goldfish acting strange?

Question

recently i moved my year old goldfish into a tank twice the size for the first week they seemed happy and normal i later added more air bubble tubes and i also put misting fountain light in the bottom which i was told would not harm fish but they were crazy alll of them started swimming fast and kind of goofy i guess then at other times they sit at bottom really close together with their fins sucked close to body they do not have fin rot. i had 7 bigheallthy goldfish but as of today i only have 6 . all of them are doing the same .is it possible there is too many air bubbles or could it have been the fog mist light. cause they were fine untill i added those,

Answer 1

Did you keep the same gravel and filter when you changed their tank? If not, I'd suspect they have ammonia poisoning: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ammoniapoison.htm

Some strange behavior would be expected on the first day, since they got moved to a new tank, and you added an ornament that lights up which they'd never seen before. But if they've been in the tank for a few days, the ammonia from their wastes is building up, and the bacteria that convert the ammonia (which is toxic to fish) to nitrite, then nitrate live in the gravel and on the filter media. Whithout the bacteria, there's not as fast as a conversion as there had been previously. You should do a 25-50% water change as soon as possible, then take a sample of the tank water to your pet/fish store to see if it needs additional changes. This will explain in more detail waht's happening in the tank: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Answer 2

Hi Mandy, sorry to hear you lost one of your Goldfish. As well as the possibility of the new tank having to go through the cycle again I would think they were disturbed by the new ornament.

Goldfish are creatures of habit & when they are comfortable the slightest alteration to their environment can unnerve them untill they get used to it. Mine 'rebelled' for a couple of days simply by my adding an additional canister filter at one end with a hardly noticeable spraybar!

I personally discourage the use of any of the submersible 'novelty' type ornaments for fish tanks whether lighting like yours or the air pump operated moving ones as they often cause problems, upsetting the fish, make unnecessary noise, are a potential injury risk & can pollute your tank as very often they are not made with aqua-safe materials.

Answer 3

Hi, Not sure what a misting fountain light is....but your tank may be going through cycling and the ammonia that has been produced is making your fish sick. I recommend going to your local aquarium and getting advise as to how to treat your fish through cycling.

Answer 4

well i would take it out and see...you will soon see them picking back up again in health (instantly usually) if it is the cause ...gl