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I have read alot of goldfish but still didnt get something so plzi f some can help me. I have 3 baby goldfish in a 10 gal tank. What i want to know is.

Do they need table salt because i read on a site they want and on the other site no.
Do i need to put them a heater in winter. The temperature becomes like 10 degrees celcius in the night and 15 degree celcius in the morning maybe higher. So do i need a heater.


Hanks For Your Help?

DO NOT USE TABLE SALT! Buy some aquarium salt. Table salt sometimes has other additives that can harm your fish. These fish will out grow this tank very quickly. Goldfish are very messy fish and they usually recommend at least 20 gallons per fish. The temperature is a little too cold for them. They thrive in 15-18 celsius water. You want to provide them with a somewhat constant temperature. The change is not too drastic but if you can even it out with a small heater to about 17 celsius, that would be good.

Paul far from repeating my self that tank is far to small for them.

Get a larger tank, heater and set it very low during the colder months.

Salt why are you wanting to use it? Table salt is a big NONO.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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Yes Paul, you need a heater & a bigger tank with good filtration. GF get much bigger & don't need any salt, but if you are going to use Salt, go with sea water salt.


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Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

Whether you add a heater and salt or not those fish aren't going to live that long. Goldfish are large messy fish and 3 will require a 55g at least if they are to survive anywhere near their natural lifespan. A full grown goldfish of even the fancy varieties will not physically fit in a 10g much less survive in one. You need to either return them or buy a bigger tank.

Salt is not needed at all and iodized table salt is considered bad by most. Some say it doesn't matter but generally it's not recommended. Rock salt and salt sold specifically for aquariums can be used but you have no reason to. Goldfish can withstand salt but do not require it.

A heater is not absolutely necessary but would help stabilize the temperature. Those fish will be stressed enough in such a small tank. Changes in temperature will not help and could contribute to illnesses. Don't turn it too high though since goldfish really do prefer a cooler tank.

Hi,
With everyone telling you that you don't need salt in the
water, I'll tell you why...

Some folks add salt to the water, in very very small
amounts, for three basic reasons. One is to enrich the
fishes colors, another is because they need salt to
survive, and lastly as a prophylactic to help prevent
the parasite, Ich, from infesting the fish.

Salt causes stress to "regular" fish, in that it causes
their metabolism to increase.
With that increased metabolism, they produce more "slime"
at a faster rate. The school of thought is that the Ich
parasite won't be able to attach itself to the fish,
because the increased slime production will wash the
parasite off the fish's body before it gets a chance
to anchor itself to the fish.

It increases some colors in some fish. Salt can intensify
the colors in some fish, again by stress, and increasing
stress in anything can shorten their lives or make them
vulnerable to other ailments.

Lastly, some fish such as mollies actually require salt
in their water as they are brackish water fish and come
from bodies of water that are fresh but border bodies
of saltwater and these fish thrive in the area were the
two different types of water mix.

Goldfish do not require salt.

If you choose to add salt, don't use iodized salt as
very small amounts of iodine can be toxic to freshwater
fish. If you choose to add salt, remember that salt does
NOT evaporate and do not add any salt to the water that
you use to top off a tank for evaporation. Only add
additional salt to the replacement water when YOU remove
water during the weekly tank maintenance (water changes).

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Time for me to wheel this piece out again ...

Freshwater fishes fall into two categories from the point of view of osmoregulation. Primary freshwater fishes are fishes that have had exclusively freshwater evolutionary ancestors for a VERY long time - all the way back to the Devonian era in some instances. ALL of the Ostariophysans (fishes that possess a Weberian apparatus as part of their anatomy) fall into this category - Characins and allies, Cyprinids (e.g., your goldfish), the Loaches, and almost all Catfishes (with the exception of two Families, the Ariidae and the Ictaluridae, which possess members that have recently evolved to move into brackish water, and of course the exclusively marine Plotosidae). Primary freshwater fishes should NEVER be exposed to salt, as they have never evolved the osmoregulatory machinery to cope. The ONLY time I would put such fishes into contact with salt is if they were terminal cases, and I was using a salt bath as a last resort on the basis that whatever disease was afflicting them was going to kill them anyway if I did nothing. Under NO circumnstances would I expose primary freshwater fishes to salt on a continuous basis.

Next, there are the secondary freshwater fishes. These fishes had marine ancestors in fairly recent geological time (e.g., the Eocene era) and so still possess the ability to osmoregulate in mildly brackish waters. Cichlids are the classic example: they share with the marine Damselfishes a common evolutionary ancestor, as revealed by the VERY close anatomical match between fishes of these Families, and indeed the Asian Cichlids of the Genus Etroplus prefer brackish water in the wild and in the aquarium. Other secondary freshwater fishes include the Killies (some of the North American species are indeed brackish fishes in the wild), the Poeciliid livebearers (again several are brackish fishes in the wild, and the Velifera Molly is fully euryhaline), the Monos (euryhaline), the Scats (euryhaline), and two Families of Gobies (which contain within them both freshwater and marine species - the Bumblebee Goby, for example, is preferentially a brackish water fish). Puffers also fall into the category of secondary freshwater fishes, as the Tetraodontidae contains both exclusively freshwater fishes such as Carinotetraodon travanicorus, brackish fishes such as Tetraodon nigroviridis (which eventually migrates to a fully marine environment as an adult) and exclusively marine fishes such as the Arothron and Canthigaster species.

Most of the fish fauna of the Amazonian region, for example, consists of primary freshwater fishes. Characins, Catfishes, the assorted odd Families such as the Arowanas and the various Knife Fishes, all of these are primary freshwater fishes and should NEVER be exposed to salt in the aquarium - it's a very good way of killing them off. Even among the Cichlid fauna of the Amazon, some fishes such as Discus will not be happy if placed in salt. Likewise, African Characins and Catfishes from outside the Rift Lakes, Asian fishes such as Loaches, and ALL Danios, Rasboras, Barbs etc should be kept in proper fresh water with NO salt added.

So, on the basis of the above, do NOT put Goldfishes in water containing salt.



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Paul
There is some excellent infomation given here for you, some of it may seem difficult to understand. What I am asking you is to copy and print this all out for any future reference you may require also please ask ask as many questions about what has been explained to you if you are confused or do not understand what has been put into these replies.

It is totally useless asking a question and then given all the correct infomation and not listening and acting upon what has been said especially for you.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW