My fish won't eat and is spending a lot of time gasping at the top. No outward signs of illness. Whats up?

Question

He lives in a bowl, but it's very large (don't have the volume, but it is a big bowl). I changed the water late on Monday evening, at which point he was fine. Used tap-safe as normal for the chlorine. Tuesday morning I gave him him usual flake food and he wasn't interested. On my return home on Tuesday evening it was all at the bottom untouched. Tried a few flakes and some bloodworms at that point, he ignored them all. At this point I suspected something was up so poured in a dosage of disease-safe and fish-safe to try and perk him up. He did perk up a little in that he's moving a bit more than on Tuesday, but other than that it's now Friday and he doesn't appear to be eating at all. He has no discolouration or growths, all his fins look 100%. He's spending a lot of time gasping at the top, that doesn't make sense as he has clean water still and I've also put in some oxygen tablets. It's very strange as he really looks quite normal other than he simply won't eat anything. Hmm

Answer 1

Hi, if this is a Goldfish we're talking about then no matter how large the bowl it is totally inappropriate, not just because of the size-even if it is a VERY big bowl he will still experience disorientation due to living in a sphere together with oxygen transfer issues & then you have the problem of filtration & aeration coupled with the nightmare of keeping a bowl clean enough for a Goldfish which in reality means changing at least 50% of the water daily & the stress he will incur from this is counter-productive.

You need to check your parameters to see if anything is amiss there, you may find you have a build up of ammonia due to the uneaten food in which case you must perform a partial water change using treated, same temperature water, or-it may be lack of aeration. Despite the dazzling array of medications in the pet store, pouring in a constant cocktail of broad-range medications is really no solution (no pun intended!), what he needs more than anything else is a large tank with a good filter & a buddy, also plenty of interesting things to play with, swim through & explore. The link below will give you a lot of information about keeping him happy.

Answer 2

Since the water is well oxygenated, the obvious reason is either ammonia spike or contaminated water. * Have you sprayed any object or area near your fish tank with paint, deodorant or insecticide - if so apart from the measures given below, the room needs to be thoroughly aired out. * Have you recently added any object/decoration in your aquarium - maybe it is toxic to the fish - remove it first. * Have you added any salt, medicine or any other additive to the water - if so, maybe you have far exceeded the recommended dosage. Though salt is good for most fish in minute quantities, excess of salt can send freshwater fish into 'osmotic' shock. The symptoms are clamped fins, gasping and general lethargy. - change 50% of the water immediately - use a different source from the one you normally use. I feel that a safe way would be to use RO water for the first change. - after 4-6 hours change 25% more but dont use RO water this time. - change another 25% the next day. - if symptoms still persist, it may be because the damage to the fish is now irreversible. All the best !

Answer 3

Definitely sounds like he is suffering from lack of oxygen, since a portion of oxygen is dissolved at the top of tank into the water (Wouldn't really put much faith in any type of tablets for constant oxygen concerns). You didn't mention anything about an airstone, so that there would be a huge help for better aeration. Besides having no air pumps or a small water surface at the top, high ammonia levels and obviously bacterial, fungal, or parasites could be the cause.

If you see no external signs of illness(whether it be parasites, fungal, etc...) then as some of the previous posters have mentioned perform a water change. You can also buy cheap ammonia monitors at most stores that'll last a few weeks(Such as Live NH3).

Some useful links:
http://www.bestfish.com/articles.html
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/information/Diseases.htm#Argulus

Answer 4

Honey, Honey, even though the fish looks fine it really isn't it sounds like you put to much of those disease killing droplets in. When really he has a breathing problem, did you balance his PH, and chlorine? is he getting enough oxygen if he's a salt water fish. is his salt fresh? Or he could possibly going through shock because the way he was handled when cleaning the tank. Hope you fish is doing better.

Answer 5

I've had this very problem with several fish. Some, I've found, did worlds better when placed in a tank with an aerator, but only for a small amount of time. I've had quite a few fish, and none have lasted longer than a month. More than half have died in this manner; I've never found a true solution.

Hopefully, everything works out. Also, add the type of fish to your question. I don't need it, but I'm sure others will.

Answer 6

Maybe change the water again and see if that helps him. If that seems to help then you may want to change the water more often than you are doing since it is a bowl. You may be giving him too much food. If that doesn't help talk with a fish store and see what they say about what the fish is doing.

Best of luck to you and your little fish.

Answer 7

All you need to do is to insert a small electrical underwater filter in the bowl to give the fish enough water movement to create oxygen in the water. It is an ancient myth that a fish can survive without any water movement .

The other option is to insert one of those bubble pumps which blows bubbles under the water, that will also give him enough oxygen. You can get all kinds of fun underwater bubble pumps, so go to your local pet shop and have a look.

Answer 8

Lack of oxygen. Use larger tank, best option,or change water daily. Also bowls, even if they have large quantity of water, due to thier shape do not have enough water surface area exposed to the air to replenish the oxgen adequately. Growing a water plant would also oxgenate the water. Unfortunately if it is big, and I assume it is a gold fish, then it may well simply be old and at end of its life.

Answer 9

Only a betta should live in a bowl. You didn't mention the fish. The problem is low oxygen content of the water and poor water quality. If you have a goldfish in that bowl, don't expect him to live very long. Goldfish can't live in bowls, they need 10 gallons per fish.

Answer 10

What about the ph of the water, some fish need the water to be a certain alkalinity,temperature, ect. or they won't survive. Sounds like your fish isn't doing too well. Ask the person at the pet store about the problem and see what they recommend.