My goldfish is depressed. Can I give him Xanax or Paxil?

Answer 1

I find it weird that you want to give that to your fish, but if this is serious here is my answer:
If your fish is showing signs of stress you should
First: check if the aquarium is not too small or if it is overcrowded
Second: clean the aquarium and the gravel, remember not to tear it apart while you do this since you could be doing more damage than helping. You need top keep the good bacteria if the tanks has already being cycled,
Third: do a 20% water change every day until your fish gets better. It is incredible what fresh non-chlorinated water can do to for a fish (I like to use cycle and amquel to treat the water and they help a lot)
Fourth: check for signs of stress: like the fish has white spots, it is rubbing its body against the rocks, plants, decoration, etc. The white spots could be ick and treat with Quick cure if you find any spots. If you fish is light colored add the Quick cure anyways since it is harder to see the spots on light colored fish.
Fifth: Check the water temperature; remember that gold fish should not be in warm water.
Sixth: you may want to add aquarium salt to kill any pathogens in the tank. You can add 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. You only do this once.
Seventh: Check if other fish are attacking that fish or not letting it eat.
Eight: Observe your fish and check if it is eating and if the treatment is working, also look for other signs of illness; so you can treat its condition better.

Answer 2

If the fish is depressed, xanax will not help because it is more of a quick acting anti-anxiety med with a short half-life. Paxil is more for depression, but it takes about two weeks to take effect. Besides, the chemicals in the drug would probably kill your fish within hours of dissolving in the tank, and how would you know the dosage to give him? I presume that he/she is pretty small.
Why not check this instead. Is your fish in a decent sized tank with plants and gravel and stuff like that which mimics his natural habitat or is it just in a glass bowl with nothing but water? That's like solitary confinement and would tend to cause distress. Try to give him an environment that is similar to it's own natural habitat and give it another fish or two to keep it company. This is all just common sense from one who has had fish for many years. I doubt that you will find any literature on goldfish psychology. Good luck.

Answer 3

No!!!

You'll only kill him, if he's depressed maybe you should get him a larger bowl and another gold fish. From what I've seen they do well alone but they seem to like the company of someone of their own kind.

But if you want the best advice ask a vet or someone who works in the fish section of a petstore, they might be able to give a good answer.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Are you serious? How can you even tell if a goldfish is depressed? Any chemical out of the ordinary in their tank would probably kill them.

Answer 5

Nahhh, give those to me. Instead fry up another fish right next to it's bowl. Put the fear of Long John Silver's into it!!!



PS. Can't you tell I'm an animal lover.

Answer 6

Your fish might need more attention. Get some colourful toys or cool lookings marbles or rocks. And P.S. fish don't get depressed!

Answer 7

Sure, why not? And if that doesn't work, I suggest you take him to a therapist. The one in the GEICO.com commercial seems to be really good. Ask the caveman.

Answer 8

Try Zoloft instead. It's cheaper and fizzes more in the tank.

Answer 9

NO!!! There's been studies done on the effects of flushed Paxil reentering the water systems and KILLING fish! PLEASE do not give your fish either!

Answer 10

He might like it better if you double the size of his tank and get him a friend.