Freshwater fish and ammonia levels high?

Question

I just got a biube aquarium, it is supposed to have a 5 stage filtration system so it is supposed to be very good. I set up the aquarium and added 2 goldfish, few guppies and an algae eater. I should mention it is a 10 gallon aquarium. All my guppies died. I checked ammonia levels and they were off the chart high. I did 50% water change and still high ammonia, so the next day I did a whole water change. Ammonia is very very low now but i am afraid it will start growing again because I have one goldfish in there. I would like to keep this goldfish but I would also like to have guppies and other fish in there. Does anyone know if keeping this goldfish will create problems with ammonia continuously ? I know goldfish are supposed to create high levels of ammonia, but i am not sure whether my ammonia was created by this single goldfish or was the ammonia created because I first set up. Again i have a 10 Gallon tank and only one medium sized goldfish, is all the ammonia created by him only?

Answer 1

How big is your goldfish that's probably why its creating high ammonia because your tank could be to smallfor the goldfish?

Answer 2

that's too many fish!

i'm pretty sure guppies and plecos are tropical warm water fish, and plecos need lotssss of room.

goldfish are cold water fish, and you should only keep 1 goldfish per 10+ gallons (and whenever you add other fish, i suggest a bigger tank).

but by mixing the different fish, you're stressing them out by making it too cold for the guppies and plecos, and too warm for the goldfish.

yes, goldfish are huge waste producers, and they're constantly eating anything they can. they will most definitely cause ammonia levels to rise, if you're not taking proper care of the water.

Answer 3

All fish produce ammonia, goldfish produce more than most.

A new filter has no bacteria living in it to process this waste ammonia, so it builds up quickly, and as you have found out, kills your fish. The more crowded the tank, the faster the buildup.

When you set up a new tank you must be very carefull to let the 'cycle' build up. This is the process of growing a population of bacteria in the filter which processes the  ammonia into less toxic nitrate. You can do this by doing a fishless cycle or just adding a couple of small hardy fish. But untill you get the cycle working the tank cant support fish properly.

Then there is the fish selection, You have coldwater and tropical together and you have fish that will grow MUCH too big for a 10gal tank.

With that size tank, stick to the guppies and similar sized fish, things will work much better.

Ian