They've all died.

Crystalina wrote: Some of you may know that I went to the fair, spent a dollar and the kids won 2 goldfish. Two goldfish on $1? It was the last day of the fair so that explains alot. Anyway, I spent way too much money on a dumb tank because apparently they need oxygen So then I bought them some friends. Shrimps, 2 dwarf frogs and some of those ugly fish that suck on the sides of the tank. Well, the sucky fish died first. One and 2 days later the other. Then the shrimp started dying one at a time. Last night a frog died. I have one lone froggy left and I'm sure he'll be in frog heaven soon. What's up? Why aren't they living? The goldfish are nice and fat (they pick at the dead shrimp before I can get them out). I even went to the fish store and they have no answers other then I bought all the fish that died at Wal-Mart...what do I expect. Well, the darn fair fish are still alive and they lived in a freakin bucket until my dollar came and saved them. Has anyone else had problem with Wal-Mart fish or would anyone know why all these guys died? I can handle any dead animal (just about) but when the fish die it just creeps me out to know end and since DH isn't home I have to get them out and EWWWWW gross.

amynicole21 replied: Hmmmm... I dunno Are there temp requirements for the shrimp or something? I would complain to Walmart... they might replace them or give you your money back. I hope froggy #2 hangs on!

CantWait replied: Well Walmart could be the explanation......
Maybe the tank is to small for so many fish.

booey2 replied: Hugs, sorry all the fish we have ever bought from Wally's have always died. I believe when you go there and see all the dead fish in their tanks, that just about says it all. DH will only buy fish now from a pet store, sometimes you pay a little more but they will live.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Did you let your tank water sit for a few days (3 to 5) before putting the fish in? Sometimes the chemicals in tap water will kill the fish. That happened to mine. We needed to change the water, put some stuff to de-nickel-ize or whatever in it... THEN we put the fish in.

But walmart fish sucks. Go to a pet store...they usually have a 2 week guarantee. And... in case you diodn't know, 80 % of the fish you buy will die.

mom21kid2dogs replied:
I was going to say the same thing. We had 3 fish (two goldfish and a scum sucker) The scum sucker died and Petsmart said that 3 fish was one fish too many for a 5 gallon tank. The picture on the box showed 5 fish in the tank. Oops!! They also told us that goldfish are the pigs of the fish world and not alot of other fish work well with them. We were told not to mix tropicals with them and to keep the tank at between 74-76 degees. We feed our two fish 3-5 fish flakes twice a day as apparently goldfish are also great actors. They always act hungry, people tend to overfeed for this reason.

There was alot more to fish ownership than I realized. I ended up getting multiple books from the library to deal with tank mainenence. All kinds of rules about how to change the water, when, how much light, dealing with algae, etc. Quite frankly, the dogs might have been easier.

We got all 3 fish from a local pet store. Our two goldfish, Tessa and Tessa, we bought in December (Christmas gift for O who obviously named them ) and must have beat Rocky's odds 'cause they're still alive!!

mom2my2cuties replied: I think fish are odd little creatures - and too tempermental for me.

Sorry all your fish died Mine used to get themselves sucked into the filter system and after that I gave up on fish

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
You shouldn't have more than one inch of stuff per gallon.

As in - if you have a 5 gallon tank, you shouldn't have more than 5 inches of stuff in there - and that includes fish and decorations, live or otherwise. So if your goldfish were 3 inches between the two of them, and you had one fake plant, already it's too much.

Crystalina replied: 80% will die? Well, except for the darn fairfish that started this whole fiasco. I let them play the game because they kept bugging me and when I was a kid I never won it. They've made it alot easier since I played it last.

Rocky, I did not let the water sit but I did buy this stuff you put in that says it has the same effect. I also let them bob around in their bags for an hour before I put them in so they can get used to the temp. The shrimp were in a warmer tank at the store but the lady said they would adapt fine. They didn't die right away either. I've had these fish for about 2.5 weeks. They all died within the same week. The frogs weren't in a tank they were sitting on a shelf in little cups.

I also asked about tank size and they showed me what I could put in safely. The frogs are very very tiny as are the shrimp. The sucky fish were the only ones that had any size and they were also considered babys. I even bought them special algae cookies that have vitamins for them (the suckers).

I think your right. It's Wal-Mart. I notice that when you go there all the water lines are hidden and that is because the water is pumping from one tank to another. They don't have their own seperate lines which means germs are being spread from one tank to all the others. At pet stores they all have their own seperate lines. I won't be buying anymore from WallyWorld. I just thought I'd go there because I get everything else there. Obviousely fish should not be on my list.

You know what else I found out? Goldfish are the dirtiest fish to own! I didn't know that. The lady told me that I have to change the water at LEAST once a week. I thought fish were low maintenance? I may throw in an Oscar.

Crystalina replied:
OMG! Maybe I'm killing them. I feed them a pinch of food every morning @ 6am. I am the only one who feeds them because I know they can't be overfed. So Im the one overfeeding them?!

holley79 replied: Sorry about the fish. I think they are the hardest to care for. my mom has a .22 goldfish she bought from Wal mart about 4 years ago. The stupid thing just won't die. It lives outside in her fountain. It's also not gold anymore, it's white. The fountain has had ice on top of it and been out in two hurricanes.

Crystalina replied:
We were going to throw these two out in our pond but I'm afraid my ducks will eat them. We used to have a bunch of bullfrogs but I think the ducks are eating the tadpoles so we don't haven any anymore. I know they'll eat the goldfish.

b&bsmom replied: I must say fish are tough, however, we own two beta's in seperate little tanks, and then we have 2 goldfish, one is from walmart and we have had it for over a year and the other Brit got at horse camp (probably bought at walmart) and we have had that about a year and half too. We put the goldfish ( finally) in a big tank, I think it is 5 gallons, we were thinking of getting a couple little fish, but I haven't found any compatiable enough and I am thinking it may be over crowded. I love fish tanks though, I had one when I did kindercamp and we had a goldfish, a tetra and we had a crab but I didn't really know what I was doing with that one and it died. It was cool though ( I think the tetra are the hardest fish they lived through a lot of stuff in that tank) Hope that helps some but it probably doesn't

C&K*s Mommie replied: In all honesty, I was suprised to read that the fair goldfish lived this long.

Crystalina replied:
Yea, me too Nicole. I first only got a little bowl (thinking they would surely be dead within a day or two ) but nope. They are hanging on. Now they are living in the lap of luxery and I don't think they have any intention of going to the fishbowl in the sky. Not that I want them to die but if I had it to do over again I would have skipped the fair game and bought prettier, cleaner fish.

redchief replied: Since you have goldfish, especially in a 5 gal. tank, maintaining nuetral Ph is nearly impossible. As said before, goldfish are dirty. I've not known an algae eater that can stand being in the same tank as a goldie for very long. So long as your goldies are happy, do your best to keep the tank clean and enjoy them, but don't buy them any friends.

CantWait replied: You can also bring in a sample of the tank water to your local pet store and they should be able to test the water for you if that is the problem in terms of bateria etc..

gr33n3y3z replied:
yes they are I would never own those things lol
But the Oscar sounds like a nice idea
Sounds like you did everything fine with the tank
as for sucker fish go you dont need to feed those but let some algae start to grow in the tank before you buy another one

amynicole21 replied: I had a fair goldfish that lived for 6 years! That sucker was about 4" long when it went belly-up

flirtycuddle replied: I've never had goldfish but I have been around fish tanks since I was about 7 yrs old and I love them. My favorite fish is the arrowana but they are really expensive. We had oscars all the time though and they are tough lil buggars. My ex used ot go weeks without cleaning the water cuz he got lazy and that fish never had a problem but it was to tempermental that what ever fish we bought it killed in a day. only problem with an oscar is they have to have big tanks. When I left my ex the oscar was the only fish and we had a 55 gallon tank and that was prefect for it to have room.

cameragirl21 replied: how big is the tank, Crystal? You shouldn't have more than an inch of fish per gallon.
If you have two goldfish in a five gallon tank then already that's almost too many and the tank will just crash. Since goldfish are among the hardiest fish out there, they'll be the last to die.
I suggest changing the water after all that stuff died b/c it raises the level of ammonia in the tank and that is toxic to the living fish. Also goldfish don't do so well when you mix them with other fish, from what I can remember from having them as a kid.
I have saltwater tanks which are much more delicate and much more work so trust me I know all about fish dying.
Sorry to hear....

kimberley replied: every fish i bought from walmart died a quick death. they actually "exchanged" them for me a couple of times but they just don't take care of their stuff there.
i gave up on them. and goldfish don't need air. you could put em in a bowl and they'd live for a long time. just have to clean it often.