[AquaticLife] fancy goldfish..
The 40G tank will also need to be upgraded or you will have to perform twice weekly tank maintenance as the fish grow. A 55G 4′ long tank is the minimum size tank that I recommend for two fancy goldfish. Part of your fishes problems right now is because they have been kept in an undersized tank as poor water quality will often lead to internal bacterial issues that then lead to swim-bladder issues or digestive tract issues.
Start off by feeding only green pea “meat” for a few days. Either fresh or frozen green peas (defrosted by dropping in a bowl of tank water for a minute), then pinch the skin of the pea to release the two pieces of “meat” into the tank. I buy the 1 lb. bag of frozen green peas for 99 cents and that lasts me.. or rather my goldfish.. about a year. The goldfish love them (as well as most other fish) and it’s a natural laxative and will clean them out and hopefully fix any digestive tract issues, gas issues, etc., that might be causing your current floaty problem. Feed them as much as they can eat for a few minutes.
Don’t be surprised by the green pea poop. Goldfish poop should always come out the color of their last meal since they have such a short digestive system and almost no stomach. It’s why they are constantly hungry. I feed mine a few small meals a day rather than the one or two larger meals that you will often see. Since too much food simply comes out the other end, they don’t really benefit from it. It’s better to give them a little food that stays in their system long enough for them to get the nutrition benefits from the food.
If this doesn’t work, then the steps in the following article will likely be necessary until a proper diagnosis can be determine as to the cause. This long article discusses in length, swim-bladder and floaty issues with goldfish. The upside down floating is often due to diet but can be something worse. http://thegab.org/Articles/Buoyancy.html
What kind of food have they been fed? Feeding fancy goldfish the cheap flake foods or pellets (mostly trashy fillers as their primary ingredients) that are often used will lead to digestive issues. The last time I looked, I didn’t see much wheat and flour growing in goldfish ponds. Do a search in the messages section for - goldfish food - and you’ll see previous posts and threads where I’ve outlined the ingredients of some of the popular flake foods compared to the much better goldfish foods that are available. They also need a varied diet which should include the green pea “meat” as one of their meals at least once a week to keep them “regular”. PetsMart carries at least one decent goldfish food brand… Omega One, and the ingredients list in Omega One (and other premium brands) is far superior to any of the other well known cheaper brands like Tetra, Hikari, Nutrafin, etc., that have the most shelf space in so many pet stores. Besides the green pea “meat”, I also feed my goldfish frozen/defrosted zucchini slices and mixed veggies (although the carrot pieces need to be blanched (nuked for a little bit), not just defrosted, or the goldfish do not seem to like them.
Lenny Vasbinder Fish Blog - http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com (Links to any articles referenced in above reply are listed on the right side, alphabetically under Labels and also under Archives by Year, Month)
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
