Contrary to popular belief, goldfish do not belong in fishbowls!

Well, my tank's been up and running for 10 days now. I don't know how, but my ammonia remained very low, never reaching above the 0.25 mark! Great news for little Vinnie no doubt. At first i thought my tank is never going to cycle because aren't you suppose to see ammonia levels rising, which mine wasn't doing at all. Then, to my surprise, i tested the water again yesterday, using my API Mater Test Kit (awesome!) that i bought at this shop in Hillfox - Animal Kingdom. The results were as follows:
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0.25
PH = 7.8
Nitrate = 0
Notice the nitrite now rising and the ammonia zero - this means my tank is CYCLING heeehaaa . Don't know how i missed the ammonia spike or why, don't care either! :)

Gonna do a water change this weekend, for the first time, and then salt the tank for nitrite poisoning.

Test Kits

Whatever you do, don't buy test STRIPS. Useless! I paid a fortune for it and its not even accurate grrrr... Off tomorrow to get the drop test kits. Found a great link that allows you to keep an update of your water parameters, especially when cycling your tank. "It has alerts if your readings are toxic or dangerous and also has an overall comparison graph in addition to individual graphs for each of the tests, which could be useful for identifying trends. It updates automatically each time you enter data." Check it out at the bottom of my page under my Links tab. Oh, and here's a pic of my new tank..

You can actually see little Vinnie (Fantail Goldie) in the bottom right-hand corner.

This is the built-in filter.

If you're in the Johannesburg area, visit the Kenilworth Aquarium Centre. Mel phoned me on Thursday to let me know my fish tank is ready for collection. It took them 2 days to build! Tanks come with a 2 year guarantee + instructions. The service is excellent and well worth a visit.

The R.O. Water debate

Wasn't sure whether to go for tap water (which contains 0.1mm of nitrites - due to city water no doubt) or Reverse Osmosis water. Turns out i can use the tap water as long as i leave it out for 24hrs, use a water conditioner that gets rid of the nitrites, and perhaps salt it. Phew! having to carry all those bags of water from the car to the flat was not going to be pretty! If i go with RO, i will have to add minerals to the RO water as it has no minerals in it that the fish actually need! So, RO is great for drinking but not great for fishies, while tap water is good for fishies but not good for drinking .

Fish tank on order

Tank size: 915 x 325 x 600 mm

Goldfish Facts

Fishbowls are no-nos
Don't believe me? If you've ever had a goldfish in a fishbowl, ask yourself how long they lived before they died - 3 months tops? Now compare this to an average lifespan of 10+ years. The Guinness Book of World Records cites a goldfish named Tish who lived for 43 years after being won at a fair in England in 1956! mmm.. makes you think doesn't it.
Goldfish need oxygen! Without an airpump or surface movement this will not be possible in a fishbowl.
Goldfish are extremely messy, poop turns into ammonia which is very toxic to them, which in turn turns into nitrite, just as toxic.
Basically, your fish dies swimming around in its own waste, nice!

Give me space
Goldfish can get pretty big, they need space and lots of it. Atleast 37 litres (10 gallons) per fish or the water volume to fish ratio must be about 1cm fish per 1.5 litres of water.

Give me variety!
Goldfish are omnivours they need varied food. Pellets, shrimp, bloodworms, veggies are all good. Peas, oranges, kiwi, cucumber are all examples that can be fed to them.

Don't use a net
A net can damage or even rip-off scales, fins or eyes. Use a plastic container or shallow bowl instead to gently lift the fish from water. You can also use your hands, but be sure to wash it thoroughly with warm water and make sure no soap remains!

Getting ready..

My first blog and one of many to come as i prepare myself for my first fish tank arriving on saturday! Lets see..

1. read up about goldfish... check
2. order book from amazon.. check
3. buy water test kits.. must still do
4. read up some more about goldfish.. check
5. partner thinking i've gone off my rocker.. check
6. find post-its with scribbles of what to buy.. check

Phew! who new starting a new hobby could be this exciting.. i''m even having sleepless nights over this :)