Half of my six Goldfish have started hanging out near the surface with their faces turned up to the air?

Question

New to fish, I've recently acquired a 80litre (20ish gal.) fish tank and all it's equip. incl. 3 mature goldfish, from a friend going OS. Of which I've now added 3 small goldies of my own, that I already had. The tank was delivered to me empty with the fish in a small container.
I did a fair bit of homework, made some purchases, and gave all the fish a salt bath before combining them. And have been changing the water (filtered & cond.), about 10-15%, daily. Soaking their food, and keeping feed minimal. Giving them the odd fresh greens. They have an air-bubbles filter, and a water current filter.
I haven't got a nitrite, ammonia, or nitrate test kit, as they were quite expensive and I was told Goldfish were tough and wouldn't need it.
They have all been totally happy until today. The 3 mature fish are hanging out near the surface. It is day nine in the cycle, so I know things are near peaking in there. But apart from water changes, what else can I do?
What have I done wrong?

1.Fish might not cost much, but to my 3 young boys they are priceless!!!
2.The 10% water changes are because I'm "Cycling" a new tank...look it up!
3.They are old family pets, are very friendly, and used to attention.
4.They are not dead...they are swimming around, eating, etc, but just not as active as they have been for the last 9 days.
5. As I said, they have 2 forms of air: Bubbles and a current.

.Not sure of their age. But the biggest guy is about 10cms (4inches) he's broad and spotty, I think he's called a Common?! The other two are very pretty with fantails as big as their bodies, and are about 2.5inches.
My original three: two are about 2inches and the little guys only about 1inch.

Answer 1

If the tank was move to your place recently, any biological filter (bacteria) were probably disturbed. Even more so if the gravel wasn't kept wet or cleaned too thoroughly before or after the move (or if it's new). Because of the move, and the addition of three new fish to the bioload, I don't think you are as nearly complete in the cycling process as you might wish.

Fully cycling a new tank can take up to two months. If you are using old gravel and old filter media, this can help speed the process by giving you a starter colony of bacteria.

When I hear fish are at the top gasping, three things come to mind - lack of oxygen (clearly not your case with a filter/air), ammonia poisoning, or a gill disease/parasite.

It could be either of the last two, but with the recent move, (and if the larger fish were previously healthy and you took precautions with the new ones) I'm more likely to believe that it's ammonia, despite the daily water changes. The only way you'll know for certain is to test the water (and goldfish, while fairly hardy can die of ammonia and nitrite poisoning just like any others). If you don't want to buy a test kit at this point, take a sample of your water to one of the larger/chain fish/pet stores in a clean container rinsed in tank water - most will test it for you, although there might be a small fee at some (you can call beforehand to find out). Six goldfish will quickly foul (and outgrow) a 20 gallon tank.

I'll include some info below on ammonia poisoning and it's symptoms, plus one link that has several gill diseases/conditions and treatment recommendations so that base is covered as well.

Answer 2

Hanging Fish Tank

Answer 3

There are a few things you need to fix fairly quickly here. First your tank has not gone thru the start up cycle process. Chances are the ammonia from so many fish it is overloading the bifilter that is trying to kick in.
Daily water changes are not necessary however you are doing good now since your tank has not cycled.

You really need a test kit to keep any type of fish to be sure. Salt baths and soaking food is also not necessary .

Here is a good site to describe the start up cycle and what is going on in your tank.

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm

I would suggest since you are new to fish to read and get to know this cycle.

When you say mature gold fish, do you mean they are over 2 or 3 years old or over 18" long? Gold fish will vary in size from as little as 4" up to 36". Knowing what kind of goldfish you have will help you take better care of them.

Your air bubble does nothing to add much needed dissolved oxygen to the tank. It is for decoration only. Only water movement against air can add this much needed element to your tank. Be sure your filter is dumping water into your tank, even if it is only by 1/2".

When gold fish are hanging out at the surface of the water, they are trying to get away from something in the tank. Chances are your Ammonia is spikeing and driving them to the surface. You need to do a 25% water change to lower the ammonia levels.

Be sure the water is not too warm. Goldfish need water on average below 70. (Although some will tolorate higher).

Greens are great for your fish as well as oranges. My concern really is the size of the fish vs. size of the tank. a 20 gallon tank usually cannot house more than 5 gold fish so 6 is pushing it. 3 Larger fish (not sure what size) may have already topped the tank out.

Gold fish also need vit. enriched foods. High proteins low fats. Since they do not have stomachs, gold fish need feed 2-3 times per day. Each feeding should not exceed the size of one eye of the fish. For example, chances are your larger fish can have one pea each as an afternoon meal. Flake food would be about the same amount. Granted the larger fish will eat more or hog more than the smaller ones.

You really need a testing kit, drop the water level by 1/2 inch and do a water change. this will help your fish.

Have you noticed any blackening on the fins?

Feel free to email me

Answer 4

You don't have to change the water everyday, especially if you have a filter. Filters build up good bacteria and it helps clean the water. Some fish just like swimming at the surface. Yours might be getting stressed though because you are always changing the water. I have owned many gold fish and currently have a betta and a triops in different bowls(both unfiltered) I age the water(in bottles) several days before I use it and only change it one or 2 times a week. Test kits aren't that expensive. There are also online sites that you can go to to find out more about care of fish. Gold fish are the easiest to care for by the way.Good luck with your fish:)

Answer 5

Goldfish produce a lot of ammonia, so it is good that you are changing out the water so frequently.

I don't think you have any actual problem. Goldfish are mouth breathers, that is why they are so tough. I have an outdoor 90 gallon yard pond where I keep some large goldfish and sometimes the water gets so full of algae you can't see the fish except for when they are at the surface breathing.

It is an annoyance to them, I am sure, but it does not harm them any. Indoor fish will do the same if the water gets funky.

But they also hang out where they want to. These adult fish may not be used to clean water and are surface breathers out of habit.

Temperature can matter a lot to more tropical fish, but again, with goldfish, they can endure a lot. My outdoor fishies survive quite fine in 40 degree water all winter (that is as warm as the heater gets, but it keeps it from freezing) and barely eat during the winter.

The only thing I would ask is how old are these mature fish?

Answer 6

Actually, the larger the fish are, the more oxygen they will need. And 6 goldies in a 20ish gallon is quite an overload on the system for oxygen. I have a feeling that if you add another bubbler, and remove the 3 smaller fish, you may see a large improvement. And it's great that you are not feeding your fish a lot, as most people tend to overfeed their fish. A basic rule is that if the fish can get an amount of food that equals the size of its eye about 2-3 times a day, then it's getting plenty. As you can see, that really is not a lot of food.

Here's some websites:
http://www.flippersandfins.net/goldfishfaq.htm
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Animal_Care/Goldfish

Good luck and happy fishkeeping!

Answer 7

You should try giving them air bubbles directly to their mouth with a medicine syringe(not sharp). This shold help them cope with the water recycling. Check to make shure the water temperature isnt to hot because goldfish are cold water fish. If all else fails cut down on the amount of food you give them. Some things can contribute to your fishes behavior like , did you put the new tank in the dishwasher or let the tank and its acceccories to soak for 24 to 48 hours?there is also the risk of invisible algea in the water to. just keep an eye on them for a few days and give them so extra attention.

Answer 8

Unless the fish are showing obvious signs of illness I don't think you really have anything to worry about.

You can try doing a larger water change (25%) but other than that or changing the media in your filters everything sounds right. Keep in mind that if there was a real problem all of your fish would be showing signs, not just the three older ones.

Gold Fish are weird in that they will gulp air at the surface from time to time, and the older ones are used to each other and probably playing follow the leader.

Good Luck
E.

Answer 9

did you make sure the water you took out of the tank was the same temp. as the water you put in and are any of the fish bully's or being bulled if so then you should put the bully's in a smaller tank thats all i know of what would be wrong your doing every thing else perfect so this is all i can give you to the reason of them acting that way

Answer 10

Gold fish needs more air than other fishes. Your filter should give proper air to them to breath them properly. Another thing is that never overfeed goldfish. That is not good for him.

You had said that you changes 10-15% water daily... Dont make daily water changes. change 10% water after 3 days or 25% water change weekly.

I think it will help u.

For more info please go through following link.

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/tensteps.html