My birthday present!

[Lilith Cherry]

Look at what I got for my birthday/valentine (Feb 12) from my darling husband!! A nice fishtank with gravel and plants with four beautiful big goldfish and two cute little ones! One silvery small one , one bubble eye small black one, one large solid orange veiltail, one large orange and white veiltail, one large black bubble eye and one large silver bubble eye!

John had to carry the tank home from a shop about a mile from here and then up to the fifth floor... when you have arthritis like he does that is true love! he got them today as the shops were shut for Chinese new year til now. This is in addition to a lovely party, chocolates, wine and flowers! Not bad for romance after 30 years

I haven't given them names yet; any suggestions?

[Lilith Cherry]

Another view of the new fishies

[ramanth]

Congrats!! That is a lovely setup. No idea for names though.

[My Peanuts]

It's beautiful!
Make sure you do 20% water changes for a while so the ammonia doesn't kill the fish. Since the tank is new there is no "good" bacterial to eat up the ammonia the fish give off. 20% water changes will reduce the ammonia and allow the good bacteria to grow . After the tank is cycled (meaning there is enough good bacteria) Then you can cut back on the water changes. You may have known that already, but a lot of people lose fish that way

[GraciesMommy]

Happy Birthday and that is really nice! Hubby done good!

[animal_rescue]

Here are some name ideas
Chinese names-
Li(means- Pretty/Powerful)
Jie(means Pure)
Chen(means Dawn)
An(means Peace)
Rong(means Glory)
Shan(means Coral)

French names-
Aleron(Epaulet worn by a Knight)
Astin(means starlike)
Aure(means Soft Air, Breeze)
Bell(means Beautiful)
Sylvain(means Of The Forest)
Daryl(means Dear, Beloved)

all the names are for both males and females

[My Peanuts]

The last few goldfish I had had pretty strange names. I had Michael Jackson who was a black Moor. I insisted that he only be called Michael Jackson and not just Michael. My family thought I was nuts! Then I got a regular Goldie and I named him Pumpkin Tito Jackson , but I called him pumpkin. Then I had Calitri who was a calico moor and Memphis who was an Oranda. They were named after characters for the movie Gone in 60 Seconds. Don't worry, I won't be offended if you don't use any of my names

From the picture I can see two Black Moors, those are my favorite!

[Lilith Cherry]

Black Moors are one of the prettiest fish around I agree! thanks for all the the advice and name suggestions!

Rescue, do you speak Chinese? Or did you look the names up? I was going ask my students here for names on Monday when my classes begin but you pipped them at the post!!

I didnt know about the 20% change thing; thanks for telling me! I did boil all the water and let it stand overnight to get the chlorine out as here in Guangzhou they use a lot of it. How often should I change the 20%?

The fish here in the lakes at parks and gardens are so wonderful and almost get out of the water to be fed

These are in a local beautiful garden called Liangyuan

[Oggyflute]

Great fish Lilith, there are a few things you should be aware of being a new tank , and if this is your first one. The site below has a great Q&A section, on everything from diseases to general care. I've had goldfish for years and I still go back to it for reference.

http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/4468/faq_health.html

Plus,

http://www.ponddoc.com/Topics/health.htm

[Lilith Cherry]

Thanks Oggy for the websites! Unfortunately China seems to block geocities sites so i can't get to that one. the other is useful though.

I have had fish before in England in a pond John built in our garden and then tropical fish in tanks in Canada. Now I am living in a tiny Chinese apartment on a university campus so I don't have a lot of space! These new fish are joy to my heart!

[Oggyflute]

They have a certain serenity about them don't they?

[My Peanuts]

Originally posted by Lilith Cherry
I didnt know about the 20% change thing; thanks for telling me! I did boil all the water and let it stand overnight to get the chlorine out as here in Guangzhou they use a lot of it. How often should I change the 20%?

Ideally you should buy an ammonia tester kit. They are only a few dollars. If you choose not to I would do it every day or two for about 2 weeks and then just 2 times a week after that. Only an ammonia test kit will be able to tell you for sure when the tank is cycled. There are tons of articles online that tell you about cycling. Some use a technique where you buy ammonia and cycle the tank before you get the fish. Since you already have the fish those articles are not what you need. In my personal experience, if I do everything by the book my fish die, but this is very important.

Also, if you buy a bottle of water conditioner you won’t need to boil the water.

[Lilith Cherry]

Thanks for the advice! I will try and find a test kit. Because I live in China it is hard to find vet stuff I can trust and I also have a problem because i can't read the instructions on the packages LOL. The fish are doing fine and I am following your advice!

[petslover]

Thats a very nice birthday present..

What galloon tank is that? It looks like a good size. Looks like one I been looking to get.

[Lilith Cherry]

Hi Petslover! I think it is about 7.5 gallons. It measures 40cms length, 25cms wide, 30cms high . I live in a really tiny apartment in China so I haven't room for anything bigger at the moment. The fish are really great to watch and the nice part is they only cost about 40cents (U.S.) each! I hope you find the tank you are looking for!