Can anyone keep goldfish alive?!

[Powertothepetal]

I’m getting really quite depressed now.

As a child I had fairground goldfish, they were kept in an unfiltered, grotty tank with no plants or a light and cleaned out once a week until they grew too big and were given to someone with a pond.
Super healthy, hardy, bombproof fish.

Year later I have an aquarium again, it’s planted with lots of lovely live plants, it has a light, the water quality is pristine - no ammonia, nitrite, low nitrate and crystal clear and every fucking goldfish dies.

4 have died so far and now my gorgeous fancy fantail (my favourite) is on the way out.

What the fuck is going on here?

All the dead goldfish have been comets and one common, not fancies which are known to not be as hardy.

They all follow the same, predictable trend.
They are bright, active, healthy then they suddenly start sitting at the bottom or staying still in one place staring into space, then they die.

There is nothing wrong with the water and the only sign on the fish is their gills inside are pale.

It’s really getting me down.

If you aren’t getting rid of the chlorine in the water using some sort of tap safe liquid then you could be giving your fish chlorine poisoning especially with the large daily water changes
I’m using the API water conditioner, comes in a blue and white bottle.

How are you testing your water? Proper liquid kit? And for more than just ammonia?

Sorry, missed that you were going to put them out to the pond when bigger. Swim bladder can present as floating on side/at top or sitting on the bottom. As pp suggested might be worth trying them with shelled peas and/or swim bladder treatment. You might just have been unlucky, fish can be very hit and miss in my experience.

Is the tank big enough?

A swim bladder is an organ most (not all, but certainly your goldfish) fish have that helps them position themselves in the water column, and remain the right way up.

IT IS NOT A DISEASE. Can we stop saying 'oh your fish has swim bladder' - I should bloody hope your goldfish DOES have a swim bladder as its buggered without one.

Swim bladders can be damaged, infected, affected by other internal illnesses and parasitic infections.
You'd need to know which thing it is affecting the swim bladders ability to function properly before you can treat it.

Goldfish in particular can also suffer from constipation and gas build up in their intestine which will cause them to float oddly and struggle to sink.

Salt affects a fishes ability to osmoregulate - if your fish is already sick, messing with their ability to do that is quite likely NOT to help, particularly when you have no idea what is wrong with your fish. Salt is not a cure all and is not remotely harmless either.

Could you please seek proper advice and keep these fish properly in the right sized aquaria?!

A 40l tank is nowhere near big enough to 'grow out' a common/comet goldfish. They need a massive amount of water and space and a hefty amount of filtration if they are to be kept in a tank. They are dying because the tank is in no way suitable.

I have 2 fancy goldfish. My tank is 120litres. I am overstocked. I am however running an internal filter, a large external filter (both turn over a 1000 litres of water every hour) a sponge filter (for all that lovely bacteria) and a surface skimmer and i do regular large water changes. The tank is cycled and tested regularly with an API master kit.

I understand how frustrating this is as even a 40l tank is expensive. I have one that I keep in reserve as a hospital tank and that was £78 new. A tank that size is better suited to housing a fish with a much, much smaller bio load. Like a beta fish for example.

Hi op. Goldfish are very overrated, they are sold as an easy kids pet but they are really not. They produce HUGE amounts of waste need loads of room. I’m afraid 40l is way to small (yes they may survive but they will not thrive). Before you put any fish into a tank the tank needs to cycled so a biological filter can be established. Then less water changes are needed. By doing water changes everyday you are keeps ammonia down, which is good. But you are also removing good bacteria and stopping a biological filter being established. It also means there is CONSTANT fluctuations in the tank. Fish would rather consistency over perfection.

I’ve just popped in two soft, microwaved, shelled peas.
One fish has really enjoyed them..

Sick fish hasn’t eaten, it’s swam about a tiny bit but still mostly floating around like it’s dead.

I’m hoping (seeing as the other sick fish didn’t float at all) that my fantail infact does just have a swim bladder problem and some swim bladder medication which I’ll buy tomorrow will fix it up 🤞🏻

And yes I’ll get a thermometer too

I had a goldfish called Fluffy who I won at the fairground and he lived for a long time. Sometimes his appearance changed overnight and one time I came back from my weekend at my dad's and Fluffy had some black spots. My mum told me he'd been on holiday and got a suntan. It turned out orignial Fluffy died not long after I got him and my mum kept replacing him with new fish.

When I was a bit older I won another goldfish and this time my mum put it in my stepdad's tropical fish tank . It expanded and was the biggest goldfish I've ever seen but it lived for 4 years .

I bought my daughter some goldfish a few years ago and the first time I cleaned the tank out they died through the night .

I don't do all this stuff with mine. They get fully cleaned out every so often and water topped up when it's needed but we have 2 fish that are over 10

40l is too small for embers - they are active and like a lot of room to swim or corys - they like to be kept in groups. I’d go for a single male betta in that size tank. They are fascinating to watch. I had one that i could hand feed. Great little personalities 👍

According to my Facebook fish group, goldfish belong only in a pond. Their bones grow but their bodies don’t so their internal organs are crushed unless they’re in a huge tank.🤷‍♀️

Cherry, that’s absolutely true. Goldfish are carp and can grow to a foot in length. They can live for forty years. They are not a fish to keep in a small tank for any length of time. Even a baby one should get to a 4 inches or so in a year if in the right conditions. Unfortunately, two in a 40l tank is nowhere near the right conditions no matter how many water changes are made. It’s annoying that pet shops sell goldfish as a cheap, easy pet that you can keep in a small tank.

Peas will not cure any sort of infection, inflammation etc of the swimbladder.

Peas might address constipation and the build up of gas behind the blockage that is causing a fish to float.

Yes, that's why I suggested it

No, you suggested it was 'swim bladder' by which I think you mean an infection of or injury to, the swim bladder, because 'swim bladder' is an organ, not a disease or condition.

Peas will do nothing for swim bladder, so if you are correct it being a swim bladder related issue, your treatment is pointless.

Peas might help constipation... which would mean your diagnosis is incorrect.

@WiddlinDiddlin food can cause a build-up of gas in a fish's gut, some of which will often find its way into the swim bladder. If a fish is constipated it can't release this gas. Ergo, actually, peas can help with swim bladder disorder. I don't know why you're getting so worked up about this to be honest.