Why do my Goldfish keep dying?

Question

I dont get it, the tank is cleaned once a month, They are not overfed, We have 2 in one tank. It is a Fish -r -Fun all in one tank with filter and pump etc.

Just to clarify, i have all the appropriate chemicals to treat the tap water i am putting in

I never change all of the water, i only change about half and I make take the fish out during this and make sure the temperature is equalised

Answer 1

Hummmm well I had fish for 11 years and in that time only one live the whole 11 years.
But these were tropical fish gold fish I never had.
You say that you have all the right chemical filters heater and pumps .
Sound like to me you are doing everthing right , gold fish die really easy so I really don't know what else to say except keep trying maybe you will get the hang of it.

Answer 2

You should not be cleaning out the whole tank. There is beneficial bacteria growing in ti that converts the fish waste into harmless bacteria. Every time you clean out the tank, ammonia build up poisons the fish. Enough cleanings and the fish succumb to it. Change no more then 25% of the water every week with a gravel washer. Replace the water with bottled spring water to be on the safe side. I don't know how large a fish-r-fun tank is, but you may want to get a Betta instead, they can handle poorly oxygenated water. Make sure your fish are always a bit hungry, even when they are just done eating. Too much food creates too much poop which is hard on the tank.
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Answer 3

I have been a fish owner since 1970 and goldfish are my choice of fish. I do not buy the bubble eyes or fan tails because they are born to die no matter what you do. My suggestion is to buy the prettiest feeder goldfish, you can keep up to 4 in a 20 gallon tank.
The water should always be cold and if I were you I would not treat the water. They will survive better in water straight from the faucet as long as you have the proper filtering and air bubbles (not to powerful). Feed the 2 times a day just enough for them to eat in one sitting, any thing more and it will spoil your tank. Goldfish pee a lot of ammonia so by doing a 1/4 water change every three days will help regulate the water. They also form their own bacteria which you dont want to leave the tank. These fish can grow as big as the japanese Koi's, ans can last 10 years.
I buy then no bigger than my thumb and have had some grow up to 7 inches.

Answer 4

your cleaning it too much.

If the pump also acts as a filter, you can actually damage it and it doesn't help your fish at all. if the tank doesn't have a filter do a half change every 3 months, if it does do a half change every six months. Dont do a full change until it seems to have settled, and even then, keep them to a minimal - like once every year or two. Though, i would suggest you get a tester for ammonia levels, and if they get to high, do a partial change (either1/4 or 1/2).

Make sure if you use tap water it is the same temperature as what is in the tank - add some hot if it isn't, also, like others have said, make sure if using tap water you add the solution to it to prevent this from hrming your fish.

Hope that solves it for you. Good Luck with your fishies. x x

Answer 5

How big is the tank? Goldfish need a lot of room (think 20-30 gallons for two fish). They also produce a lot of waste so you should probably clean their tank at least every two weeks, and make sure the filter is the right size.

Edited to add: When you clean the tank, don't change all the water, just siphon or take out 20-25%.

As far as water quality, you can add Start-Rite to your fish's water to make it safe.
http://www.fish.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=710422+016

If you want fish that don't require as much room, get tropical fish instead of goldfish, which are coldwater. To determine how many to get, find out the maximum size of the kind of fish you want, and get 1" of fish for every gallon in your tank.

Answer 6

Are you getting the fish from the same place? Sometimes there is a disease amongst all the fish in some pet shops so wait til the fish you have already, die (cruel i know), clean the tank thoroughly and then try buying it from somewhere else and see what happens. If they're still dying, go into an aquarium and ask for some advice, it could just be something simple

Answer 7

best thing to do is get your water tested. the store you bought the tank from will test it for free. you need to see if you amonia levels are high. how often do you change your filter and do you prime the new one first. what is your tank volume you may have to any fish for you tank. normaly .5 - 1cm of fish ( minus the tail) per ltr of water, a tank that size is normaly no more that 3 gold fish in the tank. and your water changes should be 1/3 rd every ten days. let treated water stand for one night to equalise temp. and you do not need to remove your fish. this can cause stress and this can cause death. you have bought the tank from pets at home go and see the staff there and they will be happy to help you sort out your problem and try and figure out your problem

Answer 8

It may be the temperature change when you clean out the tank,also how long are you waiting after you add new water and chemicals before putting your fish back in? You may need to wait atleast 30 min-1hr to make sure the tank is room temp & the chemicals are all dissolved. Good luck with your fish!! BTW my fish is 3 years old and that's all I do and I paid $3 @ Walmart for him!!

Answer 9

Do you dechlorinate the water before adding the fish? Best way to do that is to let the water set for a couple of days and let it dechlorinate naturally and come to a good temp. Could be the temp. When you bring the fish home, do you set their bag inside the tank for a few minutes to allow them to acclamate to the tank temp and then gently release them.
Check on the internet about how long it takes to naturally dechlorinate and what the best temp is.
Make sure the filter is working properly...........check the ph and make sure it is compatible with gold fish. make sure the food is right for goldfish.

Answer 10

Maybe you should stop taking them out at the water changes. You may be stressing them out more that way. I do pretty frequent water changes in my goldfish tank, (as it's a little overcrowded), and I never take them out, and they don't seem stressed at all.

Oh, and BTW, goldfish have been known to live over 20 years, so don't let people tell you they are short lived, LOL. They just weren't taking care of them properly.

And please don't listen to that guy who says not to treat the tap water, unless you have well water. City water is full of chlorine and flouride and other added chemicals which will kill your fish as I'm sure you know. =)