# Trying to save my fish......popsticles oops



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

*Trying to save my fish......popsticles oops..NEW FISHES->Upgrade*

trying to rescue fishes :wave:

So I bought 10 fish from walmart last spring, I figured I want to see if I can keep fish so when I do my pond I will know what is going on, seems simple

Started with 10, the first couple that died I actually put them in snack bags in the freezer, you know the 30 day warranty :stars:

that didn't go over to good when wifey found them looking for steak :shock: :lol:

"why???....Why?...are there gold fish (feeders) in my freezer?"

"well, hun they have a warranty" :wahoo:

"WTH...they cost $.10"

"mmm...ugh...okay, that is kinda stupid hugh?"

:eyeroll:

So anyways, over the course of maybe 4 months like 18 died (yes I only bought 10, or that is what I told wally world employee, mr. I can't count")

well I had 4 very hardy fish the last 6 months, they were alive 1 week ago, remember 72* Christmas weekend?

The last 3 days have been single digits and highs in 20's, well the tube,fountain etc froze solid :shock::shock:

So I brought it in to see if their are survivors...if so I bought a 10 gallon tank today(on sale even) if they are KIA I will get some more tomorrow :stars:

*GRAPHIC WARNING*










slowly thawing out in the kitchen sitting on a dolly/cart...by the way...wifey isn't home yet....time to do dishes and start dinner before she sees it :woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Too funny!


----------



## billiejw89 (May 7, 2014)

lol that is funny


----------



## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

OK Bansil, Apparently, if you REALLY want to keep your little fishies outside year 'round, you need to buy the 50¢ ones instead of the 10¢ ones. YOu also need to live in a magical place where it doesn't get "too hot" or "too cold".

Here here are some links that will help you:

http://aquariadise.com/keeping-fancy-goldfish-in-ponds/

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=3975

and this article is on another topic entirely, but I included it because I find it hilarious to think of serving goldfish salads...

http://goldfish2care4.com/goldfish-feeding.html


----------



## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

Hmm. I accidentally posted twice. 

So I tried to delete this post. But I can't.

Need. More. Coffee.


----------



## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

:slapfloor: :ROFL: Too funny! Love reading your posts :lol: 

They may actually be alive, I have had goldfish in outdoor aquariums where the tank has frozen solid leaving only a hand size space of water encased in ice and they were fine. Colder water has the highest amount of oxygen, and below 50 degrees I think it is, their metabolism shuts off and they don't need to eat.


----------



## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

But anyways, do you have any test strips or testing solution to be checking your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels? Goldfish are very dirty fish and need frequent water changes and gravel cleanings with a siphon, filters need rinsed and they only need small amounts of food to keep them alive and keep the water parameters in hospitable conditions. An oxygen stone is a good idea for any type of fish in a tank or fake pond (you need an aquarium air pump, the tubing and stone). A heater for the tank is a good idea too, but remember, the higher the temp the faster they metabolize-- meaning they will be basically polluting the water faster.


----------



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

Well an update

Water is thawed and i found 2 of the fishes,:ZZZ:

They are about 1/2 way down










wife said"i am afraid you need new fish, they shouldn't be floating on their sides like that"

"Honey think of it like this, at least they are not floating on the surface,"

Every dead fish i have ever seen was a bloated,pale floater with cloudy eyes....
We will see

I picked one up, he isn't stiff, doesn't smell,and wiggles like a fish AND it's eyes are still clear (not cloudy)










(eyes are clear shiney black, the flash messed with them)

No gill movement though...i put him or her back in the water and it sunk 1/2way down...so i told her since water doesnt stink i will keep them in the kitchen another day or so, because coming out of hibernation or suspended animation could take more timeopcorn:

Shaking her head "whate ever.....you still need new fish" and she winked

So no test strips, actually had a small carbon ball filter, let nature work with parrot feather and hydrangea and some snails...

Next year the pond will be 4 feet deep and this wont be an issue

I may step up to the .50 goldfish this time.... [cue:Jefferson theme]

:stars:


----------



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

Last and final update

The have sadly gone via the porcelain god to a pond far far way








I dipped them out in their pond water and slowly warmed it to room temp over the course of 8 hrs...no change and unless they had possum blood or fainting goat somewhere in their DNA hex-a-thingy...to quote a smart doctor "their dead Jim...."
:sad:

So I have a small tank set and running in the kitchen, and will get some high dollar feeder fish on Friday, and start the viscous cycle again

:coffee2:


----------



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

Okay it was a busy weekend, I now have some brand new fishes :hi5:

I had tank setup and stuff, and I asked wife to stop by Wally world and get new fish for my enjoyment

"what kind, the $.01 feeders?"

"heck no CGW, I am talking an upgrade! I want 10 of the $.38 fish" :dance:

So I told her pick some of the pretty white and orange ones

She came home with my 10 fishes, a Sucker fish and a male Beta

I know, I know beta fish this and that...blagh...blagh...they really are hard to kill

"okay that's cool, why the sucker fish?"

"to keep the tank clean of algae and stuff"

Yes that is a reasonable answer, so we acclimatized them to the 68* water etc

Last night while sitting at the table enjoying a glass of Sangria (made on Saturday "the day of the fishes")

She said "I reckon he is hungry"

"ugh, who?"

"the sucker fish...I should of waited until there was stuff for him to eat"

"That's nice honey" (no, I did not say that:doh

"He will be fine there is some plant stuff in there"

I ordered a back ground, it should be here this week

With out further talking...


----------



## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

I used to have a big fish tank, and a sucker fish, one time I saw the sucker fish sucking the side of my angel fish, ya, that didn't go over well then I saw marks on the angels from him, then a couple of dead fish. He had grown pretty good size by then though. I also have about an 8000 gallon pond with koi, I live in Idaho and the winters are cold and snowy most of the time. As long as I keep an air pump going in the pond to keep it from freezing over, and don't have it overstocked with fish they do fine. However, when I had gold fish and koi the gold fish multiplied like CRAZYY and my pond became over populated, so next spring my pretty koi were all dead but the hundreds of gold fish very happy in the huge pond all to themselves. I had to drain the pond to remove all the gold fish, TWICE how they hid from me and survived living in the mud a few days before I refilled it I will never know, so drained it again then bleached what water we couldn't get out. Let that sit a few days then rinsed and drained a couple more times, now I have 14 large beautiful koi, and still have a few babies every year, but at least they are koi and not just a ton of little gold fish. Just my experience with gold fish in a large pond. I do however, love my pond and fish even though it is just one more thing I have to take care of.


----------



## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

I must say I enjoy reading your posts


----------



## just_plain_bob (May 4, 2013)

that plecostomus (sucker fish) will out grow that tank 
i'd love to have a pond 
my birds would like it more


----------



## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Your Pleco needs a lot more than just algae. They have a gizzard and must have wood the chew on to digest their food. He needs an algae pellet every other day and a Pleco pellet on the other days, increasing amounts as he grows. They are not easy fish and they get about 30 inches long :lol:


----------



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

We did algae tablet, although sadly the pleco only lasted 1 day, turned out all the ones they had in 1 tank died, so when they get another lot we will get another one and set up a smaller tank I have for him or her as quarantine

The other fishes seem fine, I pimped out their house with a background, that way they wouldn't see dirty dishes

I will take advice for pleco and run without, they seem like cool fish

Thanks ya'll for advice


Now to figure out where to start my next thread....the manufacture of dirt, stay tuned


----------



## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

This is why I don't buy fish from Walmart. You can order really nice breeder quality fish mail order from online stores.


----------



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

goathiker said:


> This is why I don't buy fish from Walmart. You can order really nice breeder quality fish mail order from online stores.


Very true, im not that into it i guess, i mean i love the idea of a chauffeur and all...so i bought a fancy hat and a tie arty:

I am a spur of the moment kind of guy, i will research, test, build double check....ie: the tank was setup and running for a week and a half....then it happened!!

Kind of like when the water breaks...IT IS GO TIME....now, not then, Now!

I wanted to see fish tonight:hammer: so i got fish, these guys will go in the pond outside this year, i like the having gish idea, cool yo look at...i just dont have time for fancy setups

My life goes family, goats, and Country...then fish and plants, reckon bird food can also be put in mix somewhere :thinking:

Wifey picked up a bowl for beta, it is going to work on Tuesday


----------



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

So it has been another week and I still have 9 fish...a record I believe, so to celebrate I have been busy pimpin' out their home opcorn:

Wife said they needed something other than a 20 year old Dana coffee cup to hide in......SO....off to the store, and another...holy carp :wink:

10 stores/Amazon/Walmart....nothing even looked good or fun especially with only a 10 gallon tank

So I found this ship!

wifey "here is a ship like you wanted"

"cool, it's a little big don't you think?"

"no it is the same space since it's hollow"

:thinking:

"okay, sounds good"

I brought it home, mixed up some un-chlorinated water and scrubbed it up, and rinsed it, then let it sit to get to room temp

I removed a bunch of rocks and left 1/4 of gravel for food to grow on.....and then "sunk" the ship :flag:

First to explore the ole girl was "One-eye-jack" (we got him with only one eye, gets around okay I reckon)

and....









water isn't cloudy...it was a week ago, I added a few more plant pcs and it is cleaning up nicely and we are close to an environment, tank is low in picture I took some water our for the whole "displacement" thing and hadn't added anymore back in before picture

the 2 mast pcs actually stick out of the water, like an old lagoon :stars:


----------



## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

Those are some spoiled fish


----------



## Greybird (May 14, 2014)

The progression of your fishy adventure makes me smile.  'Been there, and I can relate!

I have an unknown number of Walmart goldfish living in my lily pond. The last time I bought some was early last summer, when I happened to visit Walmart after they got a new shipment of feeder fish. They were still lively and there were some pretty ones so I ended up buying 10. 
I think most of them are still alive and they are already around 5-6" long. I don't know exactly what they're eating in the pond (I never feed them) but it must be some good stuff because they grow like crazy. (They also spawn every spring, which is why I don't know how many I have.)
I also have some smaller fish which I keep for mosquito control, since the goldfish focus mostly on plant material. The little guys are called rosy red minnows, although I have no idea why they're called that since they are yellow. 
They are prolific spawners too. I know that I started with 11 way back when I first stocked my pond, but I suspect that there must be hundreds of them by now.
My pond is a DIY job that I hand dug with a shovel many years ago, roughly kidney shaped, maybe 8x12 feet and about 2 1/2 feet deep at the max, and lined with a plastic liner. 
At first it was lined with a brown plastic tarp, (actually, a succession of many) but those start to leak after a year or two, and at long last I have a real liner. 
Now I'm thinking about waterfalls . . .


----------



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

It's fun, I have a bunch of DIY stuff for this year (always tinkering on something)

Need to finish spiral staircase on the bus
need to finish patio
need to make a pizza/bread oven on patio
need to dig a pond
need to work on my old FF18 tractor
need to make a loader and backhoe for above

lots of stuff

oh and probably more fence and chickens :lol:


----------



## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Um, did you put goldfish salt in for them? They need saline water.


----------



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

goathiker said:


> Um, did you put goldfish salt in for them? They need saline water.


:scratch:










Not sure if it is a cracker joke :shrug:










or referencing the very rare dead sea goldfish opcorn:










Using this chart below, apparently I am doing good :lol:

*
fish chart*


----------



## audrey (Jul 17, 2012)

Having raised freshwater fish for a LONG time, I will say its not unusual to put some aquarium salt in freshwater tanks. I would put anywhere from a half a teaspoon, to a tablespoon of aquarium salt into my tanks. It just helps keep away bacterial and fungal problems.


----------



## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Yeah, my fish have a bit more emotion than that and the ocean is way beyond saline.


----------



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

:flag:
Aquarium salt only? Or will pink sea salt work?


----------



## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Its best to get the sterile salt from the aquarium store. It isn't expensive and will last a long time even with water changes. I don't think I would get away with outside fish here, the raccoons would think it was a snack bar :lol:


----------



## Summersun (Apr 24, 2014)

I tried to put fish in my horse trough one time. Bought some bigger goldfish and they disappeared over a week time. So I caught some baby bass and perch. Yep they disappeared again. So I added a few more perch and watched. My horses were eating them! They would chase them around until they caught them and eat them. Oops! Lol


----------



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

Summersun said:


> I tried to put fish in my horse trough one time. Bought some bigger goldfish and they disappeared over a week time. So I caught some baby bass and perch. Yep they disappeared again. So I added a few more perch and watched. My horses were eating them! They would chase them around until they caught them and eat them. Oops! Lol


:-o

:slapfloor::slapfloor:

*CarnivorousEquidae* .....the rodeo will never be the same again

....coming fall 2016 :laugh:


----------



## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

whoa....they eat them


----------



## audrey (Jul 17, 2012)

I used to get my aquarium salt from walmart, they were like 1.25 for a little carton size bag, worked great  I used to raise fancy guppies, angle fish, and discus, so it will be fine for gold fish too. Def, stick with aquarium salt though.


----------



## glndg (Feb 8, 2013)

Here's a fun place to shop: www.aquabid.com
If you are really feeling impulsive, you can "Buy It Now." Unless the place is local, you'll have to wait for delivery though.


----------



## Bansil (Jul 23, 2015)

Thanks!


----------

