I've had my fish for just over a month. We had some teething problems but in the last two weeks they have been much happier and healthier.
We have two fantail goldfish (two different types of fantail). One is about 1.5 times larger than the other. The smaller one (Klaus) has never been keen on the food, although he did eat some of the old flakes we fed him. We were advised that the food was the wrong type (generic goldfish flakes) so changed to pellets for fancier fish (Tetra Goldfish Gold Japan). In the two weeks we have been feeding them these I think I've seen him eat maybe one pellet. He doesn't look sick and is full of beans so I assume he's eating the plants. He spends a lot of time picking over the gravel as well. I don't see him eating the food and I supervise until it's all gone - he swims up towards the top of the bowl then changes his mind and swims down again. At other times he has no problem reaching the surface. The other fish (Buster) will eat a few pellets and I stop when he ignores two for a few minutes. They get fed every other day.
My second concern is very recent. I fed them about ten minutes ago and was watching them very closely for a sustained period as I was concerned about Klaus. Buster ate the food and would swim about in between pellets. After he'd eaten a few Klaus started headbutting him, causing Buster to swim away. For a few seconds they swam around independently and then Klaus swam near Buster and did it again. If he had teeth I'd say he was trying to bite him. He followed him for a few seconds, Buster getting out of the way every time, then lost interest.
I've never seen this happen before - admittedly I'm only home during the day every other week for a few days but we do watch them during the evenings and during the day when I'm home I look up every few minutes; they're a lovely distraction. They generally either play tag (not in the deliberate way Klaus was nipping this morning - just racing around with neither seeming aggressive) or don't interact.
I am aware that the bowl is too small but I can't afford to do anything about it until my birthday (still a few weeks away). The last time I had fish (when I was a child) we had a bridge and some things for them to swim around. Are they bored? Should I buy something for them to interact with?
I've just looked again and Klaus is definitely harassing Buster - he won't let him alone. Buster stays there, takes it for a few seconds them swims away. I am positive that this is a new thing - something this sustained and aggressive I would have noticed before. My instinct is to whip him out of the bowl to stop him getting hurt but obviously that would cause more problems than it solves as I don't have any appropriate environment to put him in.
We have two fantail goldfish (two different types of fantail). One is about 1.5 times larger than the other. The smaller one (Klaus) has never been keen on the food, although he did eat some of the old flakes we fed him. We were advised that the food was the wrong type (generic goldfish flakes) so changed to pellets for fancier fish (Tetra Goldfish Gold Japan). In the two weeks we have been feeding them these I think I've seen him eat maybe one pellet. He doesn't look sick and is full of beans so I assume he's eating the plants. He spends a lot of time picking over the gravel as well. I don't see him eating the food and I supervise until it's all gone - he swims up towards the top of the bowl then changes his mind and swims down again. At other times he has no problem reaching the surface. The other fish (Buster) will eat a few pellets and I stop when he ignores two for a few minutes. They get fed every other day.
My second concern is very recent. I fed them about ten minutes ago and was watching them very closely for a sustained period as I was concerned about Klaus. Buster ate the food and would swim about in between pellets. After he'd eaten a few Klaus started headbutting him, causing Buster to swim away. For a few seconds they swam around independently and then Klaus swam near Buster and did it again. If he had teeth I'd say he was trying to bite him. He followed him for a few seconds, Buster getting out of the way every time, then lost interest.
I've never seen this happen before - admittedly I'm only home during the day every other week for a few days but we do watch them during the evenings and during the day when I'm home I look up every few minutes; they're a lovely distraction. They generally either play tag (not in the deliberate way Klaus was nipping this morning - just racing around with neither seeming aggressive) or don't interact.
I am aware that the bowl is too small but I can't afford to do anything about it until my birthday (still a few weeks away). The last time I had fish (when I was a child) we had a bridge and some things for them to swim around. Are they bored? Should I buy something for them to interact with?
I've just looked again and Klaus is definitely harassing Buster - he won't let him alone. Buster stays there, takes it for a few seconds them swims away. I am positive that this is a new thing - something this sustained and aggressive I would have noticed before. My instinct is to whip him out of the bowl to stop him getting hurt but obviously that would cause more problems than it solves as I don't have any appropriate environment to put him in.
