blackmoor goldfish

Question
I got my Blackmoor yesterday and it died this morning. But I got another fish with it but it is not the same kind of fish. why did my Blackmoor die and my Veiltail didn't? I even let the bag sit in the water for 10 mins, I also poured the water from the bag carefully over the sink into a net so none of that nasty water would get into my 10 gal. bowl. So why did he die?

Answer
Hi Taylor.  I'm sorry, but there is no way I can tell you how or why your fish died.  It could have been so many different things.  For example:  He could have been sick to begin with; he could have gone in to shock because of water differences. Some fish can adapt or adjust without problem, and some cannot.

Sometimes just "floating the bag" is not good enough.  What you really should do in the future is this:

1.  Float the bag for 15 minutes.
2.  After 15 minutes, open up the bag and add about 3 tablespoons of tank water to the bag.
3.  After 15 minutes, add 3 more tablespoons of tank water to the bag.
4.  After 15 minutes, add 3 more tablespoons of tank water to the bag.

What this does is slowly lets the new fish adjust to the properties of the new water, so the changes do not shock their system.  If it's too hard to do in a bag, you can pour it in to a bucket, bowl, whatever can hold the water and fish with minimal chances of him "jumping ship"!  This should be done with all new fish.

Ideally, you really want to "quarantine" any new fish you are going to add to your tank for at least a week to make sure it's not sick in any way.  I always treat my new fish with medication for internal and external parasites also.  This is the reason for hospital tanks, and well worth it.

On the other side though, if you are very very careful and observant when picking out your fish, many people choose not to quarantine.  I always advise people that ask to NEVER buy a fish out of a tank that ANY of the fish in it are dead, look sick, or are at the bottom or top of the tank looking ill.  Chances are if the fish in there are sick, the one you pick out is going to be sick too.  THEN, after you pick your fish out and they put it in that plastic holder container, take time to look over the fish for any outward signs of illness.  Make sure he's lively and bright eyed and his dorsal fin is raised, etc.  IF the fish poo's while in the container, make sure it is short and chunky and about the color of fish food.  Any fish that has white stringy poo usually has some type of parasite infection. Here is a great site with more info on that:  http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/beginnerinfo/ht/choosefish.htm

So, being informed and alert when you buy your fish is a great help.  You'll never really know why your fish died, you can only educate yourself on what to look for and how to pick out healthy fish in the future.  And acclimating them to the new water the way I explained helps a whole lot also.

I hope I was able to be of some help.  If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to get back to me.

Good luck!!!      ;o)