new to the aquarium game. finally got my 5g tank etablished having trouble with my 10 g though. fish are dying at a rate of about 1 goldfish a day. i know there alot of wise experts here lol getting ready to start a fishless cycle. learning more and more everytime i get on this site

How many gold fish do you have in a 10 gal? A 10 gal tank is too small for even one goldfish.

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i had four. now im down to 2.

Hi and Welcome to the forum!!!

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First of all, welcome to the forum we're glad to have you! :D

Now for your problem: 1 goldfish needs 20 (at the least) - 30gallons (ideally) on its own, with an extra 10 gallons per extra goldfish after that. They also need double filtration on the tank and large weekly partial water changes. So, for 4 goldfish, you need a 40-50gallon tank with filtration enough for a 80-100gallon tank. Keeping them in a small tank will stunt their skeletons but their organs will continue to grow, causing a very painful death. I'm guessing it was ammonia that killed them, since goldies are very messy fish and produce a LOT of ammonia.

Try and re-home the last goldie and choose some fish that are better suited to a 10g tank. For the time being, test the ammonia with a liquid test kit and do a large partial water change to bring the ammonia down if it's high.

Also noticed you said they are dying at a rate of "one a day", which to me says you set up the tank, put in 4 goldies and they started dying.... did you let the tank go through the nitrogen cycle the before putting them in there? (Either with fish or fishless?) If not, that's the problem. There isn't enough good bacteria in the substrate, filter media or on the decor' to support the bio' load - although it still wouldn't support 4 goldies even if it was cycled.) There's a fantastic thread on the site about Fishless cycling, and you can also find info' on the Nitrogen Cycle on here as well.

Noticed you are getting ready to start a fishless cycle - do you have a third tank, or are you starting over with either the 5g or 10g? (Sorry, I was just a bit confused with what you meant.)

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Welcome!

As Holly said, even one goldie in a 10 gallon is too much (common misconception, no hard feelings). Here's the thread about fishless cycling that she was talking about too:
The Fishless Cycle

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Lead me not to temptation...I can make it there myself just fine, thank you

Welcome.

Having the gf is not the main problem. Aside from what the recommendations are, the main problem is you have tried to put too many fish in that size tank without the tank having been through the nitrogen cycle. A situation that is just worsened by the fact that gf are big waste producers.

Read about the nitrogen cycle and you'll understand what is going on.

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