sparkysmum Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Pondfish is my daughter's goldfish. We brought him in to an indoor tank after living in our pond. It took a few days for him to settle but he did and seemed quite happy However today he just seems to be " suspended" in the corner of the tank. Not dead just not moving except occasionally. We've just lost our guinea pig, I hope pondfish isn't going too......... He is well looked after, the filter is OK, water changed (about 10%) at the weekend. Any advice appreciated. Allison & Hazel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriabunny Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 How big is the tank, and how big is the fish? His behaviour could be stress caused by poor water quality - goldfish have simple digestive systems and excrete lots of waste, so water gets dirty quickly. They should have 80 litres of water per fish to swim about in ideally, which is a pretty big tank. I suggest you do a big water change and get a testing kit from your nearest fish shop to check the levels of ammonia and nitrite in the water (both should be zero). Get the kits with chemicals in, not the test strips, which are unreliable. He might have been better staying in his pond...a bit late to go back there now as he'll have adjusted to the indoor temperatures, but he might have to go back when the weather warms up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 Thanks victoriabunny, I was really unhappy about putting him an indoor tank, but thought that fish & frogs were incompatible (it was really a wildlife pond but gave in to Hazel & got her a fish) Re the size of tank - it is 21 litres which is sold as being suitable for up to 4 goldfish. If I had thought for a minute he would have needed 80 litres I wouldn't have bought the tank. Oh dear, makes me wonder why "starter tanks " of this size are sold.Anyway thanks for all you have suggested, I will buy testing kits ASAP and definately put him back when the weather warms up again and just hope he doesn't eat all the froglets. Thanks again, Allison & Hazel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriabunny Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Yeah, those tanks should never be used for goldfish but they are always sold for them - it makes me really angry as it's so misleading. Goldfish can grow to 12 inches and a tank should be six times their length, so even a half-grown one needs a three-foot tank. Your fish will be much happier back in his pond in the spring - he won't be a threat to adult frogs or older froglets, but he might eat tiny ones and he will certainly eat spawn unfortunately though. In the meantime, do a big water change each week, don't overfeed him, crank the filter up to max and check the ammonia and nitrite levels regularly. Hope he pulls through! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 Thanks again, think I'll go and hide under a stone now Going to wait for spring and hope for the best. Allison & Hazel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 May be a daft question, but could the water have got too cold for him? When I had a 3ft coldwater tank and the central heating failed, all my fish went torpid. Someone at work recognised the problem and suggested I test the theory by putting a hot water bottle in the tank. Sure enough, once the warmth began to circulate, they all picked up again, so I had to buy a heater and run it on low. I nearly froze to death, but the fishes were fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lydia Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Victoriabunny I think you're being a bit harsh here. I've kept goldfish for over 26 years and had no problems - eldest is 16. Sparkysmum I think you've just been unlucky and haven't done anything wrong. I've PMed you with a fuller answer. Personally I wouldn't put Pondfish back in the pond. You are right - frogs and fish don't really mix and fish do enormous damage. The frog population is in trouble anyway due to loss of habitat etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriabunny Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 I certainly wasn't intending to be harsh - it is not sparkysmum's fault that she has been misinformed and sold a tank which is much too small. But it is true that the vast majority of goldfish are kept in tanks that are inadequate. Really only fancy goldfish (fantails etc) should be in tanks at all - ordinary goldfish, shubunkins and comets are really only suitable for ponds as they grow so quickly. Most will survive in smaller tanks - although most don't make their potential lifespan of 30-40 years - but that's not to say this is the best environment for them. This article has some useful information about goldfish: http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=11441 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAB Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Hi - when one of our fish was unwell we got some sort of herbal tonic to add to the water - just from local petshop - can't recall name of the product, but it did the trick. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
