Is my Goldfish depressed?

[lara]

Hi All,

I have a goldfish which is also black and silver. I keep it in a cold water fish tank and I change the water every 3 weeks or when its really dirty. I use oxygen tablets occassionally as I noticed having a filter made the water really dirty. I haven't changed anything for about 5 months but recently my fish looks really depressed. It just sits on the bottom. Usually when I am near it, she/he goes loopy which I believe is for attention. When it is sitting on the bottom of the tank and I stick my finger in the water it does move but then goes back to sitting on the bottom. I've put some flakes in and it only touched one.

Help me...I don't want it to die.

[Fish Friend]

No wonder its dperessed! what size tankl is it, what are your water parameters and how long has it been set up ???? using oxygen tablets isnt too good, id say its better for you fishy if you had a proper air pump. and a proper filter, filters will not make your tank dirty they do the complete opposite, did you cycle it before you put it in ?

[lara]

the filter I had before and black bits in....looked a bit like charcoal....obviously not. I've just noticed that since I've not used it I've not had to clean it out as much.

Using my ruler...I've worked out that its 12000 cubic cm which is about 2.6 gallons. How do I work out the water parameters?

[PerfectAngel]

u need a kit to test for Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite (you can purchase them from your local pet shop). Since it's a goldfish is such a small tank you need to do water changes at least 20% each week... but you really need a bigger tank.. is it just one fish in there? my rule of thumb is 10 gallon per goldish.

I agree the oxygen tablets isn't too good. Filter is always better, dont have any idea how it makes the water dirty.. have you change the carbon sponge things inside the filter ever?

It seems like your fish is swimming around with too much Ammonia (his own waste) in the tank. i would do a water change.. and get a kit to test it...

how long have you had your fish? and how long did you have the tank set up (cycling) before you put the fish in there??

[lara]

hey,

Will have a look into getting a test kit. Its only the one fish in that tank, but he is quite small. Maybe about 8cm in length. The filter that I had didn't have a sponge just black pieces. Maybe I should get a completely different filter.

I've had him for about a yr and a half now, but was given to me from someone else who used to keep him outdoors but they were moving abroad so I took over. Used to have three but sadly two died.

When I first set the tank up I kept the fish in the plastic water filled bag and put the whole thing in the tank for a few hours then I open up the bag and let him roam free. I used to put plants in there but it would eat it. I do worry that I over feed it but it always seems to be hungry ! Its that 3 second memory thing. I only feed it twice a day, but when I have a plant in there it will eat that within a weak !

[Fish Friend]

goldfish of any size are pooping machines, youre black bits will have been charcoal and the black sponges were good, the were getting rid of harmul toxins in the water, buy a new fish and youll have to risk it with him and cycling im afraid

[ComHam]

2.6 gallons? Wayy too small for a goldie my friend. Also, you should be changing the water every week, not just when it get's dirty.

[Orion]

Yes, 2.6 gallons is way to small. Even though it may look fine just because the fish is small, goldfish produce a lot of waste, much more than your typical tropicals.

I would get a 10 gallon asap for it at the bear minimum. A 20 gallon would be much better. You also need quality filtration for the new tank as well. This will help keep the water cleaner, and healther for the fish.

For now, I would start changing about 15% of the water every week starting today.