What can I do about my lazy goldfish?

Question

I know that lethargy can be a sign of illness, but it appears to be the only symptom.

He has been lazy for a few months, preferring to stay stationary on the bottom rather than swimming around. In the past couple of weeks it has gotten worse. The other day i can home to find him on his side on the bottom. I QT'd him with a heavy dose of salt, which seemed to perk him up, so i put him back in the tank. He has been swimming upright, but always along the bottom and recently he hasn't even been coming up to eat. he is starting to get skinny. Other than this, he shows no physical signs of illness or infection.

I have test kits to check the water, so i know that ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all fine, and i do frequent water changes. Plus, his tankmate is perfectly healthy, so it doesn't really seem like a water quality issue.

I am worried that he may die. I'm thinking about picking up some sinking pellets to see if he will eat on the bottom.

What else can I do?

Answer 1

Selophayne,it's clear that you have a sick fish.This forum is probably not going to be a source of good information. You could seek out a more specialized group,like some hard-core Goldfish people. I'm sure there are several such forums available.
I don't think that the sinking pellets would be a good idea,they are mostly for carnivorous fish (except for Algae wafers) and wouldn't be accepted by a Goldfish.
The skinniness is more likely the result of a tuberculosis like virus that causes fish to waste away. If this is your problem there are no known cures,and the disease should appear in the tank-mate at a later time(usually destroying one fish at a time until they are all dead.
Sorry,and good luck.

Answer 2

Lazy Goldfish. Sounds perfectly normal to me during summer.
You really don't have to do anything.

Sinking food is an excellent idea. Lots of quality sinking pellets out there from Tetra, Hikari, even Wardley. Your opportunity to try to serve up a variety of yummy ingredients. Spirulina, Krill, brine shrimp, bloodworms, tubifex worms, even algea wafers make goldfish happy munchers.
Good quality goldfish flakes (my favorite fishfood) do eventually find their way to the tank floor for easy foraging/finding by fish along the bottom. If you're concerned about illness, there is a variety of Jungle medicated sinking pellets out there. (I've used them too and gotten good results.)

Aquarium salt in a small dish in the corner of your tank is also a nice idea. (my gf love it)

Since you checked all the chemical levels in your tank, and they are fine, how about the temperature?

During the warmer lazy days of summer all cold freshwater water fish (bass, catfish, etc) activity levels tend to decrease as the average daily temperature of the water increases.

Since warmer waters hold less oxygen than colder waters, you can possibly try these 2 steps.

1) Fill your tank with slightly colder than usual water during water changes.
2) Add an air stone or 2 or a bubble wall.

Your Goldie will eventually notice the added oxygen and the colder more oxygen rich water and perhaps use them to be more active.

Check your goldfish activity in the early morning hours as this is the time they usually wake up and start to do their foraging. As the first light of a new morning hits their home, it's a good time for fishing! Good luck!

Answer 3

Doesn't seem like a water quality issue??? Sure sounds like it. How often do you do a 25% water change with a gravel vac? (25% weekly is the best answer) and how big is the tank? (55 is the best answer, but 38 would be OK, maybe even 37). The ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are "fine"? That would be 0, 0 and 20-40.
I deal in specifics, so that I can help your fish, not guess. Thanks.

Answer 4

does he eat when food is available? and when he swims does he swim ok? if there are no external symptoms it can be difficult to diagnose an illness.

maybe try feed some cooked deshelled pea to clean out his insides incase he's feeling a bit...compacted.

when you say ammonia readings are fine, they are at 0 right? anything other than 0 will be a problem.

Answer 5

Scream at him, like this, "SWIM YOU LAZY FISH, SWIM!!! DO YOU WANT TO GET FLUSHED? THEN YOU BETTER GET YOUR TAIL IN GEAR AND START SWIMMING!!! I WILL END YOU!!!"


That should work.

Answer 6

thats so cute that ur so worried about a goldfish....