My goldfish appears to be swimming near the top of the tank and was wondering why?

Question

He has lost lots of colour and seems to be moving erraticly. I fink he is dying. Has anyone else had a similar problem or no what the problem could be? Many thanks for your help

The tank has a thermometer and the food seems to be fine as the other fish have not suffered. Its just the one fish

Its not an air problem

Answer 1

Losing color have something with the food you feed him, try going to the pet store and buy food that would maintain it's color. The main reason fish die is because of temperature change too quickly. I recommend you to put a thermometer and be sure the change the water with only 1 to 2 (the most!) degree difference.

Answer 2

Oxygen deprivation is the problem. I assume he lives in the typical Goldfish bowl and thus no aeration via outboard air pumps but that is common and not a big problem for fish of this genus. That isn't to say he doesn't need more air in his water, just that goldfish are among the most tolerant fish when it comes to pH levels and such.

Luckily the solution to this problem is not only easy but cheap(ie:free) by simply changing the water in the tank or bowl on a regular basis. Start by completely emptying and filling the tank with fresh water, then on a daily basis dip a cup into the tank and remove some of the water, adding fresh water from the tap to replace it. This will ensure a steady supply of oxygenated water for your friend and as an added bonus your tank will smell a lot less fishy, a win/win situation for everyone.

Answer 3

If you have a thermometer you may have a heater. This could be that the water is too warm. Goldfish don't like warm water like tropical fish do. Check that for starters.
If the fish is swimming at the top it may be because it has a swim bladder problem. Fish use their swim bladder to regulate their buoyancy. If it looks to be struggling swimming down and then floating up, it's swim bladder is bad.
It could also be swimming near the top to gulp and the surface for air. This means there's not enough oxygen in the water due to a filter problem or poor surface area gas transfer, or that there are too many fish for the size of tank and it can't get enough oxygenated water to breathe properly.

Answer 4

first of all, as those clientele above suggested, this may be an project of below-oxygenated water. Goldfish can somewhat die at the same time as the water is below-oxygenated. He / she is gulping on the accurate of the tank? it is the most likely project then, as in the present day he / she is making an attempt to respire. also, it is likely a 2d project too, have you ever " cycled " the tank? If no longer, google the " Fishless Tank Cycle. " i comprehend truly some human beings win those fish on the gala's, and this is in basic terms so unfair reason 0.5 the time they do no longer comprehend what to do with it, and do not comprehend the first element about worrying for it.. in case you didnt "cycle" the tank, then you actually might want to flow to a petstore and ask someone there for something which will improve the boom of the solid bacterias in the tank ( they ought to comprehend what it truly is, if no longer, they don't seem perfect workers and also you ought to ask somebody else ). What the "fishless tank cycle" is, is basically waiting out for "solid and necessary" bacterias to augment in the rocks ( and filtre if there is one ). those bacterias kill the Ammonia and Nitrate ( bear in mind this truth, because it would want to are available accessible if the worker is making an attempt to bear in mind ). Ammonia and Nitrate kill the fish. regrettably to say, I had truly some fish die when I did not cycle the tank. in case you do not have pebbles, GET some ! no longer gravel. desire I helped

Answer 5

goldfish have approximately an 8 second memory however they can be trained to associate human contact with food so your presence may be an indication to it that it will be fed.

another possibility may be that it has an oversized swim bladder which is a small bubble located inside the fishes body that helps it to stay erect. if it is too large the fish will consistantly float to the top in this case you just have a lazy fish

Answer 6

yes, your fish could be dying. when my fish died, they just kind of sat there and let the current of the water push them all over, and they lost lots of color too. i think it might have been because he had a swim bladder problem. i've heard feeding your fish a frozen pea helps this.

also, for you, the water pH, nitrate, or ammonia levels of the water might be off. you shoudl go and get test kits for these things, test the water, and then use appropriate chemicals to treat the water.

Answer 7

Is it doing a gulp at the water's surface? Like it's taking a breath of air and water through it's mouth? If it is, you should probably change the water, cuz that's what they do when they don't have enough oxegen content in the water.

Answer 8

Is he getting enough light now that Autumn is drawing in?

Fish tend to lose their colour if they don't get enough light.

Place the bowl by a strong light source and see if that has any effect.

Perhaps he's suffering from SAD?

Answer 9

Is it just the one goldfish? If all the fish are repeatedly going up to the surface and gulping for air, you need to aerate the water better, and QUICKLY! Check to make certain your filter/aerator isn't clogged.

Answer 10

it depends what sort of goldfish it is - if its one of the fancy ones that have the split tails it could be the type of food u are giving it because they seem to suffer from bouyancy problems

if u give them flakes - try something different

i know when i have had black moors and the similar looking gold versions then i have had this problem