Fishy dilemma -- need fish tank advice

[Barb D]

Long story short: 13yo DS has two fish tanks. One has Danios in it. The other has small goldfish and tetras. Originally, the small goldfish were in with the Danios, but the Danios were picking them off one by one. That's why we bought the second tank in the first place. The tetras came later.

Yesterday DH and DS bought some large feeder goldfish. They were planning on putting them in the tank with the small goldfish and tetras. Apparently someone later told them that the large goldfish will kill the tetras (because of the amount of ammonia they put out, I think.) And the Danios would kill the large goldfish. So they ended up putting the two large goldfish in a small goldfish bowl. I am NOT going to get another whole tank setup just for two 29 cent goldfish.

So here's the dilemma. Do we:

1. Put the large goldfish in with the Danios, and take a chance that the Danios will kill the large goldfish?

2. Put the large goldfish in with the small goldfish and tetras, and take a chance that the large goldfish will kill the tetras?

or

3. Keep the large goldfish in the small goldfish bowl, change the water frequently and hope for the best?

Or are there other non-expensive options I haven't thought of?

BTW, DS feels TERRIBLE. He is extremely sensitive about animal life and was very hard on himself when the Danios started killing the small goldfish, thinking that it was his fault/responsibility. But I really don't want to put more money into another whole tank setup. I reminded him that these are FEEDER fish, and if he hadn't bought them they might be in some larger fish's belly by now.

Edited to add: Both of the tanks have filters. Is there something we could add to the water to get rid of the ammonia?

 

[Melora]

What kind of fish are you calling danios? From what I know about danios they are extremely docile fish that would not and could not kill anything else. I am thinkign maybe they are not danios.

I am surprised that the tetras are doing OK right now even with the small goldfish. Goldfish of any size put out a LOT of ammonia and tetras are very sensitive.


Let me know what the danios look like and how big are the tanks are....

(DH used to own a fish business so he knows all about this stuff.)

 

[avdeane]

Another option to consider may be calling the store you got the large goldfish from and seeing if they'll let you return the fish in trade for something else that is compatible with the fish you have in your tanks now. You may end up putting in a little more money for something else, but this way you DS may feel better about the whole situation.