Goldfish sitting in corner

[BreakingDad77]

Hi we used to have two fish but one died, the remaining one just seems to stay in one corner all the time?

When I feed it comes to the surface but otherwise just seems to stay there any ideas?

[EauRouge]

Excellent username

Anyway, can you post a bit of info about the tank and the fish? How old is the fish and how big? How big is the tank? What filter have you got and when/how did you last clean it? Also if you have a water testing kit, can you tell us the latest results? That will help narrow things down a bit.

[BreakingDad77]

Cheers :)

Sorry for the late reply, I think its about 40L the fish must be 4-5 years old, must be about 4-5 inches long. I just have a simple filter with a sponge interpet? it has an extension popping out the water to draw in air which it blows into the water. Like this - www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350L-H-Hidom-Aquarium-Internal-Submersible-Filter-Fish-Tank-Filtration-Pump-/111508888713

I try to do half tank changes every couple of weeks, using water treatment and wipe all glass with special anti algal sponge. Any algal patch was never bigger than say a credit card and usually formed around the filter.

Since the other fish died the tank doesn't get so dirty anymore, if anything no patches have formed for a while.

I dont have a kit.

[BertieBotts]

Maybe it's lonely? :(

[EauRouge]

Goldfish can get lonely, but the tank is too small for one goldfish so adding another won't help unfortunately. But if you do get a bigger tank, he would love a friend!

I would guess that it is a water quality problem. To rectify this, you really need to get a bigger tank because goldfish are big and messy and need tons of room. It is not true that they grow to the size of their tank.

Make sure you are sitting down, preferably with an alcoholic drink, when you read this. If a large enough tank is not possible then it's OK to put common goldfish (normal fish shape) in a large pond, but I'd wait until the Spring. Fancy goldfish (fat, round ones) cannot live outside.

Until you are able to upgrade, you will need to do more water changes. I would continue with 50% changes, but once a week instead of once a fortnight. You might need to do it more often, but see how it goes. You really need a water test kit like this sort of thing to know what is going on with your water quality.

You also need to be cleaning your filter regularly. Make sure you do NOT use TAP water. The chlorine will kill off all the good bacteria in the filter. Use the old water you have taken out for the water change. The sponge doesn't have to be spotless, just unclogged so that water can flow through OK. You'll need to get a much bigger filter for a bigger tank, something pretty large like this one.

Sorry if this all comes as a shock. I don't think any shops warn you what you are taking on when you get a goldfish, otherwise no one would buy them! They are lovely fish given the right conditions though. Hope that helps a bit.

[BreakingDad77]

Thanks for the advice

Will just go make a triple JD and coke!

I think its a veiltail - loooking at wikipedia, we got it originally from pets at home. It has grown quite a bit as originally it could swim through its pagoda but now definitely no such luck. It has also survived us being mis-sold a roach under belief it would clean tank, but once it got bigger starting eating it.

It was sharing with a more regular (telescopic eye?!) goldfish but that one died (I think DW overfed it while i was away as there was lots of pellets at bottom of tank and water was looking bad when i checked on it)

So I'm assuming the fish will just keep growing?

So bigger better tank or donate the fish to someone? do people buy these?

What could you ideally put in this size tank? Would you have to go down tropical route with some tiddly fish?

[EauRouge]

There are groups on facebook that you could try where people rehome fish. I know a couple of people that are overrun with rescue goldfish It's pretty common for people to be missold them. I know the kind of loach you mean, they are notorious for getting aggressive as adults (and they get massive too).

The fish might just keep growing, but more likely it will become stunted. A bit like a bonsai tree, but not in a good way. It's very bad news for fish so the sooner you can get him into a bigger home, the better.

40 litres is pretty small, but you could put in a male betta splendens (AKA siamese fighting fish). He would need a heater, yes. They are small but they make up for it by being feisty buggers. He won't want any tankmates, they are too grumpy. You'll need to keep up with weekly water changes and tests because if something goes wrong in a small tank, it goes wrong quickly. Larger bodies of water are way more stable so easier to look after. Small tanks really shouldn't be sold as 'beginners' tanks, but the aquatic industry is all backwards really and there isn't much to protect the consumer. Or the fish.