Goldfish just sitting in bottom corner of his tank, new tank new fish...any advice?

Question

Weve had our fish for four days and he just got put in his new 10 gallon from a gallon bowl last night. When we put him in he immediately set out exploring...not swimming fast like he was scared, but picking at the rocks and plants and just swimming around. This morning he is just sitting in the bottom of the aquarium, he could be asleep but its 10 am so i doubt it. So my question why might this be...he was energetic last night. The only thing i can think of is the cats were evidently watching him this morning (he was swimming around today before that) but they are only kittens and hes never had any bad experiences with cats. Right now i have his tank covered with a blanket for privacy and have been keeping the cats away. Dont know if its better to keep the cats away from him or let him get used to them:S Thanks for any advice.

I have a lid and have conditioned the water:) What gets me is that he was not acting the least bit stressed when he got in there, even while we were floating him it just looked like he wanted to get out and explore his new home. Which is just what he did. I know fish are hard to read but I swear he was not scared, he was excited. And he spent a couple of hours swimming around before we turned out his light. So it just seems odd that today he doesnt want to swim around yet. But maybe he was up all night exploring and is resting now. who knows. Right now his light is on in his tank so he can tell that its day time in no uncertain terms (our living room is kinda dark) and he has a blanket over his tank so he isnt distracted. It occured to me that maybe last night with his light on he couldnt see what was outside his tank well and now that he can he is being more timid. What do you think?

oh and his water is right around 73 degrees. We didnt have time to cycle for days or weeks but we did the 24 cycling of the filter and prepped the water, floated his bag and added tank water gradually to the floating bag over the course of like 45 min to let him adjust to any change in ph. We couldnt cycle the tank for a long time cuz he was a rescue fish and was in a gauranteed more toxic bowl than the tank. Thought that might be useful info.

Answer 1

You seem to have done a good job of acclimating your new fish to the new tank. Fish will often show different behavior when put into a new environment, whether it be excitement, or just trying to find out where the nearest cover is in case there's a predator they don't see. And the period of inactivity may be just as natural, while they get used to a new water chemistry and activity going on around them (or staying immobile so the cats don't attack - he's probably never seen one before, so doesn't know if these might be a predator). You don't need to worry about your fish being up all night exploring, becasue once the lights go out, goldfish will rest. They aren't like some catfish or others which are more active nocturnally.

I would keep the tank uncovered and let him get used to the cats. If you keep a cover over the tank and there's no light underneath, his day/night cycle will be thrown off. If there is a light, the blanket may trap too much heat - goldfish prefer cooler water.

If your fish is large enough, it may have produced enough ammonia in the tank, that this is starting to affect him. You also want to make sure you aren't overfeeding him - only give him the amount of flakes or pellets that he can eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day. If there's any extra food after the 3 minutes are up, you should remove it with your net. As uneaten food decomposes, it also produces ammonia. Plus, you will be wasting the food, and you'll need to clean the tank more often.

For their health, it's best if you vary his diet a little. Goldfish, especially yours, since it's a deep bodied type (which are prone to problems with constipation and swim bladder disorder), should get plenty of fiber in their diets. You can give him some cooked green peas with the skins removed, dark leafy lettuce, or slices of zucchini or cucumber, shredded carrot, or small sections of oranges. The vegetables should be cooked slightly, or frozen then thawed so the plant cell walls break down and are easier for him to eat. So whenever you have any of these for yourself, consider sharing a little with your fish.

Also, see the article below:

Answer 2

He may just be trying to get used to his tank, but also, did you cycle the water first? If not, he is probably feeling the effects of toxic water quality. Adding a water conditioner is not enough. That does not take out the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. There is no product that you can add that immediately cycles the water. Do a 50% water change, buy a master test kit and read up on the nitrogen cycle. Good luck!

EDIT: 73 degrees is okay. If that's just your regular air temp, that's fine, but if you do, by chance, have a heater or are regulating the temperature in any way, you can turn it down to 70 degrees. Floating the bag in the water has nothing to do with ph changes. That only involves temperature changes, but it is a good thing to do. 24 hours is not enough time to cycle water or a filter. All that time allows for is the chlorine to dissipate from the water, which is not the same thing, but, as he was a rescue fish, then you really didn't have a choice. Follow the routine for cycling with fish in the link below, and again, good luck! Goldies are beautiful!

Answer 3

Humm. . . well let us start with you don't have to flush your fish like most people are saying (gee). The red streaks on your fish's body is most likely do to Hemorrhagic Septicamia (red streaks on body) or Furuculosis (open red sores on the body). To treat this you can simply buy Fungus Clear by Jungle(product's company name) from your local pet store or Walmart. Just drop in one tablet for each ten gallons. When adding this Fungus Clear to your tank be sure to remove the carbon from your filter, so it won't remove the cleaner when filtering the water. If the first treatment of 24 hours doesn't help wait 24 hours with a filter again and repeat treatment. If your fish is new it is likely that it had contracted this illness from another ill fish at the store. Also the stress of being in a new environment, constant loud noised or flashing lights, irregular sleeping pattern, or the introduction of a new friend can weaken your fish's immune system and make them contract an illness that would have died off before they were infected. Be sure to continue to keep the tank clean and adding salt. Salt helps build to the fish's external mucus that protects them. If you do not treat this it may be fatal. Good luck my friend and I hope this helped. Also, my fish have gone through illnesses, many, many illnesses and have come out fine. So don't worry she should be fine if you take action.

Answer 4

i don't think that he would be acting like that because of the cats. He might be having a bad reaction to the change in water, and is not able to be as energetic right now. Also, unless his tank light is on, the blanket will be making it too dark for him to do anything anyway. I would say just let him get used to the cats, since as long as you keep an eye on things, he will be fine!

p.s. check the water vitals to make sure that everything is normal and at the right temp!

Answer 5

I hope you got a lid on your tank
Anyway, it takes usually some time for fish to adjust to their new environment
Also if you have a lid with light, leave it only on for 10-12 hours during the day and turn it off for 12-14 hours at nights
Don't overfeed him, only what he will eat in a period of 2-4 min at each feeding twice a day
Have you cycled your tank?

Here is also some more info on keeping goldfish
http://www.firsttankguide.net/goldfish.php


Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 6

Maybe he's just resting cause he was up all night. Give it time. See if he comes to the top for his food. Maybe he's not finding any cause of the clean tank. Also be careful about leaving the light on too much. I know several people that did that and the light caused too much algae and then the fish died. Just a thought. Hope things work out.

Answer 7

Test your tank for ammonia. Your tank is still cycling, and is probably high in ammonia, which will kill your fish. If the test comes back in the dangerous zone, you should do a 50% water change with a siphon, and go very light on the food. Email me if you have any questions.

Answer 8

Fish get stressed out when put in new home. Did you condition the water before putting him in there? From years of losing new fish I found a product called start right. It is a great product that conditions the water and makes it "old". It is sold in pet stores and stores that carry fish supplies.

Answer 9

fish are def. not bothered by cats...lol it's not like they see a cat and think "uh oh, there's a cat, I need to hide." they really only see the shadow and react to it. so it's not your kitties.