My goldfish seems to go into shock when I clean out his tank. Why?

Question

I have a big goldfish that is about 7 inches and whenever I clean out his tank and put new water in then put him in the clean tank, he just barely sits around all day. He won't eat anything for over a week, and just after a week he will finally start to swim around a little bit.

Does anybody have any idea of why my fish acts this way? You would think he would be swimming and darting around right away, happy to have the clean water instead of the yucky groggy water. I use the reverse osmosis water from the store and get the refillable jugs, if that means anything, but it's just weird that he acts so strange for the first couple of weeks and he's fine after that. But he won't eat anything at first, it takes quite a while for him to come around after I clean out his tank.

Answer 1

Do you clean the aquarium out completely? If you do, that is one of the problems. LIke any enviroment, an aquarium is a living ecosystem, dependent on all organisms that inhabit it. Bacteria that grows in the rocks, substrate and plants are vital to a healthy enviroment. The fish need the bacteria to survive, and putting them into fresh water from a bottle will shock their system. Instead of cleaning the entire tank out, try only partial water changes more frequently and vaccuming the gravel instead of cleaning it completely. As another answerer mentioned, Cycle or something similar works great as it helps the bacteria cycle after a tank cleaning, and has a stress coat to protect your fish. Its a great product.

Also make sure the new water is at the same temperature as the old.

Answer 2

There are numerous reasons:

1. Temperature difference between the tankwater and jugwater.

2 Chlorinated water.

3. Ph difference.

Temperature and PH difference is usually the problem, But in your case, it's probably the difference in PH.

The pH in your tank has gone lower, meaning it's become more acidic as your fish craps and the bacteria breaks down the ammonia in the filter (I hope you do have a filter in your tank) When you add the water, it raises the pH all of a sudden. The water in the tank becomes more alkaline. This causes pH shock and your fish starts acting weird or just floats to the top.

What you need to do is, change the water a little more often, and a little less each time you do a water change. Don't change more than 25%. If you do, your fish will get shocked. If I remember corrrectly, pH 7 is 1000 times more alkaline than pH6. It doesnt do much for a human, but for a fish, this is a life and death situation.

Temperature could mean something, but it's a goldfish so I am counting that out. But if that is the case, acclimate the temp of the jugwater to the fishtank water by letting it sit around for a while in room temperature.

Answer 3

At the most a 50% water change using a gravel syphon to clean gravel and remove uneaten food and waste, fish should stay in tank. Fish hold water internally, they have the ability to shift the water perameters inside to match the water they are living in. example ph. if water goes from 7 to 7.2 that is a small shift and easy for a fish to adjust internally, if ph is has drifted to a low ph because of rotting food and waste and you do a water change and the ph goes up to 7 that is a huge shift for a fish to adjust to. Also as others mentioned the benefical bacteria that lives in the rocks/gravel, can be disturbed if a tank is over cleaned, use a gravel syphon to address this. THe bacteria has a relationship with the fish, your fish produces ammonia in its waste which is toxic to him... the bacteria eats ammonia and breaks it down into nitrates so it is not toxic for awhile until nitrate levels eventually build up. If the bacteria dies off it will take a month for it to fully re-establish. Also purchase a test kit, and only clean your tank when your tank tells you it needs a cleaning, when your nitrate levels reach a point in which they are at or near the unsafe zone, then clean... A tank can be misleading by appearance.. water can be crystal clear and bad and murky looking and water perameters are good.

Answer 4

I agree that you shouldn't clean the tank out completely, not only is it more work for yourself but your getting rid of all the good bacteria. If you dont have one already get yourself a filter that filters 10x the amount of water, so if you have a 20 gallon tank get a filter that does 200gph minimum and do a gravel vac atleast once a week. With a good filter and gravel vacs you should only have to do a small water change once a week which is way easier then having to clean the whole tank.

Answer 5

The water selection 'reverse osmosis' you are using does not make a difference. Have had aquariums since i was a kid. Have had a bait house where I sold goldfish. Did not have to use 'special' water then and still don't. Just use tap water and chlorine remover. Sounds like are not letting the water settle down. Where do you keep your jugs of water at, before using them? If storage temp different, then bring them inside where the aquariums are the day before changing water.

Answer 6

Your cleaning the tank completely is destroying his environment. He is suffering ammonia and Chlorine poisoning. You can use AmmoLock, AmQuel or similar from your local fish shop. Its handy to have around. You should only change part of the water and use water conditioner before adding the water to the tank. Don't clean the filter and change water on the same day. Heavily planted tanks are usually not affected by Ammonia, but need anti Chlorine for water conditioning. Read my article on the subject:

Answer 7

make sure the temp of water you put in is close to the same temp as what you took out. Also I'm not sure if what you mentioned is the same thing, but you should get some bacteria for your tank, yes bacteria. The tank needs alittle, you can buy it at a pet store (Cycle I believe is one brand) Also you should buy a water conditioner to remove the chlorine from the water you put in.

Answer 8

Do you let your water sit and get to room temp? Also, they need to be eased into the fresh water. Try putting him in a baggie in some of the old water and then sitting the bag in the new tank water until it warms up.

Answer 9

If you are using tap water it contains chlorine, which is toxic to fish and must be neurtalized using a dechlorinator that is sold at almost any pet shop. Never add tap water to an aquarium that has not been dechlorinated. If chlorine is the problem you are lucky the fish survived at all.

Answer 10

The water may be to cold or to warm from the temperature that your fish is at. Or you might not be treating the water and he's getting a lot of chlorine.