New Fish Owners!

Question
Now, I don't so much have one specific question, as a few, as I am new to the fish thing. We recently got a 10 gallon fish tank for our two sons who love it. We decided too get two black moors, three fan tails (one large- and two small) a regular large gold fish (around 2 inches) and two fish I have no idea what they're called as my husband had picked them out and forgot. He believes one is something involving a shark, and the other is a light blue ish with dark blue spots? none of the fish are that big, with exception of the large fantail, and regular goldfish.

We wanted to be sure that we got the right size tank for the fish, as it is 10 gallons? And, to be sure its not over crowded. We've only had the fish for two days and the fish tank is cloudy as well, although I did a 30% water change.  Is there any way to fix this? And any tips that you can give for having those fish? (With the exception of the two my husband got.) Any information you can give us would be greatly appreciated, as our boys love the fish, so we want to keep the fish nice and healthy, we're just pretty clueless as to how!

Answer
Hello Hope -

First off, I guess I can start by identifying your mystery fish. You've possibly got a Bala Shark and a Blue Gourami. Pictures of each are below...

Bala Shark -
http://www.petpig.com/fish/fish/Shark-BalaShark-Bala.jpg
Blue Gourami -
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2031/2519474229_4191ef9299.jpg?v=0

As for the rest of your questions...Well, I'll try to be as polite as possible while still being honest.

If you don't do something about your current setup, you run the risk of seeing all of your fish die within the month. Your tank is much too crowded, and you are mixing warm water fish (gouramis and bala sharks) with cool water fish (goldfish) which will lead to the deaths of one or the other groups depending on whether or not you have a heater in the tank.

The cloudy water you are seeing is a sign that the water quality in your tank is not right. Adding so many fish to such a small tank makes it nearly impossible for the tank to go through the nitrogen cycle without your fish dying of ammonia poisoning. If you take a water sample to PetSmart, they can confirm this free of charge.

Read more about the nitrogen cycle here, as it is much too complicated to explain in this e-mail -
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

Please, if you want to help your fish and spare your children the heartbreak of seeing them all die, you NEED to either remove most of the fish, or get a larger tank. Here are some options:

** Buy a larger tank for just the goldfish (at least 30 gallons) without a heater and return the gourami and bala shark to the store. A 30 gallon tank can hold your fantails and moors comfortably for most of their lives and will be much easier to cycle.

** Keep the gourami in the 10 gallon tank alone, and add a heater since gouramis are tropical fish. You could also add some zebra danios or white clouds if you want more fish to look at.

** Return the bala shark unless you are prepared for owning a fish that can grow to be more than 16" long. I would not recommend keeping a single bala shark in a tank smaller than 70 gallons. I know of some people who keep bala sharks in 200 gallon+ tanks - they are not a beginner fish.

I personally have about a dozen 10-gallon tanks laying around that I never use, and I consider them deathtraps for any fish other than bettas and small, schooling fish (zebra danios, white clouds, neons, barbs, etc.)

I apologize if I came off as rude, but questions like yours leave me exhausted because I have to explain everything I know about fishkeeping in a limited number of words. I truly hope that you will take my advice to heart, even though they are probably not the words you wanted to hear. I wish you luck in whatever you decide to do.

-Amber Worman