Why is my goldfish not swimming around?

Question

I have a five gallon aquarium with a filter and only one fish in it right now (the other one died after a few days of bringing him home). I feed my fish a pinch of food every 12 hours. For the past week or so, she has been very lethargic, just laying around at the bottom of the tank. She will still eat and swims around like crazy when I feed her, but then goes back to just chilling. When I get close to the tank and talk to her she will swim around a little. Is she dying? Or maybe lonely? Can fish get lonely? I have been meaning to get her a friend, but will that stress her out more? Help please! And don't tell me that she is a replaceable fish, just to flush her. She was a present and I spent a lot on the tank and accessories and don't want her to die.

Answer 1

The tank is too small. Goldfish need 10-12 gallons all to themselves. Doesn't matter that you filter the water. It has to do with oxygen exchange.
Also, they need cold water. If you have a heater, shut it off.
Mostly, you just need a bigger tank.

Answer 2

Goldfish Not Swimming

Answer 3

first off, you need at least 10-20 gallons per goldfish. so at 5 gallons for 2 goldfish, that is already very bad for the fish. one of the reasons for the large amount of water is because the goldfish are very dirty fish because they eat nonstop and they produce ALOT of waste. fish wastes result in the chemical ammonia.

ammonia is extremely toxic to fish. what your fish is doing is showing signs of suffering from ammonia posioning. what you need to do first is find out what cycling is and how it works... all new tanks need to be cycled into order to keep the water conditions optimal. now, because you had 2 goldfish in that 5 gal tank, it means there is a ton of ammonia in that little tank. your fish is literally pooping itself to death. if you truly intend on keeping your fish alive and be willing to spend some cash, go and buy a 15-20 gallon (yes, bigger is better) tank for the goldfish and set it up. otherwise the fish will be stunted and die a premature death due to the small tank and poor coniditons. otherwise your goldfish can live happily for another 10-30 yrs. oldest goldfish recorded was 43yrs old...

if you don't have the money, time, space, and just want to try to keep it alive for a few more months, maybe a few years... here's what you can do...

first, goto your local fish store and look for "ammo-lock" (check link below) or something like it to detoxify the ammonia in the tank. it will not remove the ammonia, just make it into a version that is not as toxic to the fish...

next, do a 50% water change. make sure the water you use is room temperature (leave it out for a few hrs) and dechlorinated. (you can dechlorinate by letting it sit overnight or just add some of the dechlorinating chemicals like ammo-lock).

afterwards, do a 25% water change everyday until your tank is done cycling. you probably will have to keep doing it even afterwards because your tank is so small.

also, feed your fish less. the more your feed your goldfish, the more poop, thus more ammonia and more water changes. feed it a pinch every other day. until you can get it a bigger tank and a cycled tank, the less you feed, the better.

good luck, hope your fish survives...

p.s. don't get another fish! it will just kill your fish faster...

Answer 4

When goldfish are not swimming around alot, that means they are either depressed or scared. When you come to talk to her, she notices a pattern that almost every time you come to the tank, you feed her. My goldfish do that. :)

If you want to keep goldfish, you should have 2-4 goldfish to keep eachother company. In a 5 gallon tank, please only keep two together.

Your first fish probably died because of the choline in the water, which will happen to the fish you have now if you don't act fast. Go to your petstore and ask for a chlorine-remover to put in your 5 gallon aquarium with goldfish in it.

I hope I was help to you! I keep goldfish! Best of Luck!

Answer 5

The reason your other gold fish died is most likely it is due to low amounts of oxygen in the water. (Water contains oxygen which fish extract using their gills). The main cause of low oxygen in the water is due to lack of surface water movement. Add an airstone connected to a air pump to increase water agitation.Also gold fish dirty their water very rapidly. Clean the filter and freshen the water often ,but slowly, letting the fish acclamate to the tempurature change slowly - don't shock them.
The oldest Goldfish ever recorded died at the age of 43. It all depends how well you look after your fish, many people are suprised when they hear a goldfish is 3+ years old, as they're so used to them living under a year in their goldfish bowls. Generally, well taken care of Goldfish live up to 10 years.Thats a long time to live alone, so should you get another fish?

It depends. Do you have enough space for another fish? Remember the approx. 35 litres per Goldfish. If you can't meet those requirements, don't add another fish, your current fish will be happier alone. If you do meet the requirements go for it, Goldfish do enjoy having a companion to interact with. But do chose a breed of fish compatible with you goldfish,other Goldfish or small freshwater fish who enjoy the same living conditions as Goldfish (such as a mountain minnow) can do. Be careful that your biggest Goldfish cannot swallow these small fish. If selecting more than one fish for a tank be aware of certain handicaps each fish breed may have. A slow clumsy fish can miss out on food and starve to death if pitted against a fast agile comet or similar.Goldfish are one of the few fish that, instead of looking at their environment, they interact with it, like little children. They are really very intelligent, but because of their independent mindedness and the awful conditions they are so often kept in, it does not show. Mine bump their plants around, sift through gravel, and play with and tumble over each other. They need lots of mental stimulation, best provided by a partner goldfish and lots of tank ornaments that are moved about frequently. They will quite often beg for food, and for the sake of maintaining interesting tank activities, this should be discouraged. (I hang a towel over the front of my tank to eliminate their people=food association) They are a quite agile fish, but the fancier varieties are substantially slower than the normal and comet varieties. If you are looking for a fish for a small tank or bowl, try an all male livebearer tank, like guppies and swordtails.

Answer 6

listen to ender, and mama laura, and some of the others... it's definitely an ammonia problem since you just got the tank it hasn't cycled yet. get one of those ammonia detectors, or get a water detection kit, you'll see that the water is messed up. get the Ammolock, I use Amquel that's good too. Unlikely to be lonely, don't worry about that, just get the water right. I've had good experience with a bacteria solution called "Cycle", add some of that right away! It helps get rid of the ammonia that the fish is excreting. Oh, and get an air pump...

P.s. and get a thermometer too, check the water temp.

I know all this stuff is expensive, but you have to invest in all this if you want to keep your fish alive

Answer 7

Forget what "Bonsyler" said. They need more than 12 gal. Actually, 20 gallons and up. I know. Goldfish r not easy to take care of. I'm sorry. She will die if u keep her in there. Next time, DON'T get a goldie.

Answer 8

It might be sick, and if that's the case, I don't know what to do. Then again, it may just be lonely (yes, fish do get lonely). also, what kind of food are you feeding her? the small granules work better and are healthier for goldfish than the large flakes. it's the equivalent of feeding your dog pedigree as compared to old roy.

Answer 9

maybe it is possible for a fish to get lonely...get her a friend and see if she gets social...and she's definitely not replaceable. search on the internet about strange behavior for fish, you might find something. see if a pinch of food every 12 hours is suficient. if your fish is really hyper when you feed her, then try feeding her small pinches more often than just a big pinch every 12 hours. good luck and i hope your fish is ok.

Answer 10

She may be lonely--some fish need other fish, or they don't survive as well. But you may also want to check your tank--is the water clean? Also, you might try giving just a little more food, just to make sure.