My fancy goldfish keep staying at the top of my tank?

I recently purchased a small tank (5 gallon) and 2 fancy goldfish for my grandsons first pets. He lives with us and is 3 years old. I am very watchful to be sure he puts nothing in the tank unless I’m there to help him feed them twice a day. The water gets a 50% change out with spring water once a week and an entire tank clean once a month. Then after always goes cloudy. I purchased a bio stone and followed the instructions. I test the water, the levels for everything read they are good except the ph is occasionally in the high end of ok so I use some ph down. The temperature of the tank hangs between 76 and 78 the tank does not have a heater. The filter came with the tank kit so I’m assuming it is the correct size. The fish seem to spend a lot of time at the top although they do sleep/rest at the bottom and don’t seem to have trouble going down to forage and things like that so I don’t think swim bladder. Since my first though was oxygen I bought a bubbler in case the filter wasn’t oxygenating the water enough, but they are still exhibiting this behavior Even after the addition of the bubbler. Do I need to worry? Is there something I’ve overlooked?

 

Goldfish get far too large and produce far too much waste for a tank of that size. Water quality will fluctuate wildly.
Could you describe your process of cleaning the whole tank? Do you change filter cartridges? Cloudy water is from bacterial blooms, which can occur when nutrients (fish waste) get stirred up, or if the balance of the tank ecosystem gets disturbed (overcleaning). Cleaner surfaces are not really better in a fish tank, but changing water is always a good thing!

 

I recently purchased a small tank (5 gallon) and 2 fancy goldfish for my grandsons first pets. He lives with us and is 3 years old. I am very watchful to be sure he puts nothing in the tank unless I’m there to help him feed them twice a day. The water gets a 50% change out with spring water once a week and an entire tank clean once a month. Then after always goes cloudy. I purchased a bio stone and followed the instructions. I test the water, the levels for everything read they are good except the ph is occasionally in the high end of ok so I use some ph down. The temperature of the tank hangs between 76 and 78 the tank does not have a heater. The filter came with the tank kit so I’m assuming it is the correct size. The fish seem to spend a lot of time at the top although they do sleep/rest at the bottom and don’t seem to have trouble going down to forage and things like that so I don’t think swim bladder. Since my first though was oxygen I bought a bubbler in case the filter wasn’t oxygenating the water enough, but they are still exhibiting this behavior Even after the addition of the bubbler. Do I need to worry? Is there something I’ve overlooked?

Welcome to Fishlore!

What exactly are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH) and what are you using to test?

In addition to the comments and questions above from Lakefish, are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? In addition to your tank being too small for 2 fancy goldfish, I’d guess the filtration capacity is too low to handle the waste they produce.

 

Goldfish get far too large and produce far too much waste for a tank of that size. Water quality will fluctuate wildly.
Could you describe your process of cleaning the whole tank? Do you change filter cartridges? Cloudy water is from bacterial blooms, which can occur when nutrients (fish waste) get stirred up, or if the balance of the tank ecosystem gets disturbed (overcleaning). Cleaner surfaces are not really better in a fish tank, but changing water is always a good thing!

When I clean the entire tank I remove the fish and then take everything to the sink and scrub and rinse it in hot water. including the gravel and small plastic plants that came with the tank. i also change the water filter and rinse and clean the filter body which is pretty slimy by then. After ever tank cleaning I use spring water and then add the instructed amount of stress coat. Then I test strip the water to verify nothing is out of wack. when I do 50% water change that is all I do. Pump out half the water and add new spring water. The fish are pretty smal only about an inch and a half each but I do know if / when they get bigger I will have to get a bigger tank. I just didn’t want to make a huge investment not knowing how this would go over with my grandson. He actually wanted a spider but I am deathly afraid of them and could never care for one as a pet.

Welcome to Fishlore!

What exactly are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH) and what are you using to test?

In addition to the comments and questions above from Lakefish, are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? In addition to your tank being too small for 2 fancy goldfish, I’d guess the filtration capacity is too low to handle the waste they produce.

I purchased a 5 in 1 test strip kit which has a chart that indicates where it should be for the different types of tanks (freshwater-cichlid-goldfish-saltwater.). my test strip indicated that my pH was8.0, my nitrate was 20, my nitrite was 0, the KH was 180, and the GH was 120. I thought of getting a bigger filter but worry that it may cause too heavy of a water flow? They already avoid that part of the tank usually. I had it set lower but thought maybe turning it up would help the water? As I type this get are foraging at the bottom and have been for the past 10 minutes. Prior to that they were just floating around the top. They don’t gasp or look like they are gasping. And sometimes they are floating right above where the bubbles come up from the air stone.they have no marks or visual Indication of disease.

 

I purchased a 5 in 1 test strip kit which has a chart that indicates where it should be for the different types of tanks (freshwater-cichlid-goldfish-saltwater.). my test strip indicated that my pH was8.0, my nitrate was 20, my nitrite was 0, the KH was 180, and the GH was 120. I thought of getting a bigger filter but worry that it may cause too heavy of a water flow? They already avoid that part of the tank usually. I had it set lower but thought maybe turning it up would help the water? As I type this get are foraging at the bottom and have been for the past 10 minutes. Prior to that they were just floating around the top. They don’t gasp or look like they are gasping. And sometimes they are floating right above where the bubbles come up from the air stone.they have no marks or visual Indication of disease.

Here’s my best suggestions. . .
1. If your fish aren’t already too large for the tank and filter, they will be soon. I’d either get a larger tank and filter or rehome or return the goldfish and get something better suited to a 5 gallon tank.
2. Stop using pH Down. Using chemicals to alter pH levels can result in large/sudden pH changes that can shock/kill your fish.
3. Invest in the API Master Test kit. It’s generally more accurate and reliable than test strips. It will also allow you to test for ammonia (which you’re not currently testing?).

 

Here’s my best suggestions. . .
1. If your fish aren’t already too large for the tank and filter, they will be soon. I’d either get a larger tank and filter or rehome or return the goldfish and get something better suited to a 5 gallon tank.
2. Stop using pH Down. Using chemicals to alter pH levels can result in large/sudden pH changes that can shock/kill your fish.
3. Invest in the API Master Test kit. It’s generally more accurate and reliable than test strips. It will also allow you to test for ammonia (which you’re not currently testing?).

What fish would you recommend for a 5 gallon tank?

 

5g is small for most fish, especially big fish. Maybe a Betta? If your grand really likes the goldfish I would try a bigger tank.

 

Somehow I missed seeing your reply about cleaning yesterday. Anyway, your bacterial bloom is the result of over cleaning. Bacteria and algae are your friends! They are necessary to sustain the fish.
Here is what I would do:
— During weekly water change, use a gravel vacuum to remove sludge and water to 50%. You may not be able to vacuum all the gravel each week, that’s fine.
— If or when the filter flow slows down, take out the foam or cartridge and rinse it in your bucket of dirty tank water. It doesn’t have to be really clean. Put it back together.
— Wipe or scrub the inside glass as needed with a dish scrubber or sponge that gets used for nothing else.

There is no need to take the fish out, or wash anything thoroughly, pretty much ever. If the dirty plastic plants are offensive to the eye, you can get away with washing those, but never, ever the gravel, or the filter media!! That will remove or kill too many of the bacteria you need and result in the bloom you don’t want, plus fluctuations in ammonia etc.
I used to do the whole cleaning routine when I started many years ago, too, because I liked the look, but I sure did kill a lot of fish. Poor things. Fish keeping gets a lot less difficult when you work with nature

 

Thank you everyone for all of your advice. I have ordered a test kit for ammonia and will just do water changes from now on. I’ve been watching the fish and they aren’t putting their faces at the top of the water they are just sorta hanging out in the top inch or so of water. I’m looking into a bit of a bigger tank but haven’t purchased anything yet, gotta wait for a sale as prices on everything are so high right now. Thank you again

 

What type of fancies do you have? IMO you should be shooting for 40 gallon breeder minimum, possibly 55 gallon.

 

the bacteria that is the nitrogen cycle is everywhere in the water, including the slimy stuff on your filter, called biofilm. i only wipe the front glass of the tank and leave the sides and back with the biofilm/algae.
the filter media i rinse off in a bucket of old tank water. once your entire tank is fully cycled you shouldn't have any more cloudiness.

adult goldfish will need 20g per goldfish. you'll want to run two filters for a combined turnover rate of atleast 10x. if you upgrade to a 40g tank, then you'll want to get two filters with a combined flow rate of atleast 400 gallons per hour.

here's a good guide for filter media
Diy Media Guide For Top Fin Silenstream, Aquaclear And Other Hob Filters | Aquarium Filter Forum | 385506