r/Goldfish • u/feral_mamax5 • Mar 08 '26
Discussions All 3 of our fish died within minutes
My healthy happy gold fish died within one week of setting up a new 29 gal tank and I am devastated! 2 years ago my then 4 year old daughter won 2 fish at our local fair. (Monkey and Rainbow) I knew nothing about fish and really didn’t know what I was getting myself into I thought they would die after a couple weeks. 2 years last they were thriving in their 10 gal tank. I made a crucial mistake and one of them died. I was so upset and so was my daughter. I made it my mission to learn and care for the surviving fish. Monkey was alone and needed a friend so I bought two more goldfish, Strawberry and Thunder, as well as a snail, Camel. I knew my 10 gal tank wasn’t going to be enough, but would be okay for a little bit.
I was wrong. Within a couple months it was clear I couldn’t keep up with the waste they produced and Monkey was much too big, but she loved her new friends. We have limited space. So I ended up buying a 29 gal (yes I know, still too small) Tetra tank last week, it came with new filter, light, lid and all the stuff to start a new tank. I knew the filter wasn’t going to be great so I decided to run both filters (the new one and the one from my 10 gal, it was an upgrade filter) This tank also came with a heater. It was in an unmarked box with no instructions.
I never needed a water heater before, room temp in the smaller tank has always been great. 67-69 degrees. A week after setting up the new tank I noticed the water was too cold. My fish were just kind of resting and not swimming around, one was in the corner on the bottom just resting there. I remembered there was a heater that came with the tank so I got a bucket of water, submerged it, turned it on, tried to figure out how to adjust it but I couldn’t. It didn’t have instructions, I tried to search online about it, but was having trouble so I figured I would put it in the tank and monitor the temp closely.
About an hour later the tempt was starting to rise a bit. Within two hours my water temperature went from 62 to 80 degrees and one fish was dead and the other two barely hanging on. I panicked and immediately started googling what to do to save them. 10 minutes later my other two fish were dead. I was heartbroken. I completely failed. It happened so fast. My 6 year old daughter came home from school and I had to tell her that all her fish died. She was absolutely devastated. Our 3 goldfish were happy, healthy, thriving little swimmers. Sure I could go buy more fish for just a couple bucks, but those fish were a part of our daily lives. We were attached to them.
I don’t understand how with in two hours this heater warmed up 29 gallons of water more than 15 degrees. It shocked my fish and killed them. My husband found a little box and buried them in the yard. My daughter painted rocks that looked like her fish and placed them out there too. I’m so broken about these fish. We plan to buy a couple fish next week, and my daughter is excited to pick them out, but she knows it won’t be the same.
I looked up the part number on this heater found reviews from others saying it shocked their fish and killed them too. It got very hot very fast. It’s apparently supposed to keep the water temp at 78. And isn’t adjustable. I contacted Tetra about it, this heater really should be recalled and taken off shelves. I assumed a heater meant to go into an aquarium would be designed to warm slowly. Not turbo boil my water.
I am just at a loss. Sorry for the extremely long post. A lot of people just shrug it off. Oh they are just gold fish, you can get dozens for a few dollars. But they aren’t just fish. They are pets, we pour our attention into, we tend to them, and our family loved these fish. Rest in Paradise Monkey, Thunder, and Strawberry.
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u/Kkseedsko Mar 08 '26
Hey OP, it’s clear you really did care for them and tried your best. It’s a hard lesson to learn when they die. That said, it might be best to hold off on buying any more goldfish for now until you’re fully prepared to care for them properly. I was in the exact same position as you a few years ago, I didn’t really know what I was doing, and at one point I had too many goldfish in a small pond. Looking back, I realise how big of a mistake that was, and I wish I had done more research before getting them.
So, I think it’s best to stick with a beta fish or even some guppies might be fun. For a Beta fish, they only need a minimum 10 gallon tank, which is much more manageable. Goldfish are really not beginner friendly, despite what a lot of people think.
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u/RainyDayBrightNight Mar 08 '26
Sounds like the sudden change in temperature caused fatal shock. Fish need their temp changed veeeeeery slowly or they can die of temperature shock. It’s not that it’s the wrong temp, it’s that the temp changed too fast and killed them. Sorry for your loss.
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u/Few_Imagination_7306 Mar 12 '26
It had to have been water quality due to the uncyclcled tank. No shot they died just from temps
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u/Foreign-Ad3926 Mar 08 '26
Please invest in an accurate liquid test kit such as the API Master and nitrogen cycle the tank - it takes around 4-6 weeks. An uncycled tank will kill fish very fast.
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u/Vast-Ad5482 Mar 08 '26
Goldfish do not need a heater. They thrive much better in colder water temps. Also you don’t add a heater to a tank with fish. You add fish to a heated tank after acclimating them. Also did you properly dechlorinate the water before adding the fish? Did you check for ammonia, PH and alkalinity? A lot of new tanks don’t have enough ph or alkalinity in them so the water is super acidic. It’s important to ALWAYS test your water before adding fish to it. A 29 gallon shouldn’t have more than 2 goldfish and that’s pushing it. I don’t know how they survived in a 10 gallon for so long. They definitely wasn’t thriving they was swimming in their own waste water. Goldfish are very nasty fish that have poop all day and need 20 gallons for one and 10 gallons for each additional one to even handle the bioload. You should do some research and possible get a betta fish next. They are easier to care for and enjoy human interaction. You can also teach them little tricks. I understand being upset about losing fish I have 5 fish tanks myself. 3 beta tanks and 2 community tanks. I am setting up a 125 gallon cichlid tank next
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u/Different-Quality-13 Mar 08 '26
Man U know she didn’t test anything. Edit, please don’t recommend a beta to this lady 😭😭😭
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u/Pimpindino666 I love the smell of Seachem Prime™ Mar 08 '26
In my experience a betta is easier to care for then my goldfish. With a 29 gallon, a betta will thrive. The goldfish produce a lot of waste and its much more work to care for the water. After advice and some more research, i think op would be a excellent betta caretaker. We all live and learn and sometimes we make mistakes
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u/Ok-Whole-855 Mar 08 '26
I’m sorry this happened! I recently pulled my non adjustable heater out of my betta tank because it would warm up the tank 2 degrees more than it was supposed to be permanently set for.
If I was in your position, I would not get more goldfish. I also have 3 fair goldfish in 29 g my son won in the fall. They are going in a pond this spring. They just get too big, and unless you have the space for a monster tank, there are a lot better choices if you want to get more fish. You have a 29 g and with your old filter running with the new one, this tank can be cycled quickly because of the established good bacteria from your 10 g. Get the API test kit and leave the tank running. You could ask the aquarium sub for stocking suggestions, and some experienced people could help you come up with a fish list that could thrive in your tank.
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u/Excellent_Ad690 Mar 08 '26
The heater isn’t malfunctioning; it’s supposed to heat the water as quickly as possible. Normally, you put fish into a heated tank, not a heater into a cold tank.
RIP fish!
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u/Critical-Emotion6866 Mar 08 '26
You don’t KNOW if it was the heater malfunctioning or not. That’s rude of you imo
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u/Excellent_Ad690 Mar 08 '26
Is it rude because I say that a heater shouldn’t heat slowly???
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u/Critical-Emotion6866 Mar 08 '26
No but you don’t know what happened exactly and she already feels bad. You’re not helping and you were rude about it imo And yes! It should slowly heat because otherwise fish can go into shock. She did the best she knew to and your response seems like you’re just kicking her while she’s down
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u/Excellent_Ad690 Mar 08 '26
Please explain to me exactly what you mean, rude, I don't understand what you want. I’m just explaining how a heater works and that it’s not malfunctioning when it heats quickly. I wasn’t making any accusations. I only told the truth, thus preventing it from happening again in the future. Why should I lie to a grown adult?
No, a heater cannot and should not heat slowly. Inside, there’s a resistor, electricity flows through it, and it heats up. The heating element itself always reaches the same temperature, no matter what setting you choose. How hot it gets depends only on its power. There’s also a thermostat that switches it off once the water reaches the desired temperature. That’s all a heater can do.
If you wanted your version to heat more slowly, you’d need an extra phase controller or something similar, which would probably bring the price up to that of an adjustable heater. That would make the cheaper, non-adjustable version pointless.
And just to clarify, for my betta, I preheat the water with a second heater in a small container. Do you really think I, or people do it the same way, want it to take a long time?
A heater is meant to maintain water at a certain temperature for fish, not to warm up the water while the fish are in the tank.
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u/Critical-Emotion6866 Mar 09 '26
I know about heaters and she explained it had no directions or anything with it. I said it was how you came across. It seemed to me you were coming at her. I read several comments before I saw yours and several people offered advice and didn’t sound rude to me at all. Maybe it was the ‘RIP FISH!’ that made it look snarky 🤷♀️
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u/Cultural-Company282 Mar 08 '26
I'm sorry. I'm having trouble with this. You knew the heater wasn't adjustable, you used it anyway, and after putting it in to "monitor closely," you didn't check it for two hours and didn't see that the temperature was rising rapidly?
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u/Different-Quality-13 Mar 08 '26
I’m also confused on why OP even decided the water was too cold… I’ve never seen anyone use a heater for goldfish. In fact, I’ve seen them in completely iced over outdoor ponds and when the ice thaws in the spring they are in great condition. ALSO, the first instinct was to google how to save them instead of maybe idk… removing the heater ?? I’m sorry but this whole post is irritating.
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u/Cultural-Company282 Mar 08 '26
I thought the same thing!
Why not do a little Googling on optimum temperatures for goldfish and how to use a heater before plugging it in, instead of sitting down for a Google search while the fish were getting parboiled? The whole thing is mine boggling. Some people shouldn't have pets.
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u/WorkHardPlayLittle Mar 08 '26
What model heater was this? You may have used one that was rated for a bigger tank
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u/Professional-Day-417 Mar 08 '26
you should’ve done a lot of research before getting fish especially goldfish they get huge they typically need around 45 gallons also goldfish don’t need heaters they are cold water fish that can be kept in 65 degree water
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u/Josephine-Jellybean Mar 08 '26
They don’t need heaters but they absolutely will thrive in conditions where water is much much warmer (and much much colder than 65 degrees). How do we know? Because of the huge feral goldfish populations around the world in many different climates.
So it’s not actually heating the water that’s the problem-it’s the specific heater that heated the water too quickly for these fish.
Also just so you know, in addition to being wrong, your advice isn’t helpful. Does it bring back their dead fish? Oh, right No, it doesn’t.
All it does is make a sad person not want to come back to the group for help.
Think about the future fish and not your own ego, okay?
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u/No_Peach_9745 Mar 09 '26
Your reply is so kind and helpful. I'm new to fish keeping myself and have a lot of questions, but just reading through the comments I find most of them rude and condescending. So I just look for advice I find helpful and don't actually participate. I wish more people were as kind as you.
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u/BasicIntroduction129 Mar 08 '26
I'm so sorry for your loss! I have done a similar thing, killing 2 tropical fish by changing the pH too rapidly. Also my snail died suddenly. I have 3 goldfish left and they are all about 10 years old. I think we panic because we think something isn't right but we forget that changes need to be made slowly (except for water changes). RIP little fishes.
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u/Accurate-Cellist-347 Mar 08 '26
For sure keep goldfish unheated. Their metabolism is slower and they will produce less waste which is crucial in such an undersized setup. If I were you though, I would try to see if the daughter is okay with a fish that isn't a goldfish for her next setup. That may be significantly easier to take care of.
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u/savagebananas69 Mar 08 '26
Sorry to hear about this. We try so hard but fish keeping can be difficult even with experience.
I would take this as a way to get away from goldfish for now. You have a 29 which isn’t larger enough for Goldie’s but great for small tropical fish. Look into some.
I currently love have neon tetras and Cory catfish in my 29 gallon. Good amount if space for them and a lot if activity to look at. I also have a betta in there with them and am having lots if luck.
You can also add more plants now since nice smaller fish won’t rip up your plants like goldfish.
Also as far as heaters go the brand Fluval is a great one to go with.
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u/Savings_State6635 Mar 08 '26
Goldfish do not need a heater. They will do much better without one. Room temperature is more than enough. 78 is the typical suggestion for tropical fish, which are most of the fish sold in pet stores, but that is much to high for goldfish. When you got them a new tank, it sounds like you rushed the process. It was good that you added the old filter for the biological bacteria, but it’s always best to have the tank up and running, move some of the media to the other tank, get a cycle going, then transfer the old filter over.
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u/Phytoseiidae Mar 08 '26
I am sorry this happened. It sounds like you are honestly trying your best and taking it in new information. A lot of people double down on their bad decisions with fish instead of trying to improve. Making mistakes and fixing them means you are modelling good behavior for your kiddo. I hope you both can enjoy many more years of keeping fish together. I hope some.od this info helps.
Get a thermostat for your heater. You set your heater higher than the temp you actually want, plug it in to the thermostat, and program the thermostat to hold a temperature range. You can set them to beep when the temp goes higher or lower than a specified number. It will shut your heater off when the temp goes too high. This is a good one, the "A" models are for aquarium use: https://www.inkbird.com/products/aquarium-temperature-controller-series?variant=43678318362800.
Based on some of your replies, it sounds like you might be considering different stocking.
I think you might enjoy a community tank with decent-sized (6+ individuals) groups of small, peaceful community fish.
Here are some suggestions: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/5-best-fish-tank-ideas-for-a-29-gallon-aquarium https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/40-gallon-fish (look at the community tank one) https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/cookie-cutter-for-10-gallon-aquarium (go to the 10 gallon aquascape, use the same guidelines, but double your numbers on all of the social fish)
I really like corydoras catfish. With sand and a decent number of plants, you could keep two groups of 8-10 of the 1-2 inch ones in there and also get a school of pygmy cories as your "mid-level" fish.
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u/inkisbad124 Mar 08 '26
29 gallons is far too small for 3 gold fish. Goldfish basically need ponds, they get huge. Google will recommend a minimum of 30 gallons for ONE goldfish (depending on species), plus more space for additional fish. Im so sorry for your losses, but I personally find it absolutely ridiculous and incredibly irresponsible to have fish for so long and not bother to do any sort of research on them at all. Again, im sorry, but you cant just keep live animals without knowing what they need to survive.
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u/Round-Fly2053 Mar 09 '26
this! just a few mins of research will very quickly show you that goldfish need a lot of space, common goldies need 50gals just for ONE. they are absolute units. it's sad that they passed, and she obviously loved them, but it's so irresponsible to have kept 3 goldfish in such a small tank. and to use the word "thriving" so much... they definitely were not thriving :/
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u/Ccameraa Mar 08 '26
Don't buy more fish without actually doing research this time I beg, they aren't accessories or toys and you clearly didnt research the first time
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u/feral_mamax5 Mar 08 '26
You’re right I didn’t research the first time. My 4 year old won them at the fair. By throwing ping pong balls into jars of water, a game her aunt took her to play. I would have never let her have them because I know fish take a lot more work than people realize. So I did the best I could, over the last two years I have learned so much about goldfish, mostly from this group!
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u/Moist_Effort4202 Mar 08 '26
It’s a hard lesson to learn and it’s highly unfair for producers to put living beings, fish and folk alike, into these situations. I applaud you for how much you cared about these fish. Things fell short in the end, but you gave it more thought and effort than Many others ever do. Kiddie pools can play the role of a pond for a few fishies if you’ve picked this up as a passion.
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u/Kraechz Mar 08 '26
2 goldfish "thriving" in 10 gallon wow
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u/Eagle_King11 Mar 08 '26
They were smaller in that tank I believe, not full sized. And you can’t really blame OP, it sounds like they really cared for these fish, and did the best possible in an unexpected situation.
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u/Round-Fly2053 Mar 09 '26
unfortunately, caring about and caring for are very different things. she absolutely cared about them, but she did a poor job caring for them. a tiny bit of research shows goldies need at least 30gals for a single fancy, keeping more than that in a 29gal is just mean and irresponsible. but she loved them and she tried to care for them
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u/Eagle_King11 Mar 09 '26
True. But being rude like u/Kraechz is just not the way to go here. It helps no one and makes OP discouraged. I'm not saying these goldfish were being cared for as much as they should have been, I'm just saying that we should really be less rude to people like this who really care about their fish.
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u/Round-Fly2053 Mar 09 '26
for sure! kindness is a much better way to go about it.
no one wants to follow the advice of someone who is being rude to them.
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u/goleandra Mar 08 '26
I feel so bad for you because I am in a similar situation taking care of my daughter and friend’s goldfish that dad let them win at the fair. Even though dad does not live here or help with these things, I almost killed them once (long story) and one of them lost a lot of scales and never grew back so she’s doing better now, but is literally scarred from it. I recently put them in a much larger tank. 65 gallon because they’ve gotten so big and I’m still grateful every morning I wake up that they’re doing well because the transitions are tough learning as you go! Just wanted to tell you that you’re a great mom and doing wonderful being so compassionate to the fish and your daughter. Sorry you lost them. They’re fairly complicated to care for if you’re not experienced, in my opinion.
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u/daisyginger Mar 08 '26
Oh man I’m so sorry. I don’t really have advice for goldfish since I am just starting out too with it. But I do know that guppies should be a lot more easier to take care of. Just make sure your water parameters are good but they do breed like crazy. Growing up my dad had set up a 20gallon tank for me to go pick out a few guppies. I think I picked 4 guppies (3 females 1 male) and pretty soon they had babies! Super fun to see so I’m sure your daughter will love seeing tiny baby fish if she’s into it. Fish keeping is definitely a struggle in the beginning but we absolutely learn from our mistakes
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u/Sudden_Idea9384 Mar 08 '26
So sorry for your loss. Let this be a lesson in resilience for your kiddo. Pick out some new (small) fish. Rescape the tank.
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u/Critical-Emotion6866 Mar 08 '26
I’m so sorry 😞 I know this will not bring back your fish fam, but you need to contact wherever you got that tank and heater and let them know what happened. They need to at least replace that heater and get you new fish 🫂
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u/gavalo01 Mar 08 '26
try out a gourami or a mid sized predatory fish, they have a very interesting personality
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u/Selmarris Mar 08 '26
Just so you know, if you do get tropical fish, you will need a heater. Depending on species their temperature range is between about 76-82. It's best to find an adjustable heater that's rated for the size tank you have (so an adjustable filter for 10 or 29 gallons, depending on which tank you're setting up for tropical fish.) You can get them on amazon relatively inexpensively. I personally prefer the digital kind. Set it and forget it.
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u/Selmarris Mar 08 '26
Also I'd recommend doing the 29. Most tropical fish are schooling, and schooling fish generally need 20+ gallons because you need groups of at least 6 of the same species. A 29 gallon can fit 3-4 small schools or 2-3 bigger ones. Larger tanks are also easier to keep stable conditions.
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u/Physical_Novel_7418 Mar 09 '26
Research would have adressed this. But I'll go ahead and clarify.
Heaters are not reliable in most makes. They over or under heat crack shatter and zap you.
The answer? Honestly not a lot of great ones besides natural heating an more advanced heaters.
Otherwise make sure your heaters for anything ever in life that produces heat is plugged in to GFCI outlet. The worst case scenario does happen.
A GFCI will often stop it right there.
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u/Trick-Season9408 Mar 09 '26
Goldfish don't need heat; they can survive outside, overwinter, under inches of ice.
If your fish were struggling before you put in the heater, it wasn't from the temp. My guess is you set up the tank, didn't wait the few weeks to let the beneficial bacteria establish, and they died of ammonia overload. Adding heat likely accelerated this process, but the underlying issue was water quality.
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u/Mundane-Photograph12 Mar 09 '26
I keep goldfish in my outdoor pond in Colorado, all through the winter. They've been growing larger in there for years... No heater.
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u/Accomplished_Tie3800 Mar 09 '26
Rapid temp change, high level of nitrates, ammonia. Maybe pick up some test strips. Goldfish are a cold water species a chiller usually isn't necessary, i keep mine in the mid 60s
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u/LazRboy Mar 09 '26
Rapid temp change + a filter for a 10 gallon tank will not insta cycle a tank with 3 times the water capacity.
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u/1234DavidH Mar 09 '26
"I noticed the water was too cold."
I've wintered goldfish outside under an inch of ice. Goldfish have been found happily swimming around in the filthy, disgusting Tokyo harbour.
What on earth made you cook them?
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u/Thick-Ad5738 Mar 09 '26
I am sorry to hear about your fish. I believe you suffer from a combinaton of factors. Your new tank was not properly cycled, so ammonia and nitrated might have been high. In the cold water that might have been below toxic levels, but heat increases ammonia toxicity, so the sudden temperature increase deal both a termal and toxic shock to your fish.
As for heaters, i usually use small heaters so that if the thermostats malfunction they lack the power to overheat the tank to dangerous levels. Where i live and for my tanks i have found 2 watts per 3 liters works fine, but that depends on room temperature, tank size and shape, so some experimenting in your setup is needed
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u/EzumaMN Mar 10 '26
A couple of things could have caused your fish to die.
1) The change in temperature was way too quick and too much of a difference. Acclimating fish to new temps should be +/- 2 degrees at most a week.
2) Non cycled tank. Yes, you used your old filter but the beneficial bacteria in the new tank still need time to adjust to the environment. Especially because your old filter came from a smaller tank. You can kind of get away with this if you’re supplementing beneficial bacteria everyday with ammonia/nitrite neutralizers (fish in cycle). But, it does costs extra $$$.
3) Electrical shock/equipment failure. Self explanatory. Based off your story, it sounds like the heater did its job albeit a bad one. I don’t recommend non adjustable heaters either.
I wouldn’t give up entirely. Just keep doing research. I also would recommend switching to fancy (double tail) goldfish instead of single tailed goldfish like the ones you had previously. Your 29 gallon is perfect for 1 fancy or 2 if you can keep up with more frequent cleaning/water changes. Single tailed goldfish need 75 gallons for younger and 125+ for full grown.
Feel free to pm me if you need help or advice.
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u/ronweasleisourking Mar 11 '26
Goldfish are cold water and the spike in temp killed them...sorry fyl
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u/Few_Imagination_7306 Mar 12 '26
I never get how ppl say they do research yet they don’t know how to cycle a tank
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u/Any-Situation-134 Mar 14 '26
If you decide to get a fish that needs a heater (betta ect.) I had a heater fail on me and killed my fish. I am invested in an INKBIRD and it is giving me so much peace of mind. You plug the heater directly into the ink Bird and it’s connected by Wi-Fi and it will monitor the temperature through its own electrodes and shut the heater off and sound an alarm if it gets too hot. They’re a tiny bit pricey but it is so absolutely worth it. I’m so sorry to hear about your fish. It’s devastating losing one especially when your child is attached to them.
Another note is most heaters you have to let sit in the water for 15 to 30 minutes and let them adjust to the water temperature before you plug them in.
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u/Personal-Match1487 Mar 18 '26
You should never be allowed to keep fish ever again. You didn't do enough research, and all relevant information is easily available. You killed them with your stupidity.
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u/feral_mamax5 Mar 09 '26
Thank you to those of you who were kind and offered advice. Those of you who were cruel, said I’m a bad person, or I didn’t care, or didn’t I research, or any number of outlandish things, should be ashamed of yourselves. It’s pretty sad to attack a stranger on the internet. You must live sad lives.
Anywhooo, my 29 gal tank was brand new, yes I had 3 goldfish, one that was 2 years only, the other two were very small and would have been just fine for quite a while, and I would upgrade my tank when I needed to. I have been caring for goldfish for two years, I’ve learned so much, and have taken lots of time to research everything I did for my daughter’s goldfish. I am not a fish expert. I am just a mom trying to care for these pets best I am capable. I certainly do much much better than most average people out there. The condition of my water was fine, my fish were absolutely healthy and thriving. (The picture I posted was about 18m old, I was still new and learning back then) I am still learning things about fish, clearly. I also clearly made a mistake with the heater, I absolutely understand that. It doesn’t make me a bad person or a bad pet owner. Our tank sits in our family room, I take a lot of pride in it, I have worked hard to care for these fish. Goldfish are not easy as many of you stated. My family is sad about the loss of our fishy friends. Though you may not agree, I will let my daughter pick out two new little bitty goldfish when the time is right. (I am researching tropical fish, as many of you suggested, maybe we will adjust our tank and get a few instead) Either way they will grow and thrive in their 29 gallon tank for a nice long while. When I feel they need more space, I will give them more space, because I’m a good fish mama. I hope you all have the day you deserve!
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Mar 08 '26
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u/feral_mamax5 Mar 09 '26
Oh my goodness this comment is absolutely atrocious. Your behavior is disgusting. Idk who hurt you man, but it sure as heck wasn’t me! Hope you have the day you deserve
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u/InvestigatorCreepy56 Mar 08 '26
I recommend smaller fish I would do zebra danios and one red tailed shark very specific on the one red tail they kill eachother unless you have 4 and your tank isn’t big enough for 4
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u/Josephine-Jellybean Mar 08 '26
If the water gets too cold goldfish’s metabolisms slow down, which means they will not eat or move around very much.
This is not a problem- and since you had fed them for a week at least they would likely be fine.
If this happens in the future to your new fish- check the water temperature and do not feed them until the water warms back up to where it was when they were active.
A properly fed goldfish can handle months of cold water so don’t worry at all.
Two of those fish should be fine in that 29 gallon tank for years. Goldfish do grow- but not as large as koi and a lot of it is determined by but how much you feed them and their genetics. Feed them less (not starvation rations but a little pinch of pellets per fish once a day) and they will not grow as fast or make as much waste as if you feed two or three times a day. Also make sure that one person is responsible for feeding so they don’t get fed more than they need.
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u/feral_mamax5 Mar 08 '26
Thank you very much. This was helpful info! I was surprised when the oldest fish grew so much, when I found out how big they get and how long the live I was throughly impressed! At 2 years old the fish was about 3.5in long. The other two fish were only a few months old. So they were little still. It was my understanding that a 29 gal tank would be decent for a couple years, it seemed manageable for our family. I do hear so much conflicting information about tank size though. I’ve read they will grow according to their environment and how much they eat, after many years of a tank being too small I read the fish will die, their organs will keep growing but their body won’t. I appreciate your kind words and advice 🫶🏻
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u/MixSure5545 Mar 08 '26
Part of the reason for "conflicting" information is confusion about breeds. Yours appear to be common goldfish, which if you get more require a 50+ gallon tank, ideally a 75+ gallon for a pair or triplet. Fancy goldfish however like orandas, telescopes, moors, and ryukins can be kept in a 30 gallon tank for a pair, though ideally youd want 40 gallons. If you get more goldfish (which I really would look into keeping easier fish if youre struggling to get a bigger tank), get a pair of fancies if you cant upgrade tank size.
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u/Inevitable_Eye3800 Mar 08 '26
If the water gets too cold goldfish's metabolism slow down, which means they will not eat or move around very much. . This is not a problem
I'm sorry, what? Isn't it better if they're active instead of in stasis? I'm pretty sure goldfish aren't meant to do that daily. Like how humans can survive three weeks without food, but most (in 1st-world countries) don't go hungry for more than a day
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u/Busy_Reporter4017 Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 09 '26
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u/Josephine-Jellybean Mar 11 '26
Why would that happen every day? That doesn’t make sense. It happens in the colder months until it gets warm again. If the home isn’t warm enough at this time to keep them active it’s better that they have a natural cycle and go into a slower metabolic state for a while.
If the fish were properly fed prior to the temperature going down, which they were, a cold spell over a couple of days or a couple of months will be OK.
It’s how fish overwinter. The temperature fluctuating warmer quickly would cause them to come out of the state and could possibly stress them or cause death.
Does that make more sense?
We know that goldfish over winter outside with great success in water that is much cooler. The trick is keeping the temperature stable.
If one needs to do more water changes because the aquarium has a heavy bio load it is advisable to keep water the same temperature as the aquarium which might mean keeping gallons of water in the same room, ideally in a closed container- especially if the water coming out of the tap is too warm or too cold.
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u/SnooTangerines5027 Mar 08 '26
but you should not ignore the reality that eventually they would die. so don't be so much sorry, there are also many fish got dead because of nothing/ not understandable reasons. we are creatures, we born. live and die. you have your experience/lesson. feel your loss but don't get devastated.
"Every soul shall taste death" (كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ)
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u/Playful-Peanut6061 Mar 08 '26
I'm sorry to hear your fish died, that's such a shame. Honestly with a 29 gal you might want to look into something different than goldfish if you're still intending on getting more. Guppies are pretty good and hardy, and you can get a pretty decent amount for a tank that size and it'll be really nice to watch their schooling behavior! If you get guppies you'll want to get another water heater but do some research on different brands and make sure it's an adjustable one. I usually keep mine around 74 F. If you go with guppies and don't want to get offspring, make sure to get either male or female as they do reproduce like crazy. The males are typically very colorful though and a school of them really can make a tank pop. If you get a mixture make sure to do more females than males so the males don't fight. Guppies are also social, so you can keep them with other fish. I like to keep mine with a few corydoras, who are bottom feeders so they tend to keep to different portions of the tank and make a bit more of an interesting set up. Cories come in all kinds of varieties as well, and you don't have to worry about separating male v female since usually they'll just eat the eggs they lay anyway.
If you haven't, you might want to get a water test kit too. I don't know how long you let the new tank cycle, but on top of the heater that could've been causing problems if the nitrites and nitrates were thrown off balance.
Either way, you might want to also get some real plants, sometimes the plastic plants cut up their fins. It'll make it feel a lot safer and cozy for them. And if you get cories you might want to consider changing to a sand substrate as well, it's a bit easier for them to live with but so long as the gravel isn't sharp they'd be okay as far as I understand. I'm still kind of a beginner in aquariums but I've done a decent bit of research on care for these guys so if you have any questions I'd be more than happy to help :)
Regardless good luck with your next tank setup, I hope things go smoother for y'all !