Pet Forum / Aquaria / Goldfish / December 2003

I tried asking this on the rec.aquaria.freshwater newsgroup, but
nobody answered. I figured I'd ask it here too, because most of you
know more than just goldfish.
Anyway, I want to put a small (less than 10G) tank on my desk at

Are all Goldfish prone to be sick? I am beginning to think so. But that's
another subject.
Oranda was floating upside down. Put her in a shallow tank after a salt dip
and feed her some peas. Used the bucket to bucket method for a week. By the

Supposedly if you have "dead" sand substrate (with no bacteria in it) that
is calcareous-based and deep enough (3+ inches depending on grain size) it
will become "live" overtime with the bacteria needed break down nitrates
into harmless gasses.

One of my three goldfish has a habit of breaking the water surface with its
mouth, like its trying to find more food.  It usually does this right before
or right after feeding time, but sometimes it does it at random times.  Its
not a recent behavior its been doing this as long as ...

Just found out that I am fighting a losing battle here :-)
Tank has been setup for a few months now, all fish are fine and ammonia is 0
and PH is around 7-7.5.  Water looks clear when the tank lights are off, but
once they come on there is a kind of milky colour to the water.  This ...

I have a single goldfish that I keep in a approimate 1 gallon bowl. (I know
it is to small, but that is the best I can do for right now?) I change the
water every 3 or 4 days. Today after I emptied the bowl there was like a
scum around where the water line was. I tried to remove it ...

Okay, I've gone through 3 sets to tank lights in about 14 months, and I'm
getting tired to buying the buggers. They are in a regular, made for the
tank hood, so it isn't some weird setup. Is any brand of bulbs longer
lasting than others? Is this a common problem? Or are my fish ...

I have 17 fry - would they be ok in a 10 gallon tank with a
filter and air stone? Or best to leave them in a large tub?
Wondering if they'd be able to find food?

Outdoor pond is now at about 40degF, want to bring fish indoors.
How slowly (how many hours or days) should i take to warm them up?
I can keep indoor temp around 64degF. Should  i use icecubes in the water
to regulate/bring the temp up slowly to 64degF? How long?