Weird acting fish

**rachaelsimone27** · 03-23-2008, 01:48 PM

Hello, I have a 55 gallon aquarium with a pleco, and 4 goldfish. I have noticed that the the goldfish will swim in one spot at the corner of the tank for hours at a time. Almost like it is an obsession. I have found a total of 3 dead in the last few days. I know this is not normal and would love any feedback anyone could give me. They act like they are trying to eat the surface of the water. I also have a 2 goldfosh that lay on the bottom completely still all of the time. They will swim to eat, but that is about it. I was wondering if maybe there is not enough oxygen in the aqarium. I have a bubblestone in there that is approx 12 in long. One more thing, the goldfish keep there fins slicked back. almost like they are not feeling well. Thanks, Rachael

**Billythefish** · 03-23-2008, 02:03 PM

That sounds like oxygen but you might be best to do a water test gold fish are messy and fail the water worse than most other fish

**jbeining75** · 03-23-2008, 02:32 PM

What are the tank perimeters and the tank temperature...????

Nitrates
Nitrites
Ammonia
PH
GH
KH

What type of plec????? Are you mixing tropical and coldwater species??

**squirt_12** · 03-23-2008, 02:40 PM

are you running a filter on the tank??

**rachaelsimone27** · 03-23-2008, 06:18 PM

I'm not currently at home near the tank, but it is one of the long aquariums. It is a complete aquarium. The water temp stays at about 72. Everything seems to be running smooth but the fish. They dont have any spots on them, their colors are great, and they eat just fine.
The 2 at the bottom will swim only when they are forced to swim. I have been having to stick the net in there just to get them to move. Then they will swim around for about 5 minutes, and go back to the same spot. I really have to look at them to see if they are alive or not.
Then the 2 that swim at the top... It almost looks as if they are nipping at the surface of the water. They swim in one spot very spasticly. They seem to be very hyper. On one hand I have 2 fish that is lethargic acting, then I have 2 that is hyper..
The pleco is fine. He doent seem to be doing anything out of the norm. I dont know what kind he is. We bought him at Walmart, ad well as the other fish.
I dont know the fish's names, but the one that swims at the top kind of looks like a parrot fish, but is a goldfish. It is white with the big red *bump* on it's head. The other is a *feeder* Goldfish.
The 2 that stay at the bottom are both *feeder* Goldfish. The biggest one is 4 inches, and the smallest being 2 inches.
Someone please help me, I would hate for anything to happen to them. Thanks

**shockshockshad** · 03-23-2008, 07:55 PM

We need to know ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH.

**rageybug** · 03-23-2008, 08:35 PM

If you have a long aquarium, look to see where the fish are in relation to your heater. Do you have hot/cold spots that they tend to stay in? Make sure your heater is located near the middle of the tank at or near the bottom.

If you got your fish at Wal-Mart, go back and take a look at the other fish they have for sale. You may notice some unusual behaviour in them too. Most Wal-Marts that I've seen use a system that shares water through all tanks. That means one sick fish will probably result in all the other tanks becoming infected too. Best bet, don't buy fish from Wal-Mart. Their prices are good but more often than not are sick.

Rageybug

**smaug** · 03-23-2008, 08:42 PM

without knowing your water parameters it makes it tough to call.I am certain that when you test your water you will find big issues with ammonia and nitrites.Inform us of what ever you find out when you test.

**rachaelsimone27** · 03-23-2008, 09:32 PM

I just tested the water with *quick Dip* test strips, and the numbers are as followed:
nitrate: 20
nitrite: 0.25
total hardness: 75 (soft)
alkalinity:120
pH: 7.0

I do not have an ammonia test strip, but I just changed the water in the tank 3 days ago thinking that it may be that, I took out 75% of the water, added it back, then added start right, and some of the pH fizzies to regulate the balance. I do not have a heater in the tank, the temp always stays between 70-72. If you have any more questions please feel free to ask. I dont know too much about aquariums but iwill tell you as much as I know.

**smaug** · 03-23-2008, 09:36 PM

its still the ammo that concerns me.If youre gonna have fish,especially goldfish you need to be able to check ammo.I suggest a liquid master test kit from api.You are showing nitrites and seeing as how that reading was from a dip test it could be much worse,or less.Sorry we wont be of much use to you without all the water params and maybe a pic of the sick fish.Good luck.