Why is my goldfish floating in the top corner of the tank?

I have 2 Goldfish that are about 3 inches each, they are still baby's and they are in a 10 gallon tank. I will move them into a 40 gallon with 2 other fish once they get bigger. The have been liveing in this tank for about 5 months, they have a 20 gallon filter, gravel and a fake plant. One of my goldfish, a celestial eye goldfish is allways sitting in the top corner of the tank. He has no truble swimming arrownd and eats fine. I have noticed that when I'm gone he will do it all day but as soon as someone or something makes nois or goes in the room he acts normal and swims arownd. I feed the as mug as they can eat in 3 min and feed the twice a day. Can someone please tell me what's wrong with my goldfish.

 

goldfish are really dirty just be sure to keep up with water changes especially in a small tank like that.

 

I change 25% of the water every week and use a gravel syphon :/

 

Welcome to Fishlore Jen!

Do you have test kits to test ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? These are all toxins and one of them might be making your fish sick. If you have test kits, let us know what your readings are. If you don't have any it would be a good idea to pick up a liquid test kit such as the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. It comes with different testing agents to test for these three toxins as well as a pH test. Please don't purchase strip tests. They look quick and easier to use than liquid tests but they are too inaccurate and we won't be able to tell for sure if these toxins are causing problems.

Does the fish's poop look ok? It should be about the color of the food you feed them. White, clear or stringy poop can be a sign of a problem.

 

I change 25% of the water every week and use a gravel syphon :/

Because they have a large bioload, you need to do at least 50% weekly, if not twice a week.

What other fish are you putting them with?

 

Well when they get bigger I'm putting them with a black moor and a ranchu goldfish

I will get a liquid test kit as soon as I can thanks!

 

That sounds like an awful lot for a 40 gallon aquarium IMO. For goldfish, I've heard one needs a bare minimum of 20 gallons, with an extra 10 gallons per fish. It varies by type of goldfish and you might be okay (I'm no goldfish expert), but just be aware that, at best, it doesn't really sound ideal.

Please do let us know the results of liquid testing Either way, LyndaB's water change advice would have a positive effect on their health, especially of filtration is inadequate (hard to say without knowing the specifics on your setup.)

 

With gold fish you need 10 x the filtration. You also need at least 15 gal for the first fish and 10 eachf or the second fish. So you are already over stocked in that 10 gal tank. With goldfish being as dirty as they are, you should be doing a 75% daily water change. They key to keeping any fish healthy is water change. If you only change 25% of the water, you are leaving 75% of nitrates in your tank, then if you don't do another change for 3 days, you have not even removed enough nitrates to keep up with the fish waste. I hope this makes sense, I'm not very good at explaining things some times.

 

They do need heavy filtration, but keep in mind that they are not adults and therefore have a lower bioload. Knowing the details about equipment on both tanks would be good, though.

 

The 10 gallon tank has a 20 gallon filter. The 40 gallon has two 30 gallon filters plus a bubble wall. I will do more water changes in the 10 gallon, thanks for the feed back

 

That doesn't really tell us much though, can you tell us the brands and models?

 

Yea the filters are all Aqueon filters, I don't use the carbon filter cartridges anymore I just use filter pads or mesh(forgot what it is called)I also ceep two peaces of the mesh in at a time so every week I take out one and change it and still have the old one in so I don't loose any benifishal bacteria. The 10 gallon tank filter is a is a quitet flow 20. For the 40 gallon both of te filters are quitet flow 30. The bubble wall in the 40 gallon is 12 inches long, it is like a long air stone. I also have a anubius plant in the 40 gallon tank.

 

The Aqueon Quiet Flow 30s are rated at 200gph each so you do have 10x the volume of the tank per hour as well as in your 10G. However, changing one of the filter medias each week is probably what is causing you problems. I assume you are doing something similar to the 10G. Although you aren't loosing the entire colony because you keep one media in place while changing the other, the bacteria isn't being allowed enough time to really grow into a strong colony. The longer you keep all of the media, the better off your beneficial bacteria is. If water flow gets too restricted, just rinse one of the medias in a bucket of tank water and reuse it. Try not to throw out media unless it is starting to really fall a part.

Once we know what the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are, we'll be able to help you further but I think it's quite likely the fish are starting to feel unwell due to elevated levels.

 

That could certainly cause detectable ammonia and nitrite. Rest assured, you have no need to change your filter material every week. I imagine it should last a very, very long time. As toosie said, don't throw it out unless it's literally falling apart.

 

I also ceep two peaces of the mesh in at a time so every week I take out one and change it and still have the old one in so I don't loose any benifishal bacteria.

You are changing out your filter media way too often. You only need to rinse it out in used tank water. Once it gets to the point where it's falling apart, literally, then you replace it (but don't replace all at the same time).

ninja'd by toosie and echo...... great minds think alike