What's wrong with my Goldfish?

[racettefd]

Goldfish is kind of lethargic.. floating around sort of head pointing downward, dorsal fin down.. only using his pectoral fins and tail to move around. Usually way more active, swimming up and down and very responsive when I come to the tank.. but not so much anymore.. although it seems he's trying.

What's his deal? There is another goldfish in the tank with him and he's fine.

 

[MissFishy]

How long has this tank been set up? Could likely be ammonia poisoning. Take a look at the link below if you don't know what that is.

 

[racettefd]

He got sick.. the tank was up for about 3 weeks, then I noticed he was ill so I changed the water, refreshed the whole system, fed some peas he seemed hungry..and 24 hours after he was still sick and died (just now). The other fish is just fine happy as a clam. I'm very upset about this. It couldn't have been ammonia because the tank was clear and clean, and I refreshed it right away when I noticed a change.

How can one fish die and the other be fine????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

[MissFishy]

It was indeed ammonia. Ammonia is an invisible killer, you can't see it or smell it in a tank. Please take the time to read up on the link in my signature about cycling a tank, otherwise your other fish will soon meet the same fate. It's a chemical thing, not a "clear water" thing.

 

[MrNiteOwl]

Another thing with Goldies is that they produce a lot of waste (ammonia). The only way to know how much waste you have is to do a water test using a test kit.... Most of us use API's Master Test Kit. $30 in LFS or about $18 online. Another question is.... what size tank do you have them in? I would say for the bare minimum for the one you have a 10g is better.... But a 20g would be best. Also, what other fish do you have in their? If you can give a little more information.... we can help you out a lot better.... Did you add anything to the tank? What kind of filtration are you running.... Stuff like that.... Hope we can help you keep your Goldies happy in the long run.*thumbsup2

 

[zzz22zzz]

I agree it was ammonia But you need to do a major water change if you haven't already for your other fish so the same doesn't happen to him