My Goldfish Died

[Apollo_87]

Just a general question, my goldfish died yesterday, and im not entirely suprised as he/she had been acting very strangely for the last week+. Nothing had really changed from the regular routines, i was still doing weekly water changes, feeding the same food etc, however somethign definately wasnt right as he kept hovering in one spot at the bottom of the tank and lost all interest in food, i bought him back in February and hed always been very active, especially when going for food, but for just over a week now he didnt seem to be touching it. Reading up on it my research only really points me towards the cleanliness of the water, however i really dont think this is the case. I also thought maybe his food had possibly gone off, but buying fresh food didnt change his lack of eating, when i got home he was dead and at the bottom of the tank not really floating, i know they get stomach problems from too much (possibley other things) food etc sometimes and cant control how well they float so this may be a clue i dont know. Also he looked perfectly fine, no blotches, fins all looked the same, he was a perfect example of a common goldfish id say. I was just wondering if anyone hear has any other suggestions of what the cause of death could have been?
Thanks for all your help in advance

 

[JustKia]

There will be lots of suggestions but first things to help anyone help you figure it out...
How big was the tank?
Did you have a filter? And was it cycled?
How often did you do water changes? How much did you change each time? And did you use dechlorinator/conditioner?
What substrate did you have? And what decor, etc?

 

[Littlemonkey]

What size tank was he in, did you use de-chlor with the water change, was there anything else in the tank with him.

Ha Ha Justkia beat me to it.

 

[Apollo_87]

I changed the water weekly, sometimes it would go a little over this, not completely accurate, as i was using a jug, id change around 50% of the water most of the time, sometimes only about 25%. I used tap safe everytime. There is a filter yes, and the tank size, going by a calculater i just used is 25 litres. There were no other fish in there with him, and the decor was all artificial. This was the routine since February so i dont know what went wrong so fast.
Thanks Again

 

[aly_starh]

I changed the water weekly, sometimes it would go a little over this, not completely accurate, as i was using a jug, id change around 50% of the water most of the time, sometimes only about 25%. I used tap safe everytime. There is a filter yes, and the tank size, going by a calculater i just used is 25 litres. There were no other fish in there with him, and the decor was all artificial. This was the routine since February so i dont know what went wrong so fast.
Thanks Again

erm 25l.....

min for 1 goldfish 60-70l

Its growth was stunted.

EDIT: might sound abit blunt, but before getting anymore fish, please do research

 

[JustKia]

Was the filter cycled?
If not it may be that having been through a "fish-in cycle" that his lifespan was reduced by that.
Also the tank was no where big enough for a goldfish - sorry hun.

 

[Littlemonkey]

It's a rotten thing to happen, but hopefully you will learn (like most of us on here) the best way of looking after your fishy friends. I hope this hasn't put you off, but do some research and ask lots of questions before you take the plunge again. Good Luck.

 

[Apollo_87]

Would this have effected it so fast though? 70litres seems like a lot for 1 goldfish that is still small i have to say, i know that will anger a lot of people on here no doubt, but a 70 litre tank is not far off 3 times what i have now which i have never seen any goldfish in. Im not saying its not true i completely believe you, but he really did look fine, he wasnt huge by any means and seemed to have plenty of room to swim around, much more than ive seen in any shops, what kind of size should he have reached in 8 months? I would have bought him a bigger tank if i thought it was needed, or indeed id been advised to, but i dont think it was the reason he died, would he really just stop eating, stay on one spot, practically over night, again he really did look fine too, no changes to his appearance at all. Dont mean to stif i know i'll probably get a lot of comments for what ive just said, but i was just wondering if it could be anything else?
Thanks

 

[aly_starh]

Would this have effected it so fast though?
Unfortunatley, yes
70litres seems like a lot for 1 goldfish that is still small i have to say, i know that will anger a lot of people on here no doubt, but a 70 litre tank is not far off 3 times what i have now which i have never seen any goldfish in.
Thats because not much people know, Goldfish are only a pound, and LFS dont advice people on how to keep them, the more goldfish die, the more you go buy to buy another one, the more money they get. Its because they are really commonly available.
Im not saying its not true i completely believe you, but he really did look fine, he wasnt huge by any means and seemed to have plenty of room to swim around, much more than ive seen in any shops, what kind of size should he have reached in 8 months?
He wasn't 'huge' because his growth was stunted. Yes his internal organs still grew but his bone structure etc stopped growing time ago, as he felt there was not enough space for him to swim in, if he was fully grown.I had goldfish, but only for 2 months, as they were to messy, and yes i had them in a 10l tank if you go to google type in adult goldfish, they can get really big, so thats why they are advised to be put into ponds, etc.
I would have bought him a bigger tank if i thought it was needed, or indeed id been advised to, but i dont think it was the reason he died, would he really just stop eating, stay on one spot, practically over night, again he really did look fine too, no changes to his appearance at all. Dont mean to stif i know i'll probably get a lot of comments for what ive just said, but i was just wondering if it could be anything else?
Id say it was the tank size.
Thanks

On a side note, i would suggest some tropical fish, possibly a Betta, he would love a tank like that!

 

[Wills]

Hi there sorry about your goldie but as others have said they need big tanks, the tank size recommended here is right to keep the fish fairly and giving it room to grow. In a year most common goldfish kept in ideal situations for example a big tank or pond get to about a foot long so full grown in under the year basically.

Unfortunately goldfish have a history of being sold for small tanks and bowls this is not because they are suited to this it is just how it had always been done and this way is very much hit and miss with more misses than hits. Keeping the fish in the large tanks will lead to a much much better life for the fish and also will lead to the fish being able to live for years. Its just a case of progression and fishkeepers learning how to keep fish, for a comparison think of goldfish in a small tank like using a tape recorder instead of an Ipod

Wills

 

[Honeythorn]

If he was a common goldfish he will have needed far more than 70 litres. Common goldfish require around 200 litres for 1-2 fish. They are very large active fish. They grow to over 12 inches long and require large weekly water changes and heavy filtration. People think goldfish are "easy" to keep and don't need much room, but it's the complete polar opposite in fact.

Yours may have still been small, but fish grow and need space to grow. You did not give him this space and the filtration on a 25 litre tank will not have been anywhere near powerful enough to cope with the amount of waste a goldfish makes ( and they make a hell of a lot ) . They require an external filter with a decent flow and a lot of capacity for filter media.

I'd say your filter ceased to be able to deal with all that waste despite your water changes, and the build up of ammonia and nitrites is what will have killed your goldfish. The smaller the tank you have, the harder it is to keep your water quality at it's best. Again, people think small tanks are easier to run, and they really aren't at all!


The shop you bought him from advised you VERY wrongly. Don't forget, stores are there to make money. They don't care what you put your fish in or how you keep it, as long as you buy one and keep coming back for replacements when they die. Also many pet shop and even many fish shop assistants, do not always have the correct training or information on even well known species like goldfish, and very often give out the wrong advice to customers about tank sizes and what the fish need. This seems to have been what has happened to you.

The thing with goldfish and most large growing fish, is that it's best to get a large tank straight away even when your fish is a baby. Firstly, it saves you having to keep buying bigger tanks as the fish grows ( which is expensive and leaves you with a load of spare tanks which you may not want or have space for ) and secondly, having the correct sized tank to begin with means your fish has all the space it needs to not only grow properly, but also have room when it is an adult.


Ok it may look odd to have one small goldfish in a 5 foot long tank, but it really does require that space to grow and live as it should. And these fish can easily live for over 20 years ( 20-35 years is not that uncommon in well kept fish).


If you get yourself a 25 watt heater, you could easily keep a Betta ( siamese fighting fish) in that tank, or 6 male endlers or chilli rasboros, small tropical fish like that.