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I recently got a new goldfish. He is in a one gallon fish bowl with graveland a live aquatic plant. The warer is room tempertature although it feels cold to the touch. He wont eat, whenever food goes in his mouth he spits s it back out, and i have tried mant different brands of food. Also, all he does is swim at the top of the tank awhere his mouth will stick out a little bit and open and close his mouth repeatedly. Is there anyrhthing wrong with that behavior? And why does he only swim at the top of the bowl and open and close his mouth.PLEASE HELP!!! Thanks!!

2007-02-25 19:02:38 · 10 answers · asked by scottdrader2 2 in Pets Fish

10 answers

There are so many complicated answers to this simple question you asked. I agree that Goldfish should not be kept in a bowl, but now that you already have one, and until you get a fishtank, I guess there is no other option for you but to continue on the bowl, just do one small thing, and it will solve your problem, your water needs aeration, so either run a small bubble stone or a mini filter in it, and your issue is solved.

The fish is lacking oxygen, and thats why its unable to behave in the normal manner, which also includes feeding.

For future, change 30-40% water every 4 days because being a small bowl, it will get dirty easily. Do not feed flake food, rather try goldfish granules, as they tend to be less murkier than the flakes.

Good Luck !

2007-02-25 20:40:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4 1

The fish is suffering from ammonia poisoning. Goldfish need a tank that allows a volume of at least 10 gallons per fish, the more volume the better.
One gallon of water will be contaminated by the fish in less than a day. Until you get an adequate size tank, you will have to change the water 2 or 3 times a day. Be sure to treat the water for chlorine.
The fish's waste goes directly into the water. Imagine how long you might live sealed up in an airtight closet with your waste products piling up around you.

2007-02-25 22:35:42 · answer #2 · answered by .... . .-.. .-.. --- 4 · 2 0

Everyone's going to tell you but the kid who sold you that get up. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GOLDFISH BOWL!!!!! The reason he's suffering is because he is in toxic water and he is SUFFACATING! Take everything back to the pet store and DEMAND your money back immediately. Any pet store that sells fish has an obligation to the pets they sell. If they treated dogs and cats that inhumanely they would be shut down. They should know. For goldfish need at least 10 gallons PER fish, heat, air stones and filter. Sorry this happened to you, you are not alone. Petco even advertises that they "care a lot about pets" while they have a high school girl hold a goldfish in a bowl. It's shameful. I boycott them,

2007-02-26 10:20:04 · answer #3 · answered by Sunday P 5 · 1 0

Sounds like your water is toxic, not surprising with a gold fish in a bowl im afraid. They need 10 gallons each!! Do a 70% water change and reduce the amount of food. test the water for amonia and nitrites aswell.

Good luck, buy a 10 gallon tank if you can, he will do alot better.

2007-02-26 06:18:31 · answer #4 · answered by A C 2 · 1 0

It sounds like he's getting overfed, first of all.

Goldfish eat off the bottom as well as the top. When he's cleaning the bottom rocks, he will ingest what fell out. They do spit it out and then suck it in. It's pretty normal fish behavior.

Feed him two times a day. A small bit in the morning and one small bit at night. No more than that.

His water needs changed daily, but you need to make certain you are not using chlorinated water. Let the water stand at least 24 hours in another container before using it for your fish, and if you can go to the store and by some water chlorine/chloramine remover, that would be the best thing.

Once he's in there, he needs a plant or two to keep the oxygen going, or some air bubbles. True, goldfish live in ponds and in standing water, but they have much bigger surfaces to breathe from than the surface of a bowl.

:)

Good luck.

2007-02-25 19:24:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1 3

Sounds like the water needs to be cycled. You do this by removing about a third of the water and replacing it with fresh water. Gold fish foul their water very quickly and ammonia builds up causing them to suffocate. Do this at least once a week. Gold fish need at least 10 litres of water per fish, so a tank would help him do MUCH better. Also a filter/pump to keep the water clean will help dramatically. It is also critical if you are on tap water that you add water conditioner to elimenate the chlorine.and amonnia.

2007-02-25 19:13:11 · answer #6 · answered by carolhubac 2 · 0 1

whether they do heal they'll die in a bowl. Goldfish are messy, great transforming into fish that could desire to get 12+ inches long and stay 20+ years with suitable care. Get them right into a tank with a effective clear out and that they'll do a lot greater advantageous and could probably heal swifter. finished grown goldfish want 20-seventy 5+ gallons reckoning on the variety of fish you have nevertheless at an analogous time as they're small they could have a smaller tank. For the 2nd i might do yet another water substitute. you do no longer know if the maid had soaps or different chemical ingredients on her hands that could desire to kill the fish. After that basically provide them time to heal. Touching the fish removes the slime coat with protects the fish from parasites and different issues. putting your hands interior the water could additionally go away chemical ingredients, soaps, and different issues that fish do no longer do nicely with. at an analogous time as its undesirable to do away with it, it won't kill the fish to the touch them. as quickly as we fish you'll be able to desire to touch fish gently to do away with the hook. we attempt to maintain our hands moist so it would not do away with as a lot.

2016-09-29 22:22:39 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

First off, goldfish do not belong in bowls. Goldfish require a minimum of 10 gallons of water per fancy goldfish and 20 gallons of water per slim-bodied goldfish. Next, he is swimming at the top of the water and gasping at the surface because he is suffocating because there isn't enough air in the water. He won't eat because he's too sick to want to eat. Goldfish produce large quantities of waste and a small bowl just can't handle all of the ammonia from all that waste. Your fish is being poisoned by the ammonia. You have too much ammonia because the water wasn't cycled properly. Goldfish are coldwater fish, so they don't need a heater. A perfect temperature for them is around 70 degrees, but they can live in frozen ponds as long as there is liquid water. You just have to adjust their feeding because the colder the water, the less they eat. But, they do need lots and lots of filtration of the water. You need to get at least a 10 gallon aquarium with a filter that pumps 10x the water as the size of the tank. So, for a 10 gallon tank, you need a filter that pumps 100 gallons of water per hour. You need to read about how to cycle the water in this tank. While you are waiting for this water to cycle, you are going to need to do 50% water changes daily in the bowl. Add some Amquel to the water. This reduces stress and takes out harmful chemicals such as chlorine and chloramine as well as helps the ammonia levels. You will need to add more each time you change the water. Add it according to directions. You can't overfeed goldfish. It is better to underfeed them. They can go several days without food with no harm. You only feed them once a day and only a pinch; whatever it will eat in 3-4 minutes. You must remove all of the uneaten food, otherwise all the leftover food will rot and foul the water and make it more toxic. You need to get a test kit too so that you can see the what the water quality is. Ammonia should be 0 ppm. Nitrites should be 0 ppm and nitrates should be 40 ppm or less. You need to learn how to do proper water changes and tank cleaning in your aquarium once it's up and running. You need to learn about proper filtration. All of these things add to making the water quality safe for your fish. You need to know how to identify and treat diseases. Goldfish are a very difficult fish to take care of. They are not the easy fish that we have all been led to believe they are. We all make these mistakes at first, but this is how we learn what not to do. The more knowledge you have about how to take care of goldfish properly, the happier and healthier they will be and you will be happier too! Good luck!

2007-02-25 20:27:02 · answer #8 · answered by Venice Girl 6 · 4 3

as others have said, he's suffering from lack of oxygen and too much ammonia in the water. get an airstone for now.
and he'll need a bigger tank, like now. goldfish grow remarkably quickly, and he needs an upgrade asap! a bigger tank with a good quality filter will also improve the oxygenation in the water.

2007-02-25 22:20:20 · answer #9 · answered by catx 7 · 2 1

Is this the only fish in your tank? Do you have a filter going? Is he new?

He could be stressed ifyou just got him. Some fish like the temperature between 74 and 80 degrees. The food may not be right too. The water may not be right-you may need some water conditioner. It sounds like your fish may be lacking oxygen. Do you have an air pump with the filter? If you have more than one fish, just remember this rule of thumb, "one gallon per every inch of fish you have".

2007-02-25 19:09:55 · answer #10 · answered by Menda 2 · 1 7

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