Jackie Frost

I'm really amazed at my goldfish Molly. She has been subjected to wild temperature swings, is going through a laborously long cycle period. (I didn't know anything about the nitrogen cycle before I purchased her, unfortunately) and has been sucked up a filter pipe. Despite all of those things, she continues to have a strong desire to live. Every morning when I expect to see her lying dead on her side, she is wide awake and perky and begging for food. I can't help but admire her.

My newest question is what to do about the brownish scars around her eyes. (She received them while she was stuck in the filter pipe.) I don't know if she is in any pain or not. The scars don't look pretty, but there is no blood and she is certianly acting healthy. She has like a down period in between 12:00 and 2:00 where she becomes very lethargic, then Molly is perky again and scavanging around the gravel for food . I have no idea what is causing her temporary lethargic period either.

Amonia has tested zero today. But the Nitrates also tested at zero (with a high quality tester) and I know that's not good.

gremlin

12 - 2 may be her nap time If that is the warmest part of the day, it may be that there is not enough oxygen in the tank at that time for her to be active. You could try adding additional airstones to the tank to help. Goldies are comfortable with temperature changes from day to night, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. As for the scars around her eyes, how long ago did she get injured? The scars may fade away completely, but it will take time. A cat took a couple chunks out of my shubunkin and now you can't hardly tell where the holes were. Goldies are pretty resilient fishies.

eiginh

Add some stress coat just in case but I'm glad shes alive and kickin!

aquarist48

Hello Jackie. Your Molly truly sounds like a fighter and a survivor! As for her down time from 12 to 2...how long do you leave your lights on every day and at what times do you have them on? I have all of my tank lights on timers (from WalMart) and the lights are on for 11 hours each day. They come on early in the morning 7am, they go off at 11am. From 11am to 4pm they are all off and this kind of gives them a sense of a cloudy day. (maybe my mind is just clouded? lol) Too, the lights are off during the hottest part of the day, helping to control the temperatures. The lights come back on at 4pm and stay on until 11pm.
I feel that the fish need a break during the day. In the wild they can always go and find a shady spot and rest a bit. This is what I try to do for my fish in my tanks. I agree with the above statement that it is probably just her relaxing period because she is active again and acting normally after her respite. If this is something she does every day then I wouldn't worry too much. If this is an odd behavior for her then there could be other issues.
Have you posted any photos of her that I might have missed?
Best wishes to you both! Please keep us posted.
Ken