Frequent Aquarium Questions

• I see a long, stringy piece of white matter coming out my goldfish. Is this a problem?
  
  
• I recently bought a goldfish whose tailfin was ripped off. I added Melafix to his tank which seemed to help. Will his tail grow all the way back?
  
  
• I have 2 large Raphael Catfish that have outgrown my aquarium. Will pet stores pay for my fish if I bring them in?
  
  
• When do fish go at the top of the tank and keep thir noses out of the water?
  
  
• I'm moving and have two aquariums. I need to know the best way to move my oscar(6 inches)& my tiger barbs, red tail sharks and goldfish. distance is 6-8 hours traveling time.
  
  
• Can you put a Red Wag Platy with a Mickey Mouse Platy? Our Red Wag attacked and killed our Mickey Mouse Platy. Are there certain fish the red wag platy should be with?
  
  
• I recently bought a tetra and noticed that its fins were clamped to its body. What could have caused?
  
  
• One of my Tiger Barb's stripes turned metalic green. Should I be worried?
  
  
• I was just looking at my platy and she seemed to have just released a white cloudy substance. Do you have any idea what this might be?
  
  
• I have three new fish: One Red Cap Oranda, One Comet Gold fish, and One black moore. Is it bad to put them all in one tank? Also what size tank would be adequete to house these three together?
  
  

• I see a long, stringy piece of white matter coming out my goldfish. Is this a problem?
  
  You will frequently see this in goldfish. Feed a high-quality food without so many fillers. You will just have to wait for the fecal matter to exit.
  
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• I recently bought a goldfish whose tailfin was ripped off. I added Melafix to his tank which seemed to help. Will his tail grow all the way back?
  
  Most likely, yes. The problem is if the tail was bitten down to the caudal peduncle. If this is the case, you might see some scarring and have a tailfin that is slightly crooked.
  
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• I have 2 large Raphael Catfish that have outgrown my aquarium. Will pet stores pay for my fish if I bring them in?
  
  If they agree to take your catfish, pet stores normally only offer store credit.
  
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• When do fish go at the top of the tank and keep thir noses out of the water?
  
  Some fish have the abiltiy to breathe air. If you don't have these fish, you have a low dissolved oxygen content in your tank. An air pump and diffuser will help.
  
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• I'm moving and have two aquariums. I need to know the best way to move my oscar(6 inches)& my tiger barbs, red tail sharks and goldfish. distance is 6-8 hours traveling time.
  
  You can either bag them in large plastic bags with pure O2 and encased in a styrofoam box or place them in buckets aerated with battery-operated air pumps and diffusers.
  
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• Can you put a Red Wag Platy with a Mickey Mouse Platy? Our Red Wag attacked and killed our Mickey Mouse Platy. Are there certain fish the red wag platy should be with?
  
  Yes. I suggest that you introduce fish in 3's to help disperse the aggression. I would then continue populating the tank with other peaceful community fish, keeping in mind not to overstock your tank.
  
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• I recently bought a tetra and noticed that its fins were clamped to its body. What could have caused?
  
  Clamped fins are a sign of stress. The 2 most probable causes could be poor water quality or aggression from other fish. There is also a chance the fish was already sick when you purchased it.
  
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• One of my Tiger Barb's stripes turned metalic green. Should I be worried?
  
  This is not uncommon. If you recently changed to a new lightbulb, the color spectrum also can bring out the irredescents on some fishes' bodies.
  
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• I was just looking at my platy and she seemed to have just released a white cloudy substance. Do you have any idea what this might be?
  
  It is not uncommon for fish to slough off some of their slime coating. You will usually see this after a water change.
  
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• I have three new fish: One Red Cap Oranda, One Comet Gold fish, and One black moore. Is it bad to put them all in one tank? Also what size tank would be adequete to house these three together?
  
  These fish should be able to co-exist peacefully.When considering species of fancy goldfish it is imperative that you provide adequete size and filtration. For this scenario a 55 gallon tank with one to two canister filters would be ideal. Also water changes every two weeks (including gravel vacuming) is encouraged as these fish produce large amounts of waste.
  
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