I bought my 2 goldfish 6 days ago and put them in a bowl of sterilised water and fed them a few flakes of fish food per day and now they are shakey, gasping for breath in the middle of the water, dimples on their skin, flapping their fins but not moving in the water. The water smells very bad and is slightly cloudy.
2006-10-20 02:02:00 · 18 answers · asked by Jacs 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
They are probably being poisoned by ammonia and suffering from not enough oxygen. A bowl is way too small for even 1 goldfish, they need 10 gallons each minimum. I don't know what you mean by sterilized water but stop using it and use tap water treated with a water conditioner like Prime. If you don't get them a bigger home they will most likely die, if you would like them to live do water changes every day until you get them a bigger home with a filter.
To learn more about how to properly take care of goldfish check out this site, they have a great forum too. http://kokosgoldfish.com/
2006-10-20 02:44:00 · answer #1 · answered by Nunya Biznis 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would consider starting again. To be honest goldfish need a filter and an air supply. The water also needs to be treated and left for a week before putting the fish in, they dont like tap water as is has chlorines and chloramins in it. Your fish sound like they are not gonna make it unless you know someone with a mature tank that can care for them untill you get set up properly. I would do a 50% water change and add some dechloronater. Treat with Esha 2000 and Esha exit, or something similar your retailer will be able to let you know. Good luck. P.S Tropical fish are much easier to look after and they are a lot cleaner. There are many more varieties to choose from and all you would need is a heater.
2006-10-23 10:07:58 · answer #2 · answered by bodtheimpaler 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like the water needs oxygen.
Go buy an air pump from your pet store, they arent very expensive, and get an air stone to make small bubbles.
Your fish is gasping for oxygen.
For the time being you can blow bubbles into the water with a straw to get oxygen in the water.
2006-10-20 09:07:38 · answer #3 · answered by Krystle 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
change the water and get yourself some of that water treater from the pet store that rids tap water of chlorine, etc that isn't good for the fish. this should be used every time you clean the bowl - and NEVER use soap to clean the bowl!! also, if they have bumps, they may have a fungal problem called ick. again, at the pet store you can find a water treater that helps with this problem. it won't be expensive $10 for the two tops. good luck fishies!!
2006-10-20 09:14:12 · answer #4 · answered by PHW 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have a build up of nitrates in the water!
You shoud visit a pet shop any buy some thing to neutralise the water as soon as possible.
Generally you should change the water fortnightly, but make sure you leave at least 25% of old water in the tank to help neutralise nitrates... it is only the fish's used water that keeps them healthy... but they need to be clean as well.
Hope this helps!
2006-10-23 17:03:46 · answer #5 · answered by nicci p 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Seriously! Take them out - put them in a bowl of ORDINARY tap water clean their bowl out properly, and 'sloosh' the stones if there are any in the bottom, then fill up the bowl with ordinary tap water and put them back in..... By the sounds of it, whatever you used to sterilise the original water is too strong! Do it! Do it now!
2006-10-20 09:08:40 · answer #6 · answered by jimbo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
fish care- was the water stone cold or too hot? Keep it just off chill level.
They may have a fungal infection- get some medication from your pet shop.
Change the water again- fish love fresh water. If the water is cloudy it may be preventing them from breathing well.
fish are lovely- do the best for them.
2006-10-20 09:07:21 · answer #7 · answered by brainlady 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Treated tap water is better for both your fish and your plants. There are a number of minerals and electrolytes that your fish and your plants need in tap water. Distilled water has no carbonate hardness (KH) which the water needs in a tank to stabilize the pH.
2006-10-20 09:09:14 · answer #8 · answered by roxy 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Transfer them to regular water immediately. Sterilised water has no oxygen. ( yeah! you read it right). Also , a few flakes of food every day is too much for them to handle
2006-10-20 09:23:10 · answer #9 · answered by mindtelepathy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get a new tank with a filter and air pump as soon as possible and put them in there, they'll be much happier.
Also get a liquid fish tonic and stick that in the water, it'll help them get their energy back etc.
2006-10-20 12:32:37 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋