My Fishes

When my younger brother moved out of my house earlier in the month, he not only left behind a huge mess, but also some fishes.  According to my nephew, my other brother originally left a goldfish for my younger brother, who in turn left behind that goldfish and other fishes for me.

This is the only "before" picture I have of the fish tank.  It's not the lighting that's making the water look murky.

After my brother left, I was a little bit negligent because I forgot about the fishes for several days.  Then my nephew reminded me that he wanted the fishes, so I went and checked on them.  I saw that the tank had no filter, it was only filled half way with water, and the water was a murky brown.  The fishes were moving around sluggishly and I didn't need to be a fish expert to know that it was not a healthy environment.  But since my nephew wanted the fishes, I thought to leave the situation alone until he could take the fishes home.

 

Well, the situation didn't get any better.  Obviously, the tank didn't get any cleaner.  Due to my hectic schedule, the size of the tank (it's either a 40 or 50 gallon tank), and the lack of transporting such a huge tank to his house, I thought it was best to keep the fishes (a mix of koi and goldfishes) at my home.

The water's not as clear as I would like, but the fishes seem happier.

I took great care to learn about the basics of keeping fresh water fishes, and I sure learned A LOT.  The most important thing I did was to properly change the murky brown water to something other than murky brown.  Right now, the water is still a little bit cloudy, but it's definitely a lot better.  I'm noticing that the fishes are swimming around a lot and they seem a lot "happier."  

My ultimate goal is to create a healthier environment for the fishes and to get clearer water that isn't cloudy.  I still have much to do but I'm happy that MY fishes seem a lot happier.  I can't believe how invested I already am in these fishes.

Do you have fishes?