Feeder goldfish?

Question
Hi
I recently bought a 15 gallon aquarium with pump, heater, gravel,etc. at a yard sale. I dont know much about fish but I thought a few goldfish would be nice.
I set it up, conditioned the water.
I thought I would get goldfish as I thought they were pretty hardy.
There was a large tank of 'feeder fish' at the store for 25 cents each, so I got ten.
Its been two weeks and I am now down to five.
I am sure I fed then enough (not too much) and the water is cold.
I change a third of the water twice a week.
Am I doing something wrong is is this 'mortality rate' about normal?
The kid who bagged them didnt know much about them (it was a large department store) but the fact they were called 'feeder fish' has me thinking they were food for other fish?
The ones that are still alive are pretty and I think they are growing.  
Thanks!

Answer
Hi Ernie,

You are correct when you presumed that feeder goldfish are meant for feeding larger, carnivorous fish. Feeder goldfish are bought from the store, and later dumped into a large tank where a predatory fish will get some exercise from chasing the little fish around, eventually eating it. Feeder fish come from breeders who breed them in the thousands, and sell them for very, very, little, like the 25 cents they were sold at. You may be thinking, "How can one even profit from that?" Well, the answer is simple yet unfortunate - They don't care for them whatsoever. The feeder goldfish, starting from the breeding tanks, are kept in terrible, crowded conditions, receive low-quality food, etc. That's why many feeder goldfish also come with diseases and sickness, and therefore, not recommended to be fed to ANY fish. Most likely, the fish you bought were in poor condition to begin with. The price of a fish can tell you many things - fish less than a dollar generally aren't meant for show in a beautiful aquarium.

Your water changes are good, and the most likely scenario is that your fish were sick to begin with. You can actually change just around a quarter of the water twice a week, then once a week after the first couple of weeks have passed. Remember to condition the water using a water conditioner to remove chlorine from the tap water, like you stated.

10 fish for a 15 gallon aquarium is a bit too many. Goldfish can reach sizes of 12" (One foot), as their lifespan can be over 25 years! Therefore, you cannot keep Goldfish (normal types, like your fish) in anything less than a 30 gallon tank. Sometimes, 'small' varieties may be available that can be kept in a 20 gallon.

You can probably expect the rest of the fish to die off within another month or so. However, you can try your best to keep them alive by:

-Changing the water 20-25% Twice a Week
-Checking for fish diseases http://www.fishlore.com/Disease.htm

Note that medication for diseases cost much more than the fish themselves. Also note that using medication on fish that are already in poor condition with a bad immune system probably isn't worth it. Most medications range from $8 - 25.

Your tank is best suited to a small community tropical freshwater setup. These ones require a small heater, but are much easier to manage than a goldfish tank because of your tank size. However, you'll have to wait before you can add tropical fish and a heater, since Goldfish and Tropicals don't mix!

Some good starter Tropical fish are:

-Zebra Danios
-White Cloud Minnows
-Guppies
-Betta (1 Male OR multiple females)


One additional point to note is - Don't buy fish from large department stores that don't specialize in pet care (Such as Wal-Mart). You may be attracted by their very low prices, but at the end of the day, what finally counts is the quality of the fish they sell. A good indicator is the employees that work at the store. ALWAYS ask them questions about the fish before you buy, and if they give you a blank stare, mutter "flake food", or point at the fish and give you a dumb look, it's probably best to find a store that specializes in fish or pet care.

I hope you aren't discouraged by your fish loss. Fishkeeping is a wonderful hobby, and one that can be admired by all.

Good luck, and Happy Fishkeeping!