Fantail Goldfish Not Growing

I have a 7-8-month-old fantail goldfish that lives in a 37 Gallon Tank with a small Ryukin goldfish. When I first got him in early March this year with the ryukin , both of them were around 1 inch long, but the fantail had a brownish-bronze colour. More than half a year later, the fantail is still 1 inch long and is still the same colour as when I first picked him up. I feed him API Goldfish flakes and he seems to eat a fair bit(about the same amount as the ryukin), but he does have a little bit of a swim bladder issue(he's a little clumsy at times, but can stay upright with relative ease), however, my ryukin goldfish has grown to about 2 inches and I've recently moved him to a larger tank(to make sure that the ryukin isn't bullying the fantail). Is there a reason why my goldfish isn't maturing/ growing?

 

I have a 7-8-month-old fantail goldfish that lives in a 37 Gallon Tank with a small Ryukin goldfish. When I first got him in early March this year with the ryukin , both of them were around 1 inch long, but the fantail had a brownish-bronze colour. More than half a year later, the fantail is still 1 inch long and is still the same colour as when I first picked him up. I feed him API Goldfish flakes and he seems to eat a fair bit(about the same amount as the ryukin), but he does have a little bit of a swim bladder issue(he's a little clumsy at times, but can stay upright with relative ease), however, my ryukin goldfish has grown to about 2 inches and I've recently moved him to a larger tank(to make sure that the ryukin isn't bullying the fantail). Is there a reason why my goldfish isn't maturing/ growing?

Could be a runt. it happens. Or Ryukin may have outcompeted for most of the food. I believe Ryukins are generally on the more aggressive side compared to other fancies. Does your fantail have a bigger tail not proportionate to its body? Also look at the eyes and see if they are a bit bigger than usual. Those are some properties of a runt.

If you want to try and give him the best chance to gain some size, then ditch the flake food, especially if you see some swim bladder issue starting to develop.

 

The eyes are a bit bigger than usual, the tail's about the size of the goldfish itself, and if it helps his pectoral fins are a little "wonky" and not properly shaped and larger than they should be, his analfins are also larger than normal. And also what food should I move to in order to let the fantail to gain some size, I've moved the ryukin to a larger tank, so, that should help.

 

The eyes are a bit bigger than usual, the tail's about the size of the goldfish itself, and if it helps his pectoral fins are a little "wonky" and not properly shaped and larger than they should be, his analfins are also larger than normal.

Sounds like it could be a runt. Or it's just under nutrition'ed. Well now that you took out the other guy, he should be able to get his fills worth now with no competition. Will just have to wait and see the next few weeks.

And also what food should I move to in order to let the fantail to gain some size, I've moved the ryukin to a larger tank, so, that should help.

Generally a high protein diet will help them grow but you don't want to overdo it unless you know what you are doing. You want food that keeps its nutrients locked in instead of something like flakes that will just dissipate quickly in the water. High quality food is also more expensive. Repashy Gel is good but requires some preparation. Mizuho feed pellets are good for fast growth since they have a higher protein concentration. Spirulina based foods are also very healthy. Brine Shrimp and Blood worms are good also. It's important to balance out all that protein with some vegetables a few times a week. They love that stuff

 

Thanks for the help. I have some freeze-dried bloodworms in my fridge, I'll keep you updated if he gets better.

 

Thanks for the help. I have some freeze-dried bloodworms in my fridge, I'll keep you updated if he gets better.

treat bloodworms more as a snack instead of their staple regular diet. Couple times a week is nice little treat and a good dose of protein for them.

 

Update: it's been about a week since i've started feeding him a bit of bloodworms, he's doing a lot better, looking less skinny, but he hasn't grown much yet. he still has a bit of a swim bladder problem, but it has gotten better.

 

just came home and found him stuck to the filter still alive... put him in a hospital tote with an aerator... he's currently at the bottom of the tank... still breathing but upside down and with a bit of a bent spine... don't have a lot hope... his tail is literally almost gone... I'm turning off all lights some he can pass easily... i checked the camera footage, it seems like when I fed him this morning(I left for school after I fed him) he swam too close to the filter and was unable to remove himself... he's already been in the hospital tank for an hour now and has no signs of improvement... i dosed the water with a bit of aquarium salt to increase gill function and added stress coat... i was thinking about this happening the other day, and that the filter intake was too strong for him... and I wanted to order a sponge filter, for him, but i didn't because i spent my allowance on a kh and gh test kit.... i feel so bad

 

just came home and found him stuck to the filter still alive... put him in a hospital tote with an aerator... he's currently at the bottom of the tank... still breathing but upside down and with a bit of a bent spine... don't have a lot hope... his tail is literally almost gone... I'm turning off all lights some he can pass easily... i checked the camera footage, it seems like when I fed him this morning(I left for school after I fed him) he swam too close to the filter and was unable to remove himself... he's already been in the hospital tank for an hour now and has no signs of improvement... i dosed the water with a bit of aquarium salt to increase gill function and added stress coat... i was thinking about this happening the other day, and that the filter intake was too strong for him... and I wanted to order a sponge filter, for him, but i didn't because i spent my allowance on a kh and gh test kit.... i feel so bad

Wow that totally sucks....What kind of filter were you running? Many will suggest to get a strong filter or something that can circulate 10x the water volume per hour for goldfish since they are such poop machines (which they are) but always seem to leave out the fact that fancy goldfish prefer calm waters. That might work for full sized adults but for young and small goldfish, it's a bad idea. I dunno how many times I had to adjust the flow myself after seeing a small goldfish get rocked by the current. Sounds like in your case it couldn't swim away from the intake and got pulled in. That's where a pre intake sponge can help.

 

idk what type, but it's the top fin one that that circulates 200 gallons per hour(it came with the tank)... he's on his side now... still at the bottom of tote... not really moving much(which is improvement considering he wasn't moving at all when i rescued him) ...on the positive side his back looks better, but i still don't think he's gonna make it. ..im just trying to look on the positive side... if he makes it to tomorrow, im gonna get clove oil and euthanize him...

 

idk what type, but it's the top fin one that that circulates 200 gallons per hour(it came with the tank)... he's on his side now... still at the bottom of tote... not really moving much(which is improvement considering he wasn't moving at all when i rescued him) ...on the positive side his back looks better, but i still don't think he's gonna make it. ..im just trying to look on the positive side... if he makes it to tomorrow, im gonna get clove oil and euthanize him...

can you provide a picture or video of him? Exterior wounds are a lot easier to recover from compared to internal complications.

 

Sorry, i didn't see your reply until this morning(it's around 8:30 AM at the time of posting)... he passed sometime during the night, I found him upside down at the top of the tank... i buried him under my bonsai tree, so he could "become part of the tree".... this one really stings because it's my first death this year, my first goldfish death and he was one of the friendliest fish I own... its sad too because he was recovering from his swim bladder problem and he was starting to grow a little bit

 

Sorry, i didn't see your reply until this morning(it's around 8:30 AM at the time of posting)... he passed sometime during the night, I found him upside down at the top of the tank... i buried him under my bonsai tree, so he could "become part of the tree".... this one really stings because it's my first death this year, my first goldfish death and he was one of the friendliest fish I own...

I sympathize with your loss. At least you know that if he was gone last night then there was not much you could have really done for him.