I'm house sitting for my family and my dad tends to half-ass things a lot. I've been reading up on tank maintenance and so forth but I don't have many options in terms of nitrates, nitrites, aeration, etc. As you can see the fish has an infection on its tail which I think is viral, and the tank is dirty too. In general it seems like the water quality is pretty bad.
I only recently realised that the filter is supposed to run continuously without stopping. I turned it on and after a few minutes or so an eggy sulfur smell comes from the water. Apparently this means bad bacteria was allowed to build up in the filter and was released. So I've turned off the filter again but I'm concerned that turning it back on again will fill the water with methane or sulfur dioxide and kill the fish. It goes up to the surface to gasp for air a lot, I think.
I'm assuming I have to clean the tank and clean the filter? After I clean everything, what should I do? Or should I run the filter, and I'm reading something wrong about the situation? Sorry if this seems like common sense but I just don't want to do something wrong and kill the fish.
Posted by maltesereater
3 Comments
How long has the fish been in this tank?
i’m no expert but i’d say probably move the fish out temporarily, drain the tank and maybe get a new filter. then do a fish-in cycle. (if this is wrong please correct me, again i’m not 100% an expert)
I’d personally try to find someone local who has a pond with goldfish and would be willing to take this one. its a gorgeous fish.
In the short term, I’d take some tank water in a bucket and give the whole filter media and internal parts a really good rinse and then run out to buy a second canister filter (goes on the floor) rated for at least 40 gallons. A fish this size really needs to be in a pond or by itself in a massive aquarium.