ch33ly

Hey Everyone!

I'm a bit of a beginner when it comes to fish, so you'll have to excuse me. I've owned betta fish in the past, but this is the first time I've ever owned goldfish.

So my boyfriend bought me two fan tail goldfish for my birthday, Nibbles and Jeff. And I've had bad luck from the start. About two weeks after getting them, Jeff got a water tick. I managed to trap it, and get it out of the tank. A few weeks later, Nibbles started to get what I thought was fin rot. So I put him in isolation. Apparently I was dead wrong. It progressed super quick, he became so lethargic that at times I thought he was dead. I tried everything to cure him, and nothing worked. So Nibbles died what I would assume to be a very painful death.

After Nibbles died, Jeff, who had always been very active and borderline aggressive looked kind of lonely, so I went out and got a calico fantail named Lionel. At first, the two got along swimmingly (ha ha), but as Lionel began to grow, Jeff became more and more lethargic. He no longer swims around like he used to, and he only eats when food floats down past his face. The most swimming he ever does is from one side of the tank to the other, which really isn't that far. For the most part, Jeff's fins stay up, and he looks healthy (he's not skinny or lacking in colour or anything), he's just so sad!

Lately I've been noticing Lionel chasing Jeff around and nipping at him. It doesn't happen very often, and I assume that Lionel is just looking for something to do, but is this behaviour that I should be worrying about? Is this what is causing my spunky Jeff to be all depressed? What's going on?!?

By the way, I have the two of them living in a 2.65 gallon starter tank with a filter....

Thanks!

TFA101

2.65 gallons is not the best habitat for 2 goldfish, even filtered.

You see, goldfish are heavy, heavy, HEAVY, waste producers, and each fish should be given 10 gallons per animal. At the least, you should have them in a 20 gallon tank. Not only that, goldfish do get quite large, on average about 6" long at full size. Please, in all power you have, attempt to set up a goldfish friendly habitat (20 gallons) with good filtration and heating. They will perk up after this is done.

PS

you might stunt your fish's growth by keeping them in small housing, which is dangerous for them, as the outside of the body doesn't grow, but the inside does (organs, and the like). the fish will die in some time, so please consider a larger set up, or rehoming your fish. It's for the best.

PPS

I can see you don't know about the nitrogen cyclen. Please read the fishlore article on cycling http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Lucy

Hi ch33ly welcome to Fish Lore

I'm sorry you lost Nibbles and that Lionel and Jeff aren't feeling well.
I love goldies, they have such great personalities.

As TFA advised, they really do need a larger tank they're probably feeling crowded along with the effects of ammonia that build up quickly from their waste and left over food.
Along with TFA's advise about a larger tank, it would do them good to have their water changed very frequently, every couple of days if not daily until you can get a larger tank or find them another home.

It would be a good idea to get a water testing kit, the liquid kits are more accurate than the strips. I use the API Master Kit, it's very reliable.

The link TFA gave you will help you understand what's going on with their water.

Good luck.