Sad behavior

[Sylvia]

My goldfish is sort of down sometimes. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her physically, but I often see her staring into a corner or just looking sad for some reason. When I got her, I also had a black moor, and she'd always peck at her and swim constantly. Now that the black moor is gone, she seems down, even though she has a couple tank mates.

also, lately when I feed her, instead of coming up to the top, she goes down to the bottom to forage. And, she just lets me hold her (in the water) instead of swimming away like she usually does. What's wrong with her?

Thanks

P.S. her fins are erect, though; it just seems like she moves more slowly than she used to.

[Roan]

Could be a lot of things physical, hard to say.

One thing people tend to forget is that goldies are carp and as thus are schooling fish. They really do better with other goldfish -- if you have the space, that is.

As an afterthought, that could be one reason why koi typically live as long as they do. People who keep them tend to keep them in schools in big outdoor ponds.

Just something to think about.

Roan

[Sylvia]

My goldfish is a fantail fancy goldfish. I do have a comet and a shubunkin with her, but I'll probably exchange them sometime (these are babies, so there isn't a space issue). I thought that they would school together, and the fantail does SORT of interact with the comet, but I guess it's not the same as another fantail. The problem is, when I look for fantails, most of them have sores on them and I can't buy any. It's just that I'd hate to take back the comet and shubunkin, because there's always a risk of their being taken to a very small tank, compared to mine anyway.

[Roan]

Originally Posted by Sylvia

My goldfish is a fantail fancy goldfish. I do have a comet and a shubunkin with her, but I'll probably exchange them sometime (these are babies, so there isn't a space issue). I thought that they would school together, and the fantail does SORT of interact with the comet, but I guess it's not the same as another fantail. The problem is, when I look for fantails, most of them have sores on them and I can't buy any. It's just that I'd hate to take back the comet and shubunkin, because there's always a risk of their being taken to a very small tank, compared to mine anyway.

You should, though. That comet should grow over 1' and the shubunkin can get to 2' in size. Any indoor tank is simply too small for either of them. They are purely pond goldfish.

When you say "fantail fancy", do you mean that it has a fat body like real fancies, or do you mean it's shaped like the comet, but with a fancy tail?

If it has a fat body, it shouldn't be kept with either of the other two goldies. Not only will it be out-competed for food, but pond goldfish can be very aggressive and when they get bigger it's possible they may kill your fancy.

Roan

[johnpeezy]

I have seen some fancy GF's the size of a basketball.

[Trixie]

And I was thinking that comets only grew to be a foot long. Whoa.

[joephys]

I don't know, as the years go by, the maximum length of comets seem to get longer and longer.

[Roan]

Typos. That's what I get for touch typing while the kids are bugging me.

should be 1 and 2, not 2 and 3.

I'll fix my original post.

Roan

[Trixie]

Scared me. I keep trying to give out accurate info.

[Sylvia]

My fancy has a round body. Yeah I should take the others back. But now she looks like she's got an air or constipation problem. Great. Ideas on what to do about that? And what can I do about the sore problem on store fish? It's either that or they are babies - not big enough to school.
Thanks

[Roan]

A lot of schooling fish don't school in aquariums because there are no threats or not enough room for them to do so. That doesn't mean that they don't need a school, however. They need the comfort of having others of their same species in the same area.

As an example -- there are some freshwater type schooling fish, like neon tetras and rummy nose, that people say are not hardy and will die. IMO a lot of the time they die because there are not enough of them in the tank. They need the safety of numbers.

Green chromis, a popular marine fish, is notorious for "dying off" in a tank. Now, when my husband bought his he was advised to get three or four because "some of them will die". He bought six and three died. When he went back to get more, I talked him into buying TEN chromis, totally against what the marine shop guy was telling him. So he listened to me and bought ten for a total of thirteen chromis in his 100g tank.

Yah, kinda crowded for a reef tank, but that was last year and they are all still there. All thirteen of them. They school a LOT and they are always together. They form a bait ball when they feel threatened by the fairy wrasse. When there was only three to five of them they didn't school so much.

Anyhow, all I'm saying is that just because a fish is a "schooling" fish, that doesn't mean that it will always school in a tank. They do need the safety of others of their own kind, though.

Eileen

[joephys]

School and shoal are often used interchangeably by aquarists but there is a difference. Schooling fish show no hierarchy. There is no dominant fish that picks on the other and they all move together in total unison. Shoaling fish may or may not have a hierarchy, but often do. They also hang out in groups and prefer the company of others in the group, but do not move as one cohesive unit, but rather just meander about in each others general vicinity. Gold fish are shoalers, so you probably aren't going to see any sort of schooling behavior out of them since aquariums are small enough that they are always in each others general vicinity.

[Sylvia]

Ok, thank you! That's like my neons. They don't really have a tight school either. So do you think I should let my goldfish settle down stomach-wise? All of a sudden she's floating. I did feed her teeny tiny bits of bread yesterday. I guess that did it, huh? (And by tiny, I mean really tiny, though.)

[Roan]

Originally Posted by Sylvia

Ok, thank you! That's like my neons. They don't really have a tight school either. So do you think I should let my goldfish settle down stomach-wise? All of a sudden she's floating. I did feed her teeny tiny bits of bread yesterday. I guess that did it, huh? (And by tiny, I mean really tiny, though.)

Sounds like swim bladder, a common ailment of goldies. I would Google some *good* koi and goldie sites for treatment options.

Eileen

[johnpeezy]

I have heard cheerie-o's is an excellent staple food for Koi and gold fish. I'm sure since I have jno experience in the coldwater area. This was told to me by an old Japanese man that sold Koi Wholesale. Thats what he fed his Koi and he swore by it. However I don't relly know if this is useful to you or not. The old Japanese man told me that cheerie-o's has all the essential vitamins and minerals that Koi and Goldfish needed to thrive.

[joephys]

Wait, so I have been eating fish food all these years? Gross.

[johnpeezy]

you and your fish will have lower colestrol

[Sylvia]

My fish died. Whatever it was, it got her fast.

[Trixie]

Cheerios? I thought they were bagel seeds!

Sorry, that's an old joke.

[johnpeezy]

its still funny trixie