How to best raise the temperature of my goldfish tank?

[wordhappy]

Hi folks,

I have a small (38L) tank with 2x fancy goldfish of about 2inches long each. I have had issues with health of them and the blackmoor of the same size that I had before sadly died, all indications are that this was a swimbladder issue.

Now with my two remaining fishies, I have treated them with a number of things (Melafix finally seemed to solve the last of their problems) but am tending to think now that their tank is just too cold for them to do well, and I would love to see the wee darlings really thrive, and perhaps be able to introduce a third fish again once I get a bigger tank. I have no heater in the tank currently so the temperature is probably sitting between 2 and 11 degrees, most of the time.

Can I just get a heater and turn it up to 16 or 17 degs C or will that just kill them? I am pretty new to all this - what is the best way to do it safely? And am I on the right track with wanting to stabilise the water temp?

Cheers,

wordhappy.

[critter_crazy]

I'd say add a heater and raise the temp around 2 degrees every few days. It'll take a couple of weeks but shouldn't shock them. At the first sign of stress stop upping the temp and wait a week :thup:

[wordhappy]

Thanks for that.

Can you recommend a good heater that will actually do that for my size tank? The ones I've seen so far have a temperature range of 17-35, so I'm not sure how I start out when my tank currently seems to fluctuate between about (I don't have a thermometer but based on the outside temperature) 2 and 11 deg C.

[critter_crazy]

I'm not sure sorry, you'll have to have a look around on trademe or in stores. I would reccommend getting a thermometer though so you know what you're working with - this one would do http://www.trademe.co.nz/Pets-animals/Fish/Other/auction-394612472.htm

[aquariumbeginner32]

Yeah when I had to rescue my one surviving fantail from the outdoor pond I put it in the tank with my minnows and wild guppies. Not sure what the temp was but at that time I didn't have a heater. It certainly would not have been as cold as the pond water. I put the fish into a bag in the pond water and put the bag into the tank and left it for about 15 mins before putting it into the tank. Then I ended up getting a heater not long after that... maybe two weeks later. I put the temp on 19C at first as that is the lowest temp it has on it. Then I raised it one degree a day. At the moment it's on 24-25C and the fantail is perfectly happy. It has gone higher (up to 28-29C) but at that point the fantail was gulping air at the surface so I turned it down. I also have a Bubbilo pump so that's adding extra oxygen to the water :thup: My guppies are much happier now the water is warmer.

[Caryl]

What do you call a "fancy" goldfish? Some of the types with short, fat, bodies have a tendency to swim bladder problems as their digestive system leaves something to be desired as a result of their breeding.

38L is not big enough for 2 goldfish as they grow large and produce a lot of waste. When you upgrade to a bigger tank, look at around 120L at least (a standard 3ft tank) if you plan to have 3 or more.

Comets are best in a pond. Those with long flowing tails, or over developed eyes, that cannot swim very far or fast, are OK in slightly smaller tanks.