Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

My goldfish dont seem to be feeding...been about week and still havent seen them feed as yet..most of the time they at the bottom of the tank..
Tank temp is fine..pH at about 7.3..

Any Ideas?

LB

LB,

PH is good. What is the temp? Goldfish survive 1C through 29C but if your temp is 10C or below they might not feed much? don't know, just a theory, will look it up for you.

Have you done any water changes?

I wouldn't stress to much, becasue your tank has only started cycling since you added the fish, so the less they eat the less of an ammonia / nitrite spike you will have.

Steve

Temperature is around 16C ..havent done any water changes..
LB

LB, thats not a bad temp at all is that just with the green house? no heating?

All sites i could find say they will be lethargic and not feed from 10C downwards. but at 16C they really should be eating. Have they taken food the first few days and then stopped, or just not at all?

does the 16C temp fluctuate between dawn and dusk?

Steve, thats with a heater..greenhouse just keeps the weather off the system..not much else..just check temp still around 16C...seems to stay that way all day....the water has a slight pond smell...
LB

can't see why they wouldn't be eating. do they look lethargic? are they gulping or breathing really rapidly?

Can't really say much else unless you want to start testing water

Steve

All the feed disappears..maybe they are shy..or the pump gets it..
They spend a bit of time hiding in the pipe ...I will put on my MIB glasses and watch them carefully
LB

maybe pick up a small pack of floating goldfish food, that way if its gone its because they ate it

Is there any trick to breeding goldfish?

Lots of vegetation, as their eggs are sticky and stick to plants, the vegetation also "Get them in the mood" i think with goldies spawning is trigered by a raise in temp, will confirm and get back to you. Also remove the parents as soon as they have spawned, as they eat thier own eggs with a passion

cheers. So you really need more than one tank going. Would like to breed them, it's a bit like growing plants from seed, very rewarding and cheap too.

that is why I stick to sword fish, patties and guppies - they breed SO easily - NEVER had any of my goldfish breed...

In my goldfish tank, the water gets pumped through a cartridge filter then up into the perlite filled plant pot with a fern in it, then flows out the holes in the bottom of the pot in to the tank. Question: There is a line of whitish bubbles formed along the glass. Can anyone help me with an answer to what this means. I have no test equipment. Maybe I need some?
Thanks

Monya

Manya, what is the force at which the water returns to the tank?
are the bubbles a "scum"
do they float? (sound silly huh?) or are they attached to the glass under the water?

Maybe a pic would help

Steve

The bubbles mean your organic content in the water is rising. Important to get your pH where you want it to stay at this point it will start to buffer itself about now.

The bubbles are fine so long as you don't get too much. They loook a bit polished, range from 2mm to 15 mmish. They are white on the line meeting the water surface.

Too much bubbles is solid bubbles around your water return or where they form for more than 4 inches or so.

If they form and the larger portion breaks away and pops, you're just ready for some growth!