dolphin

That’s a good point. I haven’t contacted them about this guy. Will do.

Temp: 71f Ammonia: 0 ppm Nitrite: 0 ppm Nitrate: 7-10 ppm pH: 8.2 I just noticed 2 small black spots and some black fin discoloration on my new baby Red Cap Oranda. He just arrived six days ago, so he’s very new, and I’ve been watching him carefully. I’m fairly certain I would have noticed these spots if they’d been there previously. I’ve read that black spots can appear for a number of reasons: 1) bruising, 2) ammonia burns, 3) external parasites. The fish were shipped to me overnight and were in transit less than 24 hours. Could this be discoloration appearing from ammonia burns or shipping trauma? He doesn’t seem to be scraping against objects or substrate, but I did notice him sort of “shimmying” this afternoon, which prompted me to post. Would appreciate any insights. Thanks in advance! —Juli

This forum topic is a great idea and thank you for giving me a place to record my re-entry to the hobby, and my first time keeping fancy goldfish! After 2 weeks of dumping Fritz 7 & Fritz “Fishless Fuel” into the tank, and futile attempts to get some live media from a local store or hobbyist, I ordered 2 active sponge filters from AngelsPlus.com. They did the trick and the tank parameters have been solid since. Added my new goldfish on Thursday with a plan to move 2 of them outdoors to a 70 gallon pond/water feature. Acclimated the little guys in their bags for 20 minutes and set them free. The little red cap Oranda was quickly dubbed Braveheart, because he jumped out of the bag and practically demanded food as though he’d lived here always. Next came the little red and white Oranda, named Wiley, because although he hid quite a bit, he has proven incredibly great at snagging all the food away from the bigger, slower Ranchus! I test the water neurotically 2x daily and the parameters have remained solid: 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, 5-10 nitrate, 8.2 ph, 70 degrees. I had a visit from my local fish tender to take a look at the fish and my setup. He noticed a couple of little “zits” on Marilyn, one of my Ranchus. I’m super fortunate to have an aquatic veterinarian in my area and made an appointment on June 2 to have an exam (she can’t come sooner). The seller, King Koi Goldfish, has been super responsive and attentive to my questions about this fish and reassuring that it’s most likely nothing to worry about. I hope it’s nothing, because I am already attached to all these little guys and frankly I can’t even imagine moving them outside! Also surfing CraigsList for a bigger tank. LOL. Today I did a very small 3 gallon water change just to get some of the obvious fish poop off the substrate. That didn’t even really drop the nitrates. I’ve already gotten embroiled in watching the “controversy” between an elderly PhD who advocates anoxic plenum filtration. I remember my first aquarium had an under gravel filter when I was a teenager… things most likely have advanced a bit since then. But it’s all an interesting chance to learn.

Oh I have a lid!! It’s just low profile!

That’s a great suggestion! How do you handle ammonia out of the tap on a long term basis???

I was being neurotic! Tested the tap water & compared this morning’s ammonia reading & the colors are indistinguishable. 😅 Everybody is still doing great & seemingly shaking off the transport stress. These little guys are a joy!

It turns out that it’s zero ammonia… I was just being neurotic!! I tested my water out of the tap & compared with this morning’s ammonia results & they were indistinguishable. Whew!! Ph 8.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10, temp 70 f yahoo!!

Thank you for your response.

Would appreciate some advice from experienced keepers. I have a new 40 gal. breeder set up that I used a combination of Fritz 7, Fritz Fishless Fuel (Ammonia) and eventually some active sponge filters from Angelsplus.com to cycle. My goldfish arrived yesterday from King Koi and they appear to be doing great (2 baby Ranchus & 2 baby Orandas). I have some moss, a water sprite and a small crinum calamistratum in the tank as well. The substrate is sand. The water parameters before the fish arrived 24 hours ago: Ph 8.2, Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 10 ppm, 70 degrees f The water parameters this morning: Ph 8.2, Ammonia 0-.25 ppm (can't really tell but it looks like maybe a tinge of greenish), Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 10-12 ppm, 70 degrees f It's hard for me to discern if there's a green twinge, but it seems it could be heading in that direction. Is this to be expected with the increased bio load? Does an increase portend an Ammonia spike? How much Ammonia constitutes a spike? I know it is very important to keep Ammonia & Nitrite at zero, and I have also read a bit this morning about calculating unionized Ammonia versus the raw Ammonia result produced by the test kit. I test the tank daily because I really don't want my fish to suffer any ill effects. Thanks in advance! --Juli

So far so good, day 2... I am having a problem interpreting the Ammonia reading results on my API Master Freshwater test kit. There must be some amount of Ammonia because I'm having difficulty discerning whether it's pure yellow or the merest tinge of light green. Hopefully I'm just neurotic.😱 Would an increase from 0 to < .25 ppm constitute a spike? I'm resisting the temptation to feed them as much as they are begging me to do... this morning Duckweed was on the menu, along with a scant amount of tank-water soaked Hikari pellets. I will say, the Orandas seem far smarter than the Ranchus... Here are some more pics.

I’m so glad I found AC! I’ve been planning to add goldfish to my small pond for several months. Started getting pump, heater, thermometer, filtration, etc. and realized because the water volume is only 70 gal., the temperature swings are going to need to be controlled before my fish will be happy there. So I bought a 40 gallon breeder, cycled it, and 2 baby Orandas and 2 baby Ranchus arrived today! (I know the tank is too small for all four fish and will be transitioning them outdoors when the temperature issue is sorted.) Meantime, I wanted to share my gratitude for the hours of videos, blog posts and knowledge I’ve gained from lurking on the forum and the site. I’m really excited about getting back into the hobby after many years. The fish all seem healthy and settling in really well. Fingers crossed it stays that way! Any advice is appreciated and welcomed. Here are pictures of the little cuties!