautiful tail. I'm hoping as his water is pristine and hopefully it's been caught early it can be cured. I honestly think my dogs are easier to look after. Sigh

Fingers crossed for number 4. Did you order the 300L tank in the end?

They were both floating at the top of the tank and I panicked! DH went in later to retrieve them and one was (very clearly) dead and the other one was happily swimming around!

No, we have a spare large bathtub that stands by itself (if you see what I mean) and that is the default plan. The 54L tank should last this one fish for a little while now, no?

I have added a product that balances alkalines, which might help until I sort out the testers. I have a new tester but it is electronic and is missing a specialized battery. All other values on the paper testing kit are reading OK but I did a water change today anyway. I have also ordered a product that is supposed to add good bacteria to tanks, but it may be a con.

Your fish is so tiny I would think now there is only 1 that should be fine for a little while. Just see how quickly he grows.

If he stayed in a tiny tank there organs can stop growing it's a myth they grow to the size of the tank.

I went to a new friends recently and was horrified to see a goldfish in a small tank. Maybe 20L at the most. He was 18 years old. A common one they won at the fair.
It gets the tank water pored out and fresh out in every week or so they use no water conditioner. And yet some people do everything by the book and they don't last long.

Good job on doing a water change. A electronic water tester, wow sounds fancy.
No idea on the good bacteria solution but a very good Aquactics shop near me do recommended it. They are ethical and only sell to new customers if you provide a water sample.

Oh it's very fancy...it just doesn't work!
Hopefully the bacteria thingy will help, I have to wait for everything to come through the post though.
Wow what a great idea.

How is your little fish doing today?

Still here, still doing well.

She's very active and eating well. Water values still looking good, I keep testing twice a day!

I am going to get to grips with the gravel and plants now. Any obvious things to avoid/do? Will any kind of gravel (from a fish store I mean) be OK or are some better than others? I can't find any bogwood here so will have to look online.

Oh that's great news.

Any pet shop gravel will be fine. Just really down to what colour you prefer.

Just make sure you wash it really well before hand as it's really quite dusty.

I'm no help with the wood or plants. I did have a plant but big fat Goldie ate it so we have opted for plastic.

Perhaps Amazon or eBay. I was looking into real moss balls as they are so expensive in our stores and people sell them on eBay super cheap.

If my boys fins pull through I'm considering venturing over to real so I did have a little look on eBay.

I think if I was you I'd be on the local facebook group asking if anyone had a fish pond they could rehome the fish in. You could then stick the heater back in and get some little shrimp and small tropical fish that are actually much easier to keep alive and will be perfectly happy in a small tank

I may have found a decent shop 45 minutes drive away. Their website says they do water tests for you and they help you from setting up the water to getting the fish...all of which sounds promising.

greenhat I live in rural France. Some people in my village don't have internet, I don't think anyone's on a local FB group or on FB at all!

That sounds promising. If it's a specialist Aquactics shop they should sell absolutely everything you will ever need.

And of course they will be very knowledgeable. You may find your wood too

The fourth little fish died this morning. Thank you all for your help. I think I might take a break from fish it has been a really sad experience.

Ah no that's so sad.

You've got a nice size tank there and all the kit so if you feel ready another time you could have a lovely little tropical set up in it.

I was given four 15 year old goldfishes in a tank and after two years of getting fed up with cleaning it out I put them out in our pond- five years later they're doing very well!