PLEASE HELP WITH MY GOLDFISH

snifflebear · New member Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 0

I hope that someone can help me. My favorite goldfish is laying on his side in the bottom of my 30 gal. tank. He has been like this since yesterday. I have put Jungle Fungus Clear in the tank after reading on that back that it was used for Swim Bladder Disease, although I do not think that is what is wrong. There are 6 other 2-3 inch goldfish in the tank but he is about 9 inches long. I have had them about 1 1/2 years and have not had any problems. He does not seem to be gasping for air and does move around the tank on his side. Does anyone know what could be causing this? I know that he is JUST a fish and doesn't really care about me except for the food that I offer but when I come home he swims over to the side of the tank by the door as if to greet me. Rolling Eyes

I really love this fish and he is all that I have. Please, someone tell me what I can do to help him.

Any and all advice or help will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

Snifflebear

freak1015 · New member Joined: 01 Jan 2008 Posts: 9

1 you shouldent have a 9 in fish with 6 1-2in fish in a 30 gal tank. its to small! i recomend that you get another 30 gal tank and move 5 of the smaller fish in it.

sincerly,

freak1015

freak1015 · New member Joined: 01 Jan 2008 Posts: 9

oh, by the way, the fish is not sick. just is extremly cramped. NOT LOL, i seen the rosy reds tank. there are like 100of em in there. maby more! STOP BEING LIKE WAL-MART, TAKE MY ADVICE. BY!!!!!!!!!!!!

HDrydr · Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:44 pm Post subject:

Wow.... Freak1015 do you really need to "yell" at snifflebear?? Your posts come across like you know everything and they better listen to you.
You can have 1 inch of fish per gallon, granted snifflebear is pushing the limits of the tank and should move some. And they would most likely all do better. They don't have to get another 30 gal, get what ever works for them. The fish could very well have swim bladder disease or some other equilibrium disorder, but you discount that fact. Have you seen the fish in question?? How about giving advise and ideas not "ordering" them what to do that isn't that the idea of a forum. But really using all caps and telling someone to stop being like walmart and take your advice..... please. I find that very rude and pushy no wonder Snifflebear has not posted since.

Aqueous · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:36 am Post subject:

7 goldfish in a 30 gallon tank? That's more than pushing the limits of a 30 gallon aquarium, it's basically busting right through them.

The thing you should understand is that Goldfish are messy (waste wise) and need much more space than the general rule of 1 inch of fish per gallon as their size is not solely made up of length but also width (rounder bodies), it's usually wise to allocate atleast 15-20 gallons per goldfish if for nothing else just to handle the waste they produce. A healthy goldfish is not supposed to stay small (they should be generally 4-6 inches for the smaller varieties, larger than 8" for some of the larger ones), if they do they are stunted usually due to being kept in a tank that is too small which isn't healthy for the fish. They're generally better suited for ponds that indoor aquariums unless you have the space for a huge tank.

To give you a quick idea of goldfish size I'll take a page out of T_chelle16's page.

These are two healthy sized goldfish in a 37 gallon tall tank, now can you imagine 7 of them in there and still being healthy?

It could be a swim bladder disorder but it can also be due to poor water quality caused by an overstocked aquarium. What are your reading for Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite?

HDrydr · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:53 am Post subject:

Aqueous, I totally agree with you and yes goldfish are very "dirty" fish and yes they do belong in a pond or a large tank. I think that a lot of people see goldfish and think that they are the "easiest" of the fish and that is not at all true. They do require a lot more cleaning and monitoring of the nitrates and ammonia due to their waste. It has been awhile since I had goldfish and forgot about the round belly size and all. I would like to thank you for giving up ideas and helpful hints on what to check next for snifflebear. It is nice to see friendly forum posts.