Sarasa Comets: Unexpected sudden growth? Should I be worried?

Sanguinefox

I apologize in advance if this has been asked before or if this is a really silly question. About perhaps less than Month ago I bought 2 Sarasa Comets and introduced them to my 55 gal freshwater tank. I also recently bought a third because it was too large for the tank it was in and felt rather sorry for the poor thing (no one would buy it because they thought it wasn't pretty enough).

Recently I went on vacation and I left someone in charge of my tank for a week. When I came back it appears that the person over-fed the fish? The strange this while two of them grew a little bit, one of them seems to have increased in mass by about between 35 to 45 percent. The fish is huge...and I don't know if I should be worried?

Is this something I should be worried about? Do you think something is medically wrong with the fish? If I should provide pictures I can if you all think it is necessary.

thekoimaiden

You've piqued my interest. I keep fancies and Koi (the later of which is more similar to your comets). My Koi always look bigger at the end of a summer, but just a week? How long are they? Do you have an age estimate? Would you say they put on girth or grew in length? What is the protein content/fiber/carbs/fat content of your food? Did you recently change food? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to get a better picture of your situation.

Sanguinefox

Well I'd say they are probably around 2-3 inches long? I'd say that it put on girth more than anything. Maybe a wee bit of length? They get fed on fish flakes that have about...47 percent protein? They are still young I think but I don't know. They came from Wal-Mart. Normally I wouldn't buy from such a place but that particular one keeps it's fish tanks really really clean. Fish are usually pretty healthy too. They were about 1.5 inches when I got them.

They like to steal and nibble on the pellets I put out that the Bichirs adore that are about 35 percent protein. I've started to introduce vegetables into their diet but they reject peas, but the seem to want to go for cut green beans. I plan to try a few other things too including cubed frozen zucchini.

They get fed about five small pinches of the flakes in the morning, and the Bichirs get a scatter of round pellets. The only recent change is a move to a fresh can of flakes. They don't get much because they really shouldn't have stuff that high of a protein percent and they eat up the pellets. I am probably soon going to swap completely to pellets since they have a smaller protein percentage. To my knowledge they have no been eating any of the blood worm but I don't know for sure since it was someone else putting it in there over the week.

It's also possible that the person looking after them put too big of pinches of flakes. You can sort of compare what I got them as: YKnossos's Channel - YouTube and what they are now: Sarasa Comets and Gray Bichirs (2 months in new tank) - YouTube

It's the big girthy mostly orange one. If it helps when I originally got the first two he was far more fast on catching the flakes and it took two days before his tank-mate the mostly white one to start chasing down flake. Same happened with the third (white with a big red patch on the head and dorsal up to the top fin).

thekoimaiden

First off, your bichirs are beautiful! I'd love to have one but don't have the tank space. Now that I'm done drooling over them....

If they mostly put on girth it sounds like your buddy way overfed them. They also probably managed to scavenge some bloodworms. You could try skipping a feeding or only feeding every other day for a week. They do look a little chubby. It's great that you are getting them some fresh food; I feed my goldies almost exclusively on fresh foods and gel foods. You could also try orange slices stuck to the wall with a lettuce clip. My guys are going crazy over one in the tank behind me right now. I also like to give my guys fresh and cubed frozen spinach and cooked shrimp bites (I cook up an extra shrimp when I have it for dinner). I know it makes me sound dorky, but I love hand-feeding my fancies. ^-^

Since they are so young, they actually need a diet higher in protein so they will grow and develop properly. (I'm guessing from the size they are under a year.) Once they reach a few years you can cut back on their protein. Ideally they need a food that has between 50% and 60% protein, but those are hard to find in commercial foods; what you are doing for them is fine. The comets are much hardier than the fancies.

Sanguinefox

Hehe, those two are my pride and joy. I call them Zorn and Thorn, although their nicknames are Monster One and Monster Two. They are my pride I got them when they were thinner than a pencil and and a little over an inch long. My how they grew D:

The new tank was obtained just for them for their current size but even then it's only temporary till I can locate a good deal on a 75 gal or a 100 gal. (didn't pay much either, got the stand and tank for 45 bucks just had to scrub the tank out). Anyway that said, I figured that's probably what happened.

I found conflicting info on the protein percentage. I didn't know that they really need the higher protein at the earlier stage(but it makes sense). I don't know how I can go about skipping feeding them. I sort of skipped yesterday because they are so chubby, but the result is they begin to bother to Bichirs and try to steal their food.

I'll have to get a new lettuce clip (I broke the first one) and try that thing with the oranges. Perhaps if I can find something that really excites them I can put that out when I feed the Bichirs so they get some peace. About how long should I leave it in(the orange slice) before it starts to dirty up the tank?

The Bichirs I am beginning to have a real problem with food wise. The blocks of Blood Worm I get just are not enough(small tiny worms they make a mess and are harder for the Bichirs to track down). I'd like to move them over to worms but I don't know of a place in my area where I can get them and trust it. Freeze dried stuff floats on the top and they never bother with it. I've tried cut up Shrimp before but they ignore it. I don't want to do feeder fish due to risk of parasite but I've thought about live krill. I'm not sure which meats are good to give, and how to prepare them and have not had much luck finding that kind of info.

I have found the Sarasas like to eat freeze dried shrimp. So once a week I put a few of those in there.

thekoimaiden

I love watching my fish grow. I got all of my Koi when they were under 6 inches. Now they're at least a foot each. My fancies have put on some size, too.

Those comets will love a 100 gal tank! Congrats on being a responsible Goldfish owner (they are such a rare breed). One of my biggest pet peeves is when people don't do their research on the fish and then mistreat them.

Distracting the goldies with food sounds like a great idea to feed the bichirs. An orange might be enough to distract them. You could also try feeding the bichirs after dark. Goldfish are more of a sight-feeder, and if they can't see the food, they can't chase it. Another idea would be to use your hand to put the bichir food at the bottom, maybe under your cave.

I keep the orange slice in there no longer than a day. I usually put them in around noon and take them out before lights out. I don't like keeping it in there overnight because while the fish sleep, the little bits of orange still on the rind tend to fall off and get caught in my filter. It might take your guys a few times to figure out what to do with it, but when they get the hang of it your orange slice will be gone in a few hours.

As for food for the bichirs, I couldn't tell you. The largest truly predatory fish I own are my bettas. Small mouths are pretty simple to feed (lol). But I think the people over in the "Ancient Fish" subforum can help you.

You might not have to totally skip feeding your goldies. You could try only offering them greens for a week. They would still be eating; they just wouldn't be getting a lot of protein and will hopefully slim down. Time to put them on a weight-loss diet!

Sanguinefox

Oh wow that must have been an experience to see those beautiful fish grow. Do you keep them in a Koi pond? It was neat (but alarming) to watch the bichirs grow. But eh wrong area-ish to talk about them.

That said thank you! I never imagined I'd end up with Goldfish but the Comets add a good splash of color and personality to a tank. It's cute in the morning to wake up and see their silly faces. They know when I wake up it's food time. So they swim over to the side that they get fed on get all excited. Thought the third one had a funny identity crisis when he first joined the tank. He would try to school with the Bichirs and let me tell you they were a little confused to see this little white fish trying to join them in the cave.

I'll personally love a 100 Gallon. I'm happy when the animals I look after are happy. The amount of space and room will make for very happy active fish. Plus I can do more with a bigger tank versus this narrow temp-tank. The thing is I keep an eye on the thrift stores they pop up there all the time. I'm just waiting to save up and have the money ready so that when a good 100 gal (or 75) hits the floor I can grab it. I saw one the other day with top and stand and accessories for a little over 200 but...one corner has a small chunk of glass missing. I don't trust a damaged tank like that.

It does bugger me to no end when people don't do research before they take on any animal including cats, dogs, fish, snakes, birds. etc. You can't keep a happy pet if you don't know about them first. You can't keep fish that you don't research before you take them home.

I do tend to feed them at night. They still sometimes manage to see the sinking pellets and go after it. I may start turning off the light slightly earlier and then give it some time before I add the pellets. I"ll have to go over there and ask them about how they recommend feeding bichirs at the size mine are now. I'll be damned if any local pet store knows anything because they only feed and sell the babies.

I'll try the orange thing and let you know how that goes.

thekoimaiden

I do have a Koi pond and being out there with them at any time of the year is a real treat. I have some pictures of it under my aquariums. Their colors and patterns change as they age. They're like a living mosaic.

If there is one thing Goldfish are good at doing, it is begging for food. I have an easier time saying "No more food" to my cats than I do to my Goldfish. Where the tank is situated there is one side that people are always walking by. My goldies tend to sit there and, depending on who walks by, wiggle wildly for food or look mildly interested.

Your Goldfish will be absolutely beautiful in a 100 gal. I love large fish (hence why I have a 4000 gal pond). The bigger the more beautiful. They will probably get about a foot long. I once found a picture of a comet next to a lady in what had to be a 100 gal tank. The fish was almost as big as her head! I wish I could find it again. Also, I shouldn't have read that you can find those tanks in thrift stores. Now I have crazy ideas in my head and an itching to check my thrift stores out....

Ridewithme38

Do you use a liner with a pond that big?

Sanguinefox

Oh wow your pond sounds like a real treat. :3

I've noticed this with the begging of sorts. They get right up to the tank end start getting all animated and their fishy lips start puckering. I call it lip service because it's as though they are giving me lip because I say no to the idea of feeding them every half hour.

Yeah I can't wait. It takes time though and I don't want to break my wallet trying to get them into a big tank which is why I plan to just save and put the money aside. You have to be careful about tanks that come from a thrift store. You can find really nice ones but you have to do a look over of the tank. Check for cracks or pieces missing on the edges), and examine what shape that sealant stuff is in that is on the inside where the pieces meet. You always want to take it outside when you bring it home and fill it with water to see if it holds.

You also have to pay close attention to what shape the stand is in if it comes with it. Sometimes they come with accessories and those have to be cleaned and checked to see how good they are. When I brought the 50 gal home it was covered in a bed of dried slime and left over gravel. So I had to do a hardcore scrubbing with cleaner stuff. But that tank sat for several months before it got water and was set up. So by that time any possible left over residue was gone. If you have good stores in a well populated area it's a matter of time before someone drops their tank off because they decided that fish keeping just wasn't for them, or their fish died and they don't want to get more.