what happened to my poor goldfish?

Question

im 13 and i got a goldfish...it lasted for a week......i thought i was taking care of it but i dont know why/how it died...it died right after i cleaned the bowl that it was in...

i had put the fish in my bathtub full of water...then i cleaned out the bowl...the tricky part was getting it back in but i still dont know how it died...

Answer 1

What did you use to clean out the bowl? It sounds like you might not have rinsed out the cleaning solution well enough before you refilled it.

Answer 2

There is prob many reasons it died.

1) Your bath tub could possible have soap residue in it. This could have killed him.

2) You cleaned all the water at once. This stresses the fish out! There is good bacteria in the old water that the goldfish needs. When you do complete new water it's almost like placing them in "thin air".

3. You used tap water (in the tub and in the bowl). Tap water has Chlorine in it. It is poisonous to fish. Altho goldfish are hardy fish, it can still affect them.

Here is what you do next time you buy a goldfish.

If you use tap water (water from your sink) you HAVE to add a chemical called "water conditioner" or "declorinator". They are the same thing. You can buy this at a pet store. You will add this every time you clean your bowl. ANY time you add twp water.

When cleaning the bowl out, have an extra bowl or cup next to it. Pour half of the old water in that cup and put the goldfish in that.

Now clean the his bowl with hot water. NEVER use soap.

Fill half the bowl up with new water and add the water conditoner. Now pour the goldfish and the old water back into the bowl.

And you are alll done!

It may look cloudy for about an hour or two, but that will go away shortly.


ALSO godfish need more room then most people think.

So for every inch of a goldfish, he needs 2 gallons.

So if you get a one inch goldfish you need at least 2 gallons for him to stay healthy.

Answer 3

Ok- putting him in the bathtub or sink could have done it. Ever heard of soapscum? It is a residue of soap in the bath. Soap is poison for fish. If there was any residue in there, it could have killed your baby.

Was your fish gulping at the surface at all? If he was then he didn't have enough oxygen in the water and drowned.

The water change may have been too much of a shock. You should never change more then 1/3 of the water. It is bad for the fish. They are very delicate.

Were there any spots or fuzzy stuff on him??? That would have been a parasite or a fungus. That can kill a fish very fast.

Do youu drink your tap water? In some places the water has a lot of chlorine and minerals. You need to filter it or buy water conditioner.

These are just some possibilties.

Last of all-A goldfish should NEVER be kept in a bowl. These are the worst fish to live in a bowl. They produce more poop then anyother- this makes their water dirty really fast. They get very big- like 12". They are very delicate, they also should live 20-40 years.

If you want a bowl get a betta.

Answer 4

If you have a public water source there is chlorine in the water. Chlorine will kill fish, if you do have public water, the bathtub water probably killed the fish.

Also, the water in the bathtub might have been too cold or too hot for the goldfish; if you take the fish out of the tank, the water needs to be kept the about same temperature.

To solve the chlorine problem, you need to use a water treatment like Stress Coat. You just put some of the liquid in the water and it will neutralize the chlorine. These procucts are easily available at places like Wal-Mart, K-Mart and any pet store has people there to give advice.

If you have goldfish in a bowl instead of a tank, you will need to change the water for the fishies daily. Goldfish waste puts out a lot of ammonia and that can hurt your fish too.

Good luck.

Answer 5

You probably killed it by putting it in the tub but it would of died any way from being in a tiny little bowl. Goldfish need at least 10 gallons and a good filter as they grow big and are very messy.

Answer 6

AHA!! I know why it died!!

A fish needs de-chlorinated water to survive. Water, that comes from our taps is chlorinated water.

chlorinatedwater is not good for fish and the fish eventually dies in it.

I think you did a terrible mistake here girl. Oh but ppl learn from mistakes right??

So Do de-chlorinate the bath tub water before putting the fish in that.

De-chlorinaters are available in every Pet store..^_^

Hop i helped you A LOT!!

Answer 7

soap in the tub my gold fish is 8 yrs old
i have a jar i put him in when i clean his bowl (ever week)
an the temp.of the new water should be the same as the old. i keep 2 gls. at room temp. just for him
gold fish ane kind of hard to kill so i bet it was the soap SO GO GET A NEW ONE AND GOOD LUCK

Answer 8

ok. first up dont keep them in a bowl. its not big enough. second dont change all the water at once. contry to populer belife goldfish are not ver messy but you do need a 10 gallon aquarum and a fillet for them to be happy.

last be chosy when you buy your fish. they should be active, free of any white spots. no tears or holes in there fins. and there fins should be stnading out stright, not clamped tight to the bodie. most of all dont buy fish from pet smart. they all die inside of a month becuse pets smart dont know there **** from there elbow when it comes to fish.

Answer 9

It's prabaly because of stress. It's not good for them. What did you use to clean the bowl? How? I an really sorry your fish died. I bury my fish when they die......:(

Answer 10

ok you put it in your bathtub BIG MISTAKE you use soap in the bathtub and the chemicals in the soap that were left as residue probably got into the water and poisened your goldfish