New Tank Questions

phoebe

I have recently gotten a new 10 gallon tank with 2 orandas and a small snail. The fish are VERY happy and lively, but the water is so gross looking! It is brownish/green and not clear. I have been feeding the fish twice a day (as per the instructions of the fish store owner) and have recently added two fresh water plants (I thought this would help cut down on the feeding because the fish like to eat the plants). I have had the tank for one week and have been changing the water and vacuuming the gravel but it seems like a futile effort! I know that goldfish are very dirty fish, but this just seems ridiculous! In fact, I'm embarrassed for people to see it. Again, the fish are happy and playful- I'm not worried about their health at this point, but I know that orandas tend toward infections on their wen if their is too much bacteria. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Tyyrlym

Do you have a filter? Without a filter there's no way you can keep the tank looking good and your fish healthy. In fact by most reasoning you need at least a 30 gallon tank for those two gold fish. They are large fish and will grow rapidly.

For a good filter for a 30 gallon I'd recommend the Penguin 200.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...0&pcatid=12320

phoebe

I do have a filter....in fact, I'm looking into getting a new filter, but I live in Costa Rica and good pet stores with reasonable prices are hard to find. I checked since I posted and the tank is a 20 gallon (and is what the man at the store suggested for the two fish I purchased).

Tyyrlym

Well 20 gallon is better. What kind of filter do you have?

Is the tank in a position where it receives direct sunlight?

phoebe

The tank is actually near an opaque skylight (again - I'm in Costa Rica and its winter here -- I have killed several plants trying to grow them near this light so I don't think its the light thing).

The filter is an Elite (it seems rather small, but it has been so long since I've had fish that I thought that filters were much improved, you know?).

Tyyrlym

I'm not familiar with an elite. Do you have any specifics or maybe a picture?

The skylight might, might be causing an algae bloom.

phoebe

I attempted to upload a picture from the web, but I don't know if it worked. While finding the picture, I read that the filter is for a 5 gallon tank (aha!). The man at the store sold me a "package deal" and maybe they were trying to get rid of the filter because it didn't have a box or something....I will try a new filter and see how that goes.

Tyyrlym

Well, I still recommend the penguin 200, it'll be good for fish that messy and it can be moved to a larger tank without needing to be replaced.

If the filter is that small there's a good chance upgrading it will solve a lot of your problems.

phoebe

I took a picture of the tank and will try to upload it so you can see it...maybe that will help.

Flashygrrl

Call me crazy but that doesn't look anywhere near like 20 gallons to me.

Ideally what you will need for those two fish is a 55 gallon tank. No joking. In a tank that size you'll be doing at least partial water changes on a daily basis. Ew, huh?