how do i know when my goldfish is sick?

Question

he is just under his little castle and he is just floating there rocking back aand forth when he breaths

well we just got him and he has been doing this since about yesterday we havent seen him eat but we havent really monitored that......he is in a fish bowl all by himsrlf and we got him on friday....

Answer 1

ok, well in that case, he is either still getting accustomed to the new bowl with different water then he's used to, or you were unlucky and got a goldfish which was not well. (this is very commom...especially with goldfish) If your goldfish will not make it and sadly pass away, I would really advise you to get a betta fish. They live through almost anything, are very tough, and live to be about 3 years old. However, you CANNOT buy 2 male bettas otherwise they will fight to death or badly injur themselves (they are very territorial) But if you just got 1 it would be fine. Plus, they are satisfied with small fish bowls and don't need big aquariums. I've had betta's before and they are really great fish. Their coloration and beautiful fins are very attractive. Did this help?
=)
P.S. since it sounds like you are ok with having only 1 fish, (which is why i advised a betta) and since you don't have a big aquarium, I would advise you not to get any other fish to go with the betta. They could end up with torn fins and eventually death.=(

Answer 2

Please don't keep your goldfish in a bowl if he survives. Goldfish need to be in an aquarium, even if you can't afford the hood. Just buy a simple filter and the10 gallon aquarium and the fish will be a lot happier. Goldfish were never meant to live in bowls. Betta fish, on the other hand, are used to living in rice paddies that are shallow and dirty and don't need an air pump. I do not say any of this to criticize you, only to educate. This is the same as I've been telling customers for 11 years. Goldfish grow to be at least 8" long and cannot achieve that in a bowl. If your fish is still living, please remember to feed only once a day, what is consumed in 3-5 minutes. No matter what the food container says. Your water will stay a lot cleaner too. Sometimes goldfish look like they are having a hard time staying afloat, it can be from sickness, a bad swim bladder or constipation. To treat constipation is easy. Just take the hull off a frozen pea and add to the water. The fish will eat it and that clears up the constipation. Fish water should always be clear and no food should be at the bottom.

Answer 3

get him out the bowl right away! fish bowls are not for fish!!!
if it's just one, then get at least a 5 gal tank, maybe a 10 gal tank better. They sell these 5 gal Minibows at Walmart that are good for a kid with 1-2 fish. You need the following items: gravel & air pump. The kit already has the water treatment and fish food. I use Ammoquel to get rid of the nitrates and the chlorine. Unfortunately your tank hasn't cycled yet, so you need to add some bacteria, it's called "Cycle" and you add a capful of that. Monitor the tank with an ammonia detector (the ones you just hang in the tank that change color.) Do partial water changes once in a while. After a few weeks if your fish is still alive then your ammonia levels will plummet and you're in the clear.

Answer 4

remove the castle and see what he does. goldfish usually will swim lop sided. they will list more to the right or left when they are sick. put him in a small clear bowl with a small amount of table salt in the water, sometimes that will help, if there is any fungus on him.

Answer 5

he does not seem well. but if you see him floating he might not be dead because they sometimes get inflated and you have to poke them to get the air out (i know its mean but you have to) but if he is not swimming correctly he probably is sick.

Answer 6

when it dies, you'll kno that it was sick.............
thats how i would tell..........