goldfish rescue/care!
 

I saw a goldfish in the old gross family pond that hadn't been maintained in over two decades, and thought, oh wow, this pond can support life! So I started fixing it up - I started digging out the muck and all these little foul smelling bubbles came up and the whole thing started smelling like a sewer - I figured I'd just released a lot of toxic gas from the deep, scummy substrate, and now everything in the pond was going to die from ammonia poisoning.

So I decided to find and rescue that solitary goldfish (he/she's a feeder my mother put in last year (with a dozen others) to keep the mosquito population down - so a comet, right?) about 3" long - he/she was pretty enthusiastic about being captured. I have him/her slowly acclimating in a 26 gallon dechlorinated rubber maid tub.

I want to take as good care of this fish as possible while I fix up his/her pond, but I know nothing about goldfish care. What are the immediate steps I can take to ensure his/her comfort (I don't even have any fish food)?

Thanks!

Jonathan

seems like your doing plenty. its amazing the conditions goldfish can live in, but in clean fresh unchlorinated water that you've provided- it should just do great while your working on the pond. they will eat flakes and pellets.. but if its pellets your best bet is to pre-soak them so your fish doesnt eat them and they absorb water and bloat their stomach. be careful- goldfish will eat themselves to death- literally. if its possible to throw a bubler or filter on the tub you'd it'd only help but probly isnt even nesassary.. just more motivation to get that pond finished :)

hey thanks! I found an old filter in the garage - I don't know if it's actually going to filter anything, but at least it's aerating the water. I think if the fish makes it to morning, it'll be okay...

yea it will be good just to help circulate the water.

filter pads are really whats benifitial- just for a good surface to house benificial bacterias...

but i think your goldfish should be just fine.

There were two of them!

then your halfway there

well, now I'm thinking - I've got two fish in an unicycled 26g tub, and I've heard goldfish are prodigious waste producers, aren't they?

Do you think I'll need to do daily water changes?

Wel...you could get another 26 gallon tub or change the water every other day. More motivation to get the pond fixed up :)