my goldfish died....why?

Question

sorry not enough info- he was only a baby, 1 week old!! it had a really fun tank which was massive...and he had a brother...he looked really healthy..then my mum told me he had died...maybe she disposed of it cos she didnt like it!! hmmmmm i wonder

her name was Percy

you people are nice...thanyou kindly,
x x x x x

Answer 1

ermmm we need more info...like how old he is, where he was kept, fed him with what, how many times fed a day, what was in the bowl/tank with him...etc

well maybe the PH level (acid level) in the water was wrong, most people use tap water and this is just too harsh for them, it would be like us washing in mild vinegar. You need a water softner for fish and a water testing kit, sometimes the toxin levels in the water can kill very young fish, fish poo gives of toxic gases but can be controlled with special plants and friendly chemicals. Your local fish shop will be able to advise you what you need, as goldfish can live to be very old, its good to give them the nicest home you can.

Answer 2

How massive? A fancy goldfish needs 15 gallons each, though a starter of 55 is good. A common goldfish needs a pond, though it can be kept in a huge fish tank temporarily. By this i mean like a 100+ gallon tank, for a few weeks. A common gets to over 2'. This includes comets, and any other goldfish not similar to the egg shaped fantail.

Next, the most common cause, did you cycle the tank. Cycling means the process of building up beneficial bacteria to deal with fish waste. The methods are either fish cycling, which involves exposing a "hardy" fish to poisonous ammonia, then nitrite, then finally leaving it with an extremely shortened lifespan. Fishless cycling involves adding some form of ammonia through fishfood food, prawns, or just plain ammonia. It is explained in depth here http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861&hl= .

Did you do water changes. For goldfish 33% once or twice a week is not that bad. Also, did you have efficient filtration? A goldfish is incredibly messy and need good bio filtration, such as a wet dry sump or cannister, and good mechanical filtration through a power filter like the aquaclear

If your tank is small, i would reccommend you use that forum to set up a tropical community. Way easier than goldfish

Answer 3

Since U didn't give much info. These are possible reasons why a small goldfish would die:
1. Stuff in the tank. U've put many fancy stones & other pretty stuff in it. But U have to be sure they are clean first.
2. The water is not clean. Did U put new fresh water immediately into the tank without putting it under the sunshine? There are chemicles in water. U have to put it under the sunshine for at least one day before U fill the tank with it.
3. U filled in too much fresh water into the tank. Next time, leave half of the tank with old oringinal water & the other half "sunshined" water.
4. U gave the fish too much food in too short time. Fish won't die that easily if they don't have sufficient food supply. "Coz they also eat micro organisms in the water.
5. Fish food problem. Ur fish food carries bacteria which harms the fish. I've once fed my fish with those tiny jumping fish food before & all my fish died. U definetely have to clean Ur fish food in the water if it is worms or living things.
6. Diseases. A common one is when Ur fish's scales all go "explode". They don't look smooth as usual. It's really hard to be cured, U need special & expensive chemicles (sorry, I forgot the names).
7. Broken bones. It's easy to do. Take the fish to a brand new, fresh, non-bacteria bowl. Give her food, a bit more fresh water once 2 days. Take special care of her. Then she'll be back to normal in no time. Broken bone is when U see blood stains on the tail, especially.

Answer 4

A lot of goldfish come to the store as feeder fish (sorry) its a good thing you rescued her but, I use them to start my tanks out and usually I get 12 and by the end of the 2nd week only 2-3 are left... they are not healthy when you get them from the store and its most likely not your fault he died. Another thing goldfish are hearty fish but if you just plopped him in a tank that you just set up chances are that could've had something to do with it.

Answer 5

are you saying you put a new fish in the tank and it died if so i t did you float the fish into the tank over a couple of hours in a plastic bag and add water slowly to the bag from the tank or did you just throw the fish straight into the tank if you did the shock of the difference in tempreture between the bag it was in and the tank would finish it off also water condition would do it thats why you always add fish slowly to a new tank hope this helps mate

Answer 6

Well, were you feeding it goldfish flakes? Maybe you fed it either too much, or too little. It might have something poisonous in the tank, or you might be putting something poisonous in it unconciously. I'm sure it didn't die of old age, but most fish die either of 1. Old age or 2. Overfeeding. Remember this: Fish can never die of starvation. They will only die of overeating. They don't know when to stop, because their stomachs don't have nerves to tell their brain when they are full or not.

Answer 7

there are many things that could have caused his/her downfall aa
they are in a tank
did you have a filter system set up it not then he was probably poisoned by his own and other inhabitants urine (amonia) build up if you have others then you need to change their water at least twice a week if you don't have filtration

as he was small he was probably unused to the water conditions

sorry if this makes you feel guilty but it is the most likely cause

Answer 8

Disease, swim bladder problem, old age, water quality in your tank - you need to provide more detail for a proper answer!

Answer 9

This is one of lifes great mysteries
But its probably gone to a better place

Answer 10

you need to be more specific.

Is the fish old? he might have fin rot?
You cannot get a thorough answer if you cannot supply a through question!