Hi Jetta. Welcome to the boards.

I will start by saying the son who had these fish previously had two different types of fish in a tank together, which they should have been separated. Cichlids are more aggressive than goldfish, not to mention they require different temperature requirements.

Using the substrate that was in the 120 gallon was a good choice because of all the established good bacteria... that is if the 30 gallon tank wasn't already set up. Generally speaking, cichlids prefer acidic water, which is probably why the son kept that substrate in the bigger tank. Increasing the oxygen with a air stone is ok to do for a temporary fix. I would recommend moving the bigger tank into the house once you can do so... since the fish were happy and healthy (I am assuming) in the bigger tank. You will have to do more frequent water changes (perhaps 10% every week) because goldfish produce a lot of wastes which add to the ammonia in the tank which kills fish quickly.

Rinsing a carbon filter in your well water should cause no problems overall. I would recommend changing the filters every 6 months at least. The good bacteria are all over the tank (on the decor, in the filter, in the rocks, in the water, etc.).

The red spots could be a few different things, all of which could be helped with Melafix. The stress probably didn't help the fish that died.

You should have a lid or cover on the whole tank. You'd be surprised how high a fish can jump. It probably jumped out of the tank, and it is possible that your cat ate it, although I can't say with any certainty. You should keep the water level as close as you can to the top of the tank so your filter doesn't have to work as hard to suck the water up.

Gasping at the surface implies there's not enough oxygen in the tank. And the one leaning to the side probably has a swim bladder disorder caused by too much food or just constipation. This can be helped with frozen peas. Melafix won't help with the constipation, but it is completely natural and won't hurt your fish. Although I don't think you should use it unless you have to. A complete fast would be ok for a few days (maybe 3-5). Goldfish have a compact body, which allows them to get constipated, and thus swim bladder problems.

Don't do such large water changes, that is not good for the good bacteria in the tank. You normally do 20% water changes every 2 weeks. Such large water changes also can add unneeded stress in the tank. Do you use your tap water? If so, you may want to set out some water before you do a change to allow it to come to room temperature and let the impurities evaporate (so do not put a lid on top of the container you use).

You have asked for help, and that's the first step to learning the vast amount of information needed to take care of fish. You'll get the hang of it as most do. It just takes trial and error, unfortunately sometimes fish die, but I like to try to keep the death count down. Perhaps other people can get involved, it is a great thing to teach children (they learn the responsibility of taking care of animals).

Keep us posted on how everything's going.
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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

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