why is it that when you get goldfish from a store, they die within a day?

Question

I have gotten many goldfish, over a course of time, and they all die within a day. I take care of them and all that crap, but they always die. why?

Answer 1

Looks like several people have touched the key points. Overfeeding, overcrowding, untreated water would be my best guess without actually seeing the tank or testing the water. It is a bit hard to tell without knowing how many fish, what size tank, and something about water quality and feeding habits.

You'll usually hear something like one inch of fish per gallon; in my experience goldfish are a little 'dirtier' and produce more waste products. I'd bump them to 1 inch of goldfish per two or three gallons of water depending on your filtration and how diligent about water changes you are. Keep in mind you will have to increase the tank size, or reduce the number of fish, as they grow.

In addition to the good advice other posters gave I would also add that you do not use a bucket that you use to clean the house to add water - something with a residue of a strong household chemical in it can wipe out a tank. Also do not use glass cleaner on the tank directly, and never to clean the inside of the tank. Ammonia is extremely toxic to fish and something like a window cleaner with concentrated ammonia could easily poision the tank if a little spray got in there. You'd be surprised how often people start spraying cleaners on the hood and glass, or bug spray and air freshners around the tank and sicken or kill their fish.

Answer 2

Hm.. three things occur to me as possibilities.

1.) Are they overfed? Not feeding them at all on the first day is not necessarily a bad thing. Then a tiny amount on the second day...

2.) The difference in water temperature -- if the water is a lot hotter, or colder, then they're used to, they can go into shock and die pretty quickly.

3.) Treating the water with dechlorinator or something like that?

I can't see that even in a simple bowl, goldfish would consistently die in such a short time... Were they all gotten from the same pet store?

Answer 3

I would guess that you are buying the comets commonly sold as feeder fish? If this is so, you have to understand how these little guys get treated, to understand why they die when you get them home. Most are STUFFED in bags for shipping, 50 to 100s per bag, so that most are stressed and a lot dead by the time they arrive at the store. Then, theyare usually kept waaaayy overcrowded in the holding tank, due to the fact that they are normally sold as "feeders" and people buy them all up within a week. Due to the stressful shipment, and then the uvercrowded conditions on arrival, they are very stressed and very prone to disease. While you can get ones to live( as I have, one of which is about 10 inches long now) sometimes they are "too far gone" even with optimal care.
If you are buying fancy varieties and they are dying, it would either be your water conditions or the place you are getting your fish from,

Answer 4

Some fish are just too stressed from the move from where they are bred to the store then from the store to your house. But for many of the fish to die then you must be doing something wrong. Do you have a tank of at least 10 gallons for each goldfish? Proper filtration? Is it cycled before you put it in? Do you use something to remove the chlorine and other bad stuff from the tap? Are you getting him used to the tank water before adding him?

Answer 5

It's probably one or both of two thing. A. You aren't going to a very good pet store. I have the same 3 Goldfish from the pet store by me, and they're at least 2 years old! B. You might have bad water. Get your water tested at the petstore. I know that the water in my area sucks, and I have to use bottled water for my 55 gallon tank! That sucks too!

Answer 6

Pet stores are the worst place to buy any type of animal. It is always best to find individual breeders which may sound like a lot of work but it isnt that difficult to do and is so so worth it. Pet stores do not have the staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle for animals and that why so many people have troubles with sick or dying pets purchased from pet stores. Just think of how hard it is to care for a few pets in your own home..........can you imagine trying to give that same attention to sooo many animals in a busy retail environment????

Answer 7

If you haven't noticed Goldfish aren't real reliable pets, sorry to say but true . The transfer home is always the worst. Just thinking about being in that small bag freaks me out. Then when you get it home it is usually trying to adjust to it's new environment and made semi-depressed without friends. Who knows if it had any type of dieases or injuries when you bought. All I have to say is it happens to everyone, don't take it personal. -Dev

Answer 8

well first you have to have the knowledge of the hobby of fish keeping such as do your research on the fish you have making sure that the water is at the right temparature, the tank is big enough, what tank mates they can have ,adding dechlorinator. I can go on. also knowing how to and when your tank is completly cycled etc... Secondly the fish could be sick before you bought them from the store or they can be stressed from the move there are many reasons.

Answer 9

You have to give more information on how you take care of them, no one can answer your question for sure without knowing what you may be doing wrong. It could be they are of poor quality but I doubt that's why, it could also be stress, but if you take care of them the right way they shouldn't be stressed. Make sure you have atleast 20 gallons for each goldfish.

Answer 10

Try using a different type of water. It sounds like the water your putting them into is toxic. It could be from high chlorine, salt or mercury in the water that your fish is dying. You can get a sample bottle from the local water burrow and have it tested until then either don't get any more fish or put them in bottled water.