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Original poster

Is it true that I have to keep the filter on all night in my aquarium?

24 replies

RacingSnake · 15/04/2010 22:34

Title says it all, really. I was turning the light and filter off at night, then friend told me that this will make the fish ill. There is no 'off' option for the light, only bright white or very dim blue, and the filter is quite noisy. Also will use lots of electricity.

OP posts:

thisisyesterday · 15/04/2010 22:39

you should keep the filter on yes, most have switches for the light though. i would turn yours to the dimmer setting

MumInBeds · 15/04/2010 22:41

I'm not sure what the 'rules' are but we turn off the light but leave the filter on.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 15/04/2010 22:42

we put light on a timer switch. filter on all time.

Original poster

RacingSnake · 16/04/2010 06:39

Although for years I had goldfish in a tank with no filter at all?

OP posts:

sweetnitanitro · 16/04/2010 11:59

Yep, you have to leave the filter on all the time because the good bacteria are aerobic so they need a constant flow of water. The only time you should turn it off is when you are cleaning it (in water from the tank, never tap water) and then you should minimise how long it is off for.

What sort of filter is it? There are ways to reduce the noise.

Original poster

RacingSnake · 16/04/2010 19:14

Don't actually know what kind it is [stupid emoticon]. It sort of sucks water in at the bottom of a black tube and drops it into a compartment at the top of the tank full of a sort of sponge. Water all lands at near end of sponge which is now black, while the rest of the filter is barely dampened.

OP posts:

sweetnitanitro · 17/04/2010 05:46

Hmm, it sounds like it's not working properly. Has it got a brand name anywhere on it then I might be able to figure out what it is.

Original poster

RacingSnake · 17/04/2010 21:03

Not sure what it is - it came as part of a set of a 'Betta' aquarium. Have now bought a goldfish, which is lurking about behind the tube of the filter. Apparently I should wait 4 weeks before adding another one.

OP posts:

sweetnitanitro · 19/04/2010 10:27

Is it the betta lifespace one? They have trickle filters so there's not much you can do to stop the noise unfortunately! They are also not very efficient filters so they probably won't cope with goldfish poo. How big is the tank? Goldfish get very very large (they don't grow to the size of the tank).

How long had it been set up before you put in the goldfish?

Original poster

RacingSnake · 20/04/2010 21:11

I know it is Betta, don't know about the Lifespace bit. It is a 100L tank, so not at all the smallest.

Noise isn't a problem when you get used to it.

It had been set up for two weeks before introducing one tiny goldfish, who looks rather lonely and is very nervous.

Before we had two goldfish in a smaller tank with no filter and they appeared very well until I put some snails in from a friend's pond to help keep down the algae. They seemed fine for 4-5 years. Can't believe that it is so complicated this time!

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sweetnitanitro · 20/04/2010 23:30

It's always been complicated, just that now we have the technology and information available goldfish live for about 20 years and grow to about 8-10 inches so they need a huge tank long term.

It's hard to believe but even 100 litres isn't big enough, you'd need double that just for a pair of common goldfish. The common ones are really bred to be kept in ponds but they still sell them as indoor fish because of tradition. Fancy goldfish (the fat round ones with long fins) can only be kept indoors and are slightly smaller but only by an inch or so.

Here's a couple of links that might help you out-

Goldfish care

Water and filter info

Original poster

RacingSnake · 21/04/2010 18:32

So what should I keep in a cold water indoor tank? The aqua shop told me that common gold fish are the toughest thing I could get and that the fancy ones are much more fragile and inclined to die. Would just like a few fish to look at/feed.

I take it that it would be totally irresponsible to keep some little gold fish and put them in the outside gold fish pond at work when they get too big? (There are hundreds there.)

OP posts:

sweetnitanitro · 21/04/2010 20:28

No, it's fine to put them in a pond when they are bigger, lots of people do. As long as they are not fancy goldfish, you've got permission from the pond owner and the pond is suitable then it's fine.

If you've not the space for a 4 feet long tank that fancies would need (they are fragile so they are inclined to die when not kept in the right conditions) then white cloud mountain minnows are your best option for a cold water tank. They are pretty, small and easy to care for. Or you could get a heater and go tropical, there are more fish to choose from and they aren't more difficult to look after than cold water fish as long as you choose the right ones. I wouldn't ask at your local aquatic shop though, doesn't sound like they know what they're on about.

Original poster

RacingSnake · 21/04/2010 22:03

Have googled the minnows. Quite pretty, but I do like gold fish. However, the responsibility of knowing that they can live for 20 years and get tame enough to feed from your hand ...

So, I could, after 3-4 weeks, add a couple more little gold fish (under 2 inches) and then let them go in a couple of years and get some new ones, or change to these little minnows, or go tropical? Would be worried about power cuts and/or heater accidentally getting turned off.

OP posts:

sweetnitanitro · 21/04/2010 22:12

I wouldn't add any more goldfish, they grow quite quickly and it's hard to tell if they are getting stunted. They won't outgrow the tank, this is where the myth comes from that the only grow to the size of the tank. It's sort of like that foot-binding thing they used to do in China hundreds of years ago- the fish stay small but they end up all deformed and unhealthy. It's better to move them over to the pond sooner rather than later. This is a good time of year to do it with the weather warming up.

Heaters for tropical tanks are pretty reliable these days, I've never had a problem. The only thing to worry about is your electricity bill, it can be expensive to heat a tank. There is a species of tropical fish called a golden barb that look very like goldfish but stay small. You'd need to test your water to see if it was suitable first though.

Original poster

RacingSnake · 21/04/2010 22:34

Perhaps it had better be minnows, then!

OP posts:

sweetnitanitro · 21/04/2010 22:43

They are cute, I'm hoping to get some myself in a few weeks. You'll need to keep them in a shoal of 6+, you could keep around 10 in a tank the size you have. They are likely to breed as well so you may end up with a couple extra

Original poster

RacingSnake · 22/04/2010 07:05

Can you add a whole shoal at once? The aqua shop told me to add one fish every 4 weeks.

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sweetnitanitro · 22/04/2010 14:04

No, if you do a fishless cycle (and you should!) then you can add the whole shoal at once. If you had a bigger tank and you wanted more than one kind of fish you would add them a shoal at a time. It will take about 6 weeks to do a fishless cycle and you shouldn't add any fish during that time. The shop may try and sell you something to speed up the cycle but they are all crap and none of them work so save your money!

A fishless cycle is simple to do, all you need is a water test kit. You just add a bit of fish food to the tank every day (you could tell the DCs you are feeding imaginary fish) and the filter will mature so that it will cope with fish without endangering them with high ammonia levels. This water test kit is good and the Hagen/nutrafin one is good too. The dipstick ones are less accurate but less messy and quicker.

The second link I posted earlier explains it all in more detail,.

Original poster

RacingSnake · 22/04/2010 19:36

Can I not keep my one tiny goldfish to sort of cycle the tank for four weeks and then get some minnows and find him a home in a pond? I DD can't wait 6 weeks for fish!!

OP posts:

sweetnitanitro · 22/04/2010 20:43

Yeah, you could do that but since the tank wasn't cycled in the first place you'll have to keep a close eye on the water levels to make sure you're not exposing him to ammonia and nitrIte levels that could make him ill or kill him. That's fish keeping I'm afraid! Lots of waiting and testing water.

Original poster

RacingSnake · 22/04/2010 21:58

I shall definitely get some testing kit.

I did wait two weeks before getting Little Fish, one week more than suggested by shop, putting in live plants, water butt water and a flake or two of fish food.

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sweetnitanitro · 23/04/2010 09:10

Sorry, I don't mean to sound like I'm telling you off it's not your fault the fish shop misinformed you, it's perfectly reasonable to expect them to know what they're talking about but unfortunately they don't always know (or care). Keeping fish has changed a lot since the internet came along, there's a lot more info available now but most shops seem a bit stuck in the past! There are loads of good websites to get info from if you want to back up what the people in the shop tell you.

Original poster

RacingSnake · 23/04/2010 11:44

I will certainly need to do some more research and buy a testing kit. Feel sorry for my little fish - as soon as I turn the 'day' light on in the morning, he goes and hides behind the filter for the day! A shoal of happy little minnows sounds like a much better option. Bit worried that bigger goldfish will eat him out in the pond, though!

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