Goldfish Acting Lathargic

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KimmyFishy89

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My younger sister has a 2.5 gallon explorer tank which has one black teloscope. It has a bio wheel filter, gravel some small plants etc.

Anyway, her fish has been acting very lathargic. He swims around slowly, doesn't eat too much, and doesn't show much interest when someone checks out the tank. We changed 1/3 of the water and waited. He is still very lathargic. No external signs of illness. Is it possible he is depressed?
 
Goldfish produce a lot of ammonia so the chances are his water is contaminated with ammonia or nitrite, or both, which will poison him and eventually kill him. Goldfish need 5-10 gallons each and heavy-duty filtration (a bio-wheel should be adequate if she had more water for him).

They also require a tank to be cycled (that is, the beneficial bacteria to turn the ammonia into nitrite and the nitrite into nitrate). If you need further information on cycling, please follow the link in my sig.
 
I think u should get a another goldfish and mybe a bigger tank if possible because goldfish like space and company!
 
Hi KimmyFishy89 :)

The goldfish does need a bigger tank---and a friend to keep him company. :D

Use the same test kits you use for your tropicals or take some of the water to your lfs to be tested. Also, make sure your sister is not overfeeding the goldfish. For some reason, people tend to overfeed goldfish and the excess food will spoil on the bottom of the tank causing the water to go bad.

A little goldfish can grow into a rather large and beautiful fish if given plenty of room to swim. Get him a bigger tank and in the meantime, monitor the water chemicals and make frequent changes, siphoning the waste up from the bottom.
 
Me and my other sister did my little sister a big favore. She was away for the weekend with my mom, so we chipped in bought her a nice ten gallon tank (With help for my dad :p) as a surprise :D. We are cycling it the fishless way, so we should be able to put him in the tank in about 14 days :D
 
Hi KimmyFishy89 :)

What a great surprise for your sister! :thumbs: She's going to love her new tank and I'm sure you'll see a big difference in her fish when it moves in there. :D

She'll have room to get a friend for him, too. Goldfish are such fun! :D
 

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