What pets do you have

[Daniel]

I have no pets, and disagree strongly with vegetarianism.

how can you disagree with vegetarianism? It's their choice. It'd be like me disagreeing with you having a pint on a Friday night!

[Bezza]

how can you disagree with vegetarianism? It's their choice. It'd be like me disagreeing with you having a pint on a Friday night!

Just being ironic. Somebody at work was on their high horse today about them being a vegetarian and how they disagree with eating meat and how its all wrong with the "I'm holier than thou" attitude. Therefore, I told her that I disagree with vegetarianism which annoyed her. Job done. She shouldn't have brought it up in the first place

[Daniel]

Just being ironic. Somebody at work was on their high horse today about them being a vegetarian and how they disagree with eating meat and how its all wrong with the "I'm holier than thou" attitude. Therefore, I told her that I disagree with vegetarianism which annoyed her. Job done. She shouldn't have brought it up in the first place

Ah I get you

[Easy Drifter]

A tank will take several weeks to cycle naturally There are chemicals to speed up the process, 'Cycle' being one. Suggest you get your own test kit. The dip strips are easy to use. Do not clean your filter the same time you do a water change. That way you keep more of the good guy bacteria. I don't want to go into it here in depth but one bacteria breaks down the poisonous Ammonia into even more deadly Nitrite and another breaks that down into less toxic Nitrate. Note less. Nitrate builds up slowly and water changes dilute it. Adding water for evaporation is not a water change! Chemicals and other things (Nitrates) do not evaporate.
Do you know if your water is treated with Chlorine or Chloramine? Chlorine will break down if left standing overnight, especially if agitated. Chloramine will not and needs to be treated. Natural plants will reduce Nitrate as they use it as fertilizer but you would need a heavily planted tank which goldfish do not like except as salad, depending on the plant. The 'Fancies' like your's do not like a high current so that is what he is trying to avoid. Good observation.
Goldfish are a dirty fish and secrete a lot of waste (ammonia). An air pump and an airstone are a good idea I highly recommend. I do not like the toys. They tend to fail and many small air bubbles are better. It is surface agitation where almost all of the oxygen occurs not the bubbles but they create agitation. There used to be a couple of good UK magazines on keeping fish. Not sure if they are still around. Fancy Publications (US) did put out a good pond publication. Really Goldfish are happiest in a pond but certainly can be kept in an aquarium. You do not need a heater! They are a coldwater fish.
I do not recommend an undergravel filter. Once they clog up, and they will, you have to tear the whole tank down to clean them.
Like any pet, fish require care. For a 25 gallon one more goldfish would be the max. I would suggest and that is pushing it. No more for at least a month.
All fish treatments I have seen, including UK products base the dosage on a US gallon. Over here all tanks, including Cdn. made ones quote size in US gallons. Using litres might be a better way to go for using any treatments.
Keeping fish is really not difficult once you understand the practice.
OOOPS. I did not intend to go on like that.

[edv]

Our house
Is a very very very fine house
With 2 cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard....

Oh no, now I have to post another annoying song in the other thread.

[Mark]

No that is really useful. And it is 25 litres not gallons.

[Easy Drifter]

Ouch. That is really small for a fancy goldfish. I expect you will have to do 25 to 40% water changes weekly as it grows.
Goldfish eat a lot and poop a lot.
What type of fancy is it?
As an aside to all. Do not shop for fish on weekends, or if possible not in the evenings. At those times you get the part timers and all staff are really busy.
Mid week and mid day you get the full time people who know what they are doing, or should.
'Supermarket' (Wal Mart type stores) also do not have trained staff. The 'fish room manager' might have been in shoes or hardware last week.
Speaking from close to 20 years in the trade.

[Mark]

I think it is an oranda but not too sure. If all goes well in a year or so I hope to buy a bigger tank maybe 60 litres or so but space is an issue. Our tank is actually quite large compared to some they have on sale.

He is only little at the moment.

We are hoping to put a second fish in there and maybe a sucking loach but presumably you wouldn't recommend that?!

[Mark]

I have been thinking for a while now that 25 litres is going to be too small longer term. I do have my eye on a reasonably priced 64 litre tank (don't say I need bigger my house is just not that big!)

What's the recommended practice in switching tanks to make sure that we don't suffer from new tank symdrome for a second time.

Perhaps things such as using some water from the old tank in the new then when the fish is transferred keep using the filter from the old tank for a while?

[Easy Drifter]

Would not recommend loach. They like warmer water.
Yes use water from old tank and the uncleaned filter. Will help greatly.
A friend, who is a hobbyist has a rack of 20 x 180 gallon tanks. Then there is his two main tanks. 20,000 gallons and 55,000 gallons. Oh and he is paralyzed from the waist down.