Jeana's Blog Thingee

Update!!

2008-02-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ok I am STILL bad at updating this doo-hickey!!

Here's my "roll call" on my tanks.

Right now my 100 gal tank is full (cause I am using the 30 to quarantine a new baby)
Big Boy: Red Oranda (THE star of my tank!)
Spot: Common (White)
Yin: Calico Lionhead (He's quite a BUTTERBALL) I love that he has several "shiney scales"
Toby (Blue Ryukin (Again SOLID WHITE)
Hershey: Fantail/Oranda His belly & sides have turned golden the rest & all fins are chocolate brown.
Patch: Hershey's sibling! But he's Orange kinda Calico-ish (some white on one side) and all white fins. Real pretty!
Cocoa: Hershey & Patch's sibling. (look's the most Oranda-like of the three. Orangish wen with gold/orange body & all Dark Chocolate fins! Quite Striking!!
Buster: Red Lionhead. He is so cute. He always looks "cartoonish to me!!

I have several Blue GM Snails & a pluthera of Red Ramshorn Snails!!

Then is the 30 is my brand new baby Calico Oranda. I have him in quarantine for 2 weeks! I named her Cindy Lou Who (like on Dr Suess). She's so tiny! A 2 sided goldie: Left side is Red Orange Calico & the right side is mostly White Calico. All fins are white calico. She is VERY shy & often freaks out when you walk up to the tank! I will be SOOOOO glad when she feels safe!

After guarantine I plan to move her to the big tank & return Hershey & Toby to the 30. I want to watch Cindy Lou grow out in the big tank!

I am also "tank sitting" my daughter's 10 gallon tank with 5 Tiger Barbs. They have been here for months. I think they MIGHT be mine!

Finally I 'm back!!

2007-09-30T15:11:00.001-07:00

I am TERRIBLE at updating this thingee!! I will TRY to do a bit better!

Here are the goldies that reside in my 100 gallon tank now. (Measurements are kinda estimated...I still use the "chase 'em around with the tape measre thingee!)

Big Boy, Red Oranda 6'
Spot, Common 7 1/2"
Hershey, Fantail/Oranda 5"
Toby. GU Tung Hoi BluRyu 5" (COMPLETELY WHITE NOW!)
Patch, Fantail/Oranda 4 1/2"
Cocoa, Fantail/Oranda 4 1/4"

In the 30 gallon tank:

Yin, Calico Lionhead 4"
Buster, Lionhead 3 1/2"

I have 3 AQ110's!! I REALLY like them! Easy to maintain & quite powerful! I have two on the big tank (as well as a Fluval 104) . I changed my 110's.....I cut off the strainer from the intake tube (It ALWAYS got clogged with debris) & I "made" a 16 oz water bottle as a "cover".

To do this I cut off the "spout" of th bottle so the intake tube fits. I drilled about 40-50 evenly spaced holes into the bottle. I slipped the adapted bottle onto the intake tube. The force of the water holds the bottle in place. Some people on sites I visit were concerned that detritus would b a problem but more is pulled in that got thru the small end I removed.

Also I can replace the bottles whenever I want to!

Another "alteration" I made:
I cut the sponge in half & added more ceramic rings!! More good bacteria!!!!

One of my FAVORITE pieces of equipment is my Python! If you have a good size tank or multiple tanks it is must have item! I do weekly 50% or more water changes EVERY week! Some people seem afraid to do BIG water changes. Worried they'll "damage" the bacteria colony. The good bacteria is in & on EVERYTHING! I dig deeply thru all of the gravel at each water change. I stop only after there is no sign of gunk or dirt. Each week I rinse one of the filter sponges. Once a month I even rinse the ceramic rings........one filter on one week & then the other filter the following week.

Because I have pet snails when I am gravel cleaning I keep a container of tank water & pop the snails in there as I find them. I keep my Ramshorn snails from over populating by saving the ones I want to keep in the container & vaccuuming the others out. To some this may seem cruel, but they are VERY prolific!!!

I also have some other "pet" snails:

Yella Fella........a Golden Mystery Snails
Cream Puff......a cream colored one w/a hint of blue in the spiral
......a Blue Mystery Snail

NOTE: My "pet" snails are the reason I adapted my intake tubes on the AQ110's!!! I had a GM snail get pulled tight up against the intake (actually partially pulled INTO it!!) He was killed....it was terrible. So I started researching how the protect the others. Then took the ideas & added my own . So far it's working great!

I'll try to update w/pics soon. My digital camera died on me! :(

Finally an update!!!

2007-03-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

3/8/07

Well , I have failed to keep this up very well! I hope to do a little better!

I had some losses since my last post:
Yang (one of my Lionheads imported from CHiNA died.) :(
Zeus (my beautiful White & Orange Butterfly Ryukin (imported from California) had a terrible mishap with the filter. I think he HAD to have already been sick. But I finally had to put him down. I hated that he was a very pretty goldfish!

Here's my list of goldies & sizes (last post & current)
Big Boy 4 1/2 5 1/4
Toby 2 1/2 3 1/2
Buster 3 3 1/2
Spot 5 1/2 6 1/2
Yin 2 1/2 3
Cocoa 3 3 1/2
Patch 3 3 1/2
Mickey Blue 1 1 1/2
Hershey 4
Sassy 5 1/2

((These measurements aren't exact.....I used the ole chase 'em around the front of the tank with a tape measure method. Next time I will try to get exact measruements!

Mickey Blue is my Blue Oranda (baby) I HAD named Bo Peep! But that just didn't fit!

Geesh!! I left this toooo long!!

2006-12-31T14:22:00.000-08:00

Well, It has been awhile! So I will update my goldies!

Big Boy...............................Red Oranda.......................4 1/2 "
Zeus....................................Red & White Ryukin........3"
Toby....................................Blue Ryukin.....................2 1/2"
Buster.................................Red Lionhead....................3"
Spot.....................................Common............................5 1/2"
Yin.......................................Lionhead............................2 1/2"
Yang....................................Lionhead...........................2 1/2"
Cocoa...................................Fantail/Oranda ...............3"
Hershey...............................Fantail/Oranda...............3 1/4"
Sassy....................................Red & White Oranda......4"
Cooper..................................Blue Ryukin.....................3"
Patch......................................Fantail/Oranda..............3"
(temp name?) Bo Peep........Blue Oranda....................1"

I am looking for another tank (maybe a 55!) I am DEAL SHOPPING!! If I find one I am toying with the idea of making my 30 a saltwater tank! But right now I have no idea how to run one AND I haven't seen ANY deals on tanks! So it is just an idea!!!

Love my new baby Goldies!!

2006-09-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

Update on Zeus!

2006-08-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! I think he's ok! No more getting bouyant! Took the advice of a KoiVet and quit feeding flakes & most prepared fish food. I am MAINLY feeding the gel food! A little sinking crumbles (but not much) the rest is veggies, fruit & some people food! He has not become bouyant for several days! Got my fins (oops fingers!!) crossed! Yippee Go Zeus!!

Picture Updates on my Goldies!

2006-08-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine requested more goldie pics....so here goes!

MAZURI Gel Food

2006-08-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

I was given a sample of Mazuri Gel Food! Wow! I really like this stuff! My reason for getting it was because one of my goldfish, Zeus, was showing signs of getting floaty! i have had a goldfish get swim bladder disorder so bad it was ALWAYS upside down. It was awful to tey to deal with. Zeus would eat then it would get hard for him to stay down. He was VERY bouyant.

A fish vet sent the sample. It is a powder that you add boiling water to, then freeze. Easy to make & store. I break mine into pieces & store it in freezer bags in the freezer!

The fish eat it like crazy!!! I am not feeding ANY flakes or floating fish food AT ALL. Most of their diet is the gel food. I still offer chpooed veggies, fruit & people food occasionally. I even drop in some (but very little) sinking crumbles as a treat.

I am even noticing more vibrant colors! I think also sharper, more healthy fins! The fish make "smacking" noises at the water surface & splash water in the "feeding frendzy" as I am feeding them! They like it ALOT!!

Weight Loss Thingee

2006-07-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

THE GANG!

2006-07-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

I have started to chart the growth of my Goldies! I found some measurements I took 4 months ago. The least growth was Zeus his increase was only 1/4 inch. The most was Sassy, Hershey & Patch..... they grew 1 1/4 inch each! Big Boy grew an inch.

I had put in some snails awhile back (they came in with something) I found several shells, so I guess they like escargo! I see one every now & then, so I kind of forgot about them. I did a big water change, I decided to give the filters a good cleaning. I placed the media in a bucket of fish water (to preserve the good bacteria) then I took the filters down & began cleaning. I found several baby snails IN THERE!! I put them back into the tank....the goldies might have eaten them to!

I really enjoy cleaning my tanks! Especially since I invested in a Python! (No not the snake!! LOL) It is a siphoning system that hooks to your faucet....NO MORE HAULING BUCKETS!! Woo-hoo!! I LOVE that thing! It has made my fishkeeping hobby so much better. You just have to be careful not to let a curious fish get sucked into it! I HAD THAT HAPPEN....really bad :( I am very careful not to leave it unattended, if I have to walk away I make sure the nozzle is down inside the fishbowl (a decoration in the tank) the fish can't get into the bowl when the nozzle is there! ANOTHER thing you have to be careful of is that nothing is in the sink while you are removing the water. I had a washcloth fall into the sink, which plugged the sink. When I happened to look over the sink was completely FULL to the BRIM. I dashed over & turned off the water & removed the cloth! Whew! What a mess that could have been!! ((Learn from MY mistakes!!)

I have started documenting my goldfish's growth. I have always kept notes, but nothing official. I was going thru some of those notes when an idea hit me! (As usual that meant asking my hubby to fix up something for me. (He is a 'puter xpert!) I told him what I needed & presto..a few minutes later I had a neat spread sheet!! I am going to document their growth at least monthly. Right now the starting measurements are from 4 months ago (wish I could find farther back) & current.

Anyway here's there growth:(measurments from nose to beginning of tailfin)
Big Boy 4 1/4 "...........he grew 1"
Zeus 2 1/2"................................1/4 "
Spot 4"........................................1"
Stubby 2 2/4".............................3/4"
Cooper 2".....................................1"
Buster 2 1/2"...............................1/2"
Patch 2 1/4".................................1 1/4"
Cocoa 2 1/4".................................1"
Hershey 2 1/4".............................1 1/4"
Sassy 3 1/4"..................................1 1/4"

I am interested to see if their growth increases any since I am feeding this GelFood now! It is supposed to be REAL good for them. It is called Mazuri Gel Food, it was given to me by a fish vet. At the time Zeus was becoming bouyant, he wasn't flipping over, but he would go to the top & have a hard time staying down. Since I started feeding this he no longer does that! All the fish eat it like crazy! I even think I notice their colors looking more vibrant! Woo-hoo!!

Cooper, Patch, Hershey & Cocoa were hatched 1/15/06 so they are 6 1/2 months old! (They're the only ones I know the actual hatch date!!)

The others I just use the date of purchase as their date of birth!

Buster.....12/3/05 about 8 months
Big Boy....11/7/04 about 1 year 9 months
Stubbie.....6/28/04 about 2 years

My New Blog! :)

2006-06-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome!

My name is Jeana! I am addicted to Goldfish

Goldfish Should NEVER Be Kept In A Bowl! (Except when you do it as a sight gag.....for laughs I put a Goldfish Bowl IN my tank......soon I found the gang likes taking turns getting in the darn thing!)

MY FAVORITE LINKS!

Koko's Goldfish World
Goldfish Utopia
Jean's Blog

I have two tanks. My main tank is 100 gallons! The other tank is 30 gallons (maybe 29, I always forget).

Right now the 100 gallon is home to my goldies I call "The Gang".
The members of The Gang:

Big Boy..............................................................Red Oranda
Zeus...................................................................Butterfly Ryukin
Sassafrass..........................................................Red & White Oranda
Patches (Patch).................................................Fantail/Oranda(Faranda)
Buster.................................................................Lionhead
Stubbie...............................................................Red & White Ryukin
Cooper................................................................Fantail/Oranda Cross(Fantail)
Spot....................................................................Common
Busy, Busybee & Busybody............................Albino CoryCats

The Thirty (29?) is The Baby Nursery.........2 young Chocolate Fantail/Oranda Cross
I named them Hershey & Cocoa

Here's Pics of the tanks!

Here's a Night Picture!

Here's The Other tank:

Well, since you found this Blog maybe you like Goldfish! Great they are great pets!
That said, I feel it a good idea that I share some information that I have learned along MY goldfish keeping journey!

Numero Uno! Goldfish NEVER should be kept in a goldfish bowl! NEVER! One goldfish requires AT LEAST a 10 gallon tank! Actually Common goldies need 20 gallons! Goldfish become quite large and are VERY messy! I have two aquariums, at this time, one is a 30 gallon tank & the other is 100 gallons! The 30 houses TWO young goldies. They are Fantail/Oranda mixed. I COULD keep another fish in there but for now I am watching the 2 babies grow!

In the 100 gallon Tank I have 8 goldfish.

My Red Oranda, Big Boy, is the star of my tank.

When I got him he had all Black fins & some markings on his face. He has lost ALL the black now. Some people claim the black markings come from ammonia burns (unclean water does that), I am not completely convienced that is the case. My opinion is that they may start out with the black markings when young, but black is a very unstable color (at least in Goldfish), so as they get older the black slowly goes away. He has a rather small wen, it reminds me of a short tight Afro!

Next is my Butterfly Ryukin, Zeus!

He is gorgeous! I "won" him in an auction on Ebay.....quite by accident...meaning I didn't know what I was really doing! I ended up having him shipped all the way from California!! He has markings on his tail that I don't think I have seen before!

Buster is a Lionhead.

He's only about 1 1/2 - 2 inches long. He's like a little Tug boat!When I take pictures of him they always crack me up. He just has a comical face!! Always seems to look like "What???"

Sassafras is a Red & White Oranda.

She has beautiful white fins. She seems almost angelic. Her wen is the most prominent of all the Orandas!

Spot is a Common Goldfish.

He is sleek & fast. I "rescued" him from my own daughter's fish tank. She had him in with TIGER BARBS!! I scooped him out & took him home with me. He used to have an orange spot on his head, hence the name...but now he is all white. He is actually quite pretty.

Stubbie is a Red & White Ryukin! He has a short tail...
get it Stubbie!

Cooper is a Chocolate Fantail/Oranda mix.

About 1 1/4 inch long (body measurment) actually looks kind of goldish brown right now. I watch to see if a wen will grow in!

Last but not least is Patch.

One of the Fantail/Oranda mix babies. He is really becoming a strikingly beautiful fish! He is mostly orange mixed with black speckles & a white tummy! One eye is regular & the other is solid black (That's why he's Patch)

Oh yeah, almost forgot 3 Albino Cory Catfish live in there too! Busy, Busy Bee & Busy Body!
It is rare to see these guys holding still! (As I wrote this I looked over & could see ANY cats. So I got my long sponge on a stick thingee to poke around....the 100 gal is up to my armpits to reach the bottom...as I poked the log decoration out shot all 3 of them!! Sneaky little buggars!

It scares me when one seems to be missing because I HAD another baby that looked like Patch but had a bright yellow tummy, named Sunny. She came up missing & I NEVER found a single sign of her. All I can figure is that somehow something happened to her & the others COMPLETELY ATE her! Even though I have never seen goldies eat a good size fish without leaving SOMETHING! That still puzzles me!!:(

The 2 babies in the 30 gallon tank, Hershey & Cocoa

(both Chocolates...obviously) have surprized me in that they have grown faster than their 2 siblings in the 100 gallon tank. I guess because they have a full 15 gallons each A N D no competition for food! (I would have lost a bet thinking the 2 in the 100 would have gotten bigger faster!

EVERY weekend I spend a couple of hours cleaning my two tanks. The truth is I really enjoy doing it......how wierd is that?? I have a 50 foot Python siphon system that I would NOT do without! (NO HAULING BUCKETS!!) On the weekly cleaning I remove at least 25% of the water....... once or twice monthly I bump it up to 50-60%. I like the Python because I can clean my gravel & assorted do-dads (I put the hose over anything that holds water.....little bottles or pots.....to keep any stagnant water from collecting inside there.) I make sure to move EVERY decoration in the tank, gunk collects inside & under things! While removing the water I take the scraper/sponge thingee & go over the walls of the tank. A clearish slime can get on the glass, if you don't keep it scraped clean it can become unsightly!

***Here I want add a warning! NEVER leave the python syphon unattended!!! My tank is 100 gallons so removing half can take awhile, once I was distracted cleaning something or whatever & one of my goldies got sucked INTO the barrel. She was too big to fit into the tubing but the force of the water held her to the inside end of the barrel & ripped her open. It was horrible! She was a dainty, beautiful little goldie! I still promote the use of the Python (I can't imagine NOT having one) the accident was MY FAULT. Be sure you don't make the same mistake!***

When you keep goldfish cleaning & good water is TOP PRIORITY! Do your weekly water changes no matter what AND get a good test kit.

Good advice is get the biggest tank & the best filter you can afford! With goldfish filtration is extremely important! They are VERY messey! If you start out with a large aquarium (NEVER a bowl!) & a big, strong filter you will SAVE $$$ in the long run! You will become hooked on goldies & you will want several!! So get space and equipment ASAP. Then you won't have to UPGRADE all the time!! You wouldn't believe how many tanks (& who knows HOW many different do-dads & equipment) you can go through to get to what you are satisfied with! But keep your eyes open for bargains, you can usually find someone upgrading or getting out of fish & really save money! My 100 gallon was a bargain & came with a really nice stand!!

I have recently added more live plants

My hubby had 4 bags of assorted plants in a box for my birthday! (I really like when someone thinks about what you really like & get you a special gift.) I think the tank looks alot better with plants & it IS better for the fish. Plants keep NitrAtes down! Because I have a MOSTLY barebottomed tank right now(in the 100) I anchor my plants down by sticking the roots into assorted shells & bottles! Still EVERYDAY I have to re-anchor several (more correctly MOST) of the plants......because Goldies LOVE to eat, pull at & do any other thing they can think of to disrupt your aquascaping skills! I don't mind though I just re-anchor & place them right back in!! Sometimes I walk out of the room only to return to a plant or two floating!! (( I think I hear little fishie voices singing :Na na na boo boo!!) Well, that could be just Me!!

Getting back on track! Plants really add to the beauty of the tank!

I think it is a labor of love to keep my tank clean & healthy! I am not the most professional fish keeper, but I work hard & it. I read & study as much as I can. I am a regular on a few Goldfish related sites, they are packed with good info & helpful, knowledgeable people!!

I read this line & I like it, I don't think I have the wording exact but you get the idea!
Take care of your water and the water will take care of your fish!!

I am having a problem with one of my goldies right now! Zeus, the Butterfly Ryukin, has decided to become an AIR DRINKER!! He likes to stay at the top of the tank gulping air. NOT good for fat goldfish!! He does it sometimes so much he gets bouyant! Meaning he has a hard time staying DOWN.....he tends to be pulled right back to the top! So far (fingers crossed) he doesn't flip over!
I have been advised to try a product named PraziPro. It sounds like a great product to have on hand...even if your fish isn't showing these problems. It says it kills many bacteria & bad things that fish can carry AND can be used regularly & to the entire tank! I will try this ASAP. It was suggested to me by a FishVet!! I immediately searched it on the internet & I really like what I read!! As with anything, get the best advice you can, read & study & then decide for yourself what is best for you!!

I wonder if some sort of "net cage" would help the "air drinker"? I am thinking of making something to try my idea. My thought is to have a good size net area, place the fish in it & sit it on the bottom to the tank. Would this better able you to feed peas to the fish, to make sure THAT fish got a good portion? Would it allow the air to pass easier while not allowing them to take in more air? I am going to make something like this ASAP & experiment with it!

July 22, 2006

I did some fish shuffling today. I decided to move Hershey (the biggest of the 4 baby fish) over to the 100 gallon tank. I moved Cooper (the smallest of the babies) over to the 30 gallon tank. I want to see if Cooper has a growth spurt!See, Hershey got MUCH bigger while in the 30!! Above is Hershey & Patch! Patch is good size but Hershey is a big fat boy!!

I finally have my filtration like I want it! I am running TWO Aquaclear 110's on the 100 & my 2 best HOB's on the 30!This combined with weekly 30-50% water changes keeps my water in good shape!

Well....here's somemore pics of THE GANG!!