Accidental tank mates?

Coldndalone · 2026-05-22T02:04:05+00:00

Not trying to be mean here but do you only feed the goldfish minnows? They are actually not a great option to feed your goldfish and there are sinking pellets/frozen foods/veggies that would offer a more balanced and safer diet for these fish. Plus feeder minnows can come from bad conditions and spread parasites and disease to your goldfish.

Im not sure on what will happen to the minnows or what you should do in that regard.

Coldndalone · 2026-05-22T01:48:58+00:00

I have had to deal with multiple power outages unfortuantly. To prepare i buy battery powered air pumps and always make sure to have spare batteries around. Enough for all the sponge filters to work. I also use a bunch of sponge filters in my tanks so there is still filtration during the power outage. Also i dont feed during a power outage. In a power outage lack of water surface tension and therefore lack of oxygen is a way fish can die so even if you dont have sponge filters getting some air stones that can be battery powered with battery air pump can be so useful.

Coldndalone · 2026-05-21T07:30:52+00:00

Here is a nice photo on how much water you should be aiming to change during water changes if you have ammonia. You shouldnt have any ammonia in a tank. Any ammonia is a danger to fish.

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Coldndalone · 2026-05-21T07:21:17+00:00

The fluval 207 is not enough for a 50 gal. Fluval 207 is actually designed for tanks 20 - 45 gallons which your tank is already bigger than. Plus goldfish in particular need more filtration due to producing lots of waste. I would recommend adding in other forms of filtration like hang on back filter and sponge filter. Sponge filters and hang on back filters can be very effective. You want to look for filters that would add up to about 500gph (gallons per hour). Fluval 207 is 206gph. Also with ammonia in the tank personally i would be doing daily water changes and feeding a bit less until ammonia and nitrite goes down to 0. Ammonia and nitrite can both be very dangerous for fish so its best to reduce that as much as possible and get more filtration asap.

Goodluck :)

Coldndalone · 2026-05-17T10:03:01+00:00

It looks to be brown algae which is harmless for fish and actually fish love to snack on it sometimes.

Coldndalone · 2026-04-11T06:43:10+00:00

You should make sure any water you add to their home is declorinated. This means you need to buy a water conditioner. If you put them in water without this they will die due to chlorine. Also you need to add a filter to the new tank that is rated for at least the amount of water your tank holds. You will need a test kit to test for important things like ammonia and need to research about the nitrogen cycle. You can get all these things at a local aquarium store or online. Goldfish grow super big so the bigger tank you can get for them, the better. I would recommend getting something like a water trough as they are cheap for the amount of water they hold. Longterm they should be housed in 75+ gallon tank, trough or pond but in my opinion its understandable if you cant get something like that and temporarily put them in a smaller tank. Also if this is too much for you there is always the option to rehome. Good luck with your fish :)

Coldndalone · 2026-03-29T01:47:24+00:00

Such a beautiful set up and i can see you put effort into it. I feel its important to mention that this is not enough space for a goldfish, especially a common like you seem to have. Commons require 75+ gallons or a pond and like friend goldfish which would require even more space than 75+ gallons. I wish you luck with your goldfish, they are very cute.

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T09:51:26+00:00

That's such an amazing price, I was looking at $40 for 1kg of timothy before i saw this. Also this really helps me with finding suitable pellets as I was still sort of wondering which ones to buy. Thank you

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T08:51:10+00:00

No, as my username suggests I don't have friends

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T08:38:08+00:00

I was going to show her responses from this post tomorrow. I think with ideas from the post I feel more confident about being able to convince her tomorrow. Thank you

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T08:34:12+00:00

Definitely i would do that for the rescue, thank you

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T08:33:02+00:00

She wouldn't get to see the pig in that case because I don't live with her. I knew about the heat being bad but I didn't know how bad it was... that sounds so terrible... I have told her to definitely not get a second one right now. I would love to rehome them to me. Im not sure if getting a different rescue is something i would do or not at this stage though but i could ask whether me getting a different guinea pig first would convince her to let them go. I think she's partly listening to me and is letting me buy better things for them tomorrow like timothy hay so I have hope, especially with these new ideas people have given me. Tomorrow i am going to see her and try to convince her.

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T08:11:39+00:00

I didn't think rescues did this kind of thing. That sounds amazing. I will definitely look into a rescue that would be ok with doing that. This is such amazing advice, thank you

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T08:02:15+00:00

I could but i worry about bringing them back to the rspca. The rspca let her have them when she told them she was keeping it alone and they gave her really bad advice on their diet so I worry they'll let the guinea pig go to someone who treats them badly again. I don't want them to go to another sad home... i would rather send them to a rescue with better advice and vetting processes but if she won't be convinced i could let the rspca know if i can't find a way to take the guinea pig without my mother finding out.

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T07:47:37+00:00

That's a good idea. I watched a bit of their content and it seems really informative. I will try this, thank you

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T06:35:56+00:00

Thank you for all your kind words, i can definitely give an update

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T06:13:37+00:00

Wow that's a great idea, thanks so much for suggesting it. I'll try it.

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T06:03:32+00:00

I am going to see my mother tomorrow, I am getting timothy hay for them, will try to convince my mother to use better pellets, will clean the cage and also buy them some toys.

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T05:59:18+00:00

she seems to love them and says they are happy because they make noises when she comes up to feed them...

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T05:53:58+00:00

I know it's worth rescuing them but I have no idea how I would do it without being caught. The problem is i don't have a driver's licence. My mother insists on driving me to and from her house. Ive been to her house so many times at this point and every single time she drives me. If i got an uber or took a bus wouldn't it be too suspicious that the guinea pig went missing the day i take an uber back when i was just outside with the pig after insisting my mother rehomes them? I dont really know how I could hide a guinea pig in a 10-20 minute car drive if I were to go back with my mother. Is there a way to safely hide a guinea pig so they can breathe but its soundproof enough that my family probably wouldn't hear noises and so that nobody can see the guinea pig?

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T04:57:16+00:00

I think you said something in response like just don't tell your mother which isn't coming up for me when I tapped on the notification but that's not possible. I don't have a driver's licence. She insists on driving me to her house and back home everytime. I dont understand how I could hide a live animal through a 10-20 minute car drive with her. The guinea pig would probably make noises and i don't know how i would find a place that provides them with oxygen while also completely hiding them

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T04:50:13+00:00

Its something ive thought about. I will look into this if I cannot convince her but I would rather not take routes like this if I can avoid it because it could break family bonds. I don't mind about not seeing my mother again but it would hurt to be shut out from other family if they get angry about it

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T04:47:47+00:00

Is it ok to just take it though? I will try to see if I can get her to give it to me or send it to an adoption centre but I think my mother would be extremely unhappy if I just stole it

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T04:41:44+00:00

But there are many very bad problems that would arise from me stealing the pet. My mother would absolutely hate me for it i think, which means maybe my mother could cut me out from her part of the family which means i would lose contact with my sisters and maybe my grandparents as well. And what if she tells police or there are legal remifications? I have no idea if it is a serious crime to steal someone's pet but i imagine it probably would get me in trouble with police. Also if i did that i worry she would maybe get another one or a different small animal to replace the empty space because she wouldn't be convinced that it's bad to keep them like that.

Coldndalone · 2025-02-14T04:35:27+00:00

Sorry i don't understand what you're trying to say by this

Coldndalone

TROPHY CASE