Goldfish Question

Zascar

My flatmate got a goldfish a few weeks ago. He wasn't very exciting, he barely moved at all. The other day he got another one. Now they are both much more agile swimming around after eachother which is cool, however, they keep swiming to the surface and seem to suck air in, its weird. They do it all the time, the noice is really annoying but really I'm more worries that they do not have enough oxygen and might die. The water is clean and we replace it often.

Anyone got any ideas? Theya re in a fairly standard sized plastic goldfish bowl.
Thanks

vasch_ro

there is more oxygen close to the waters surface, that is why the fish appear to gasp at the surface,
gold fish should not really be kept in bowls, try and get a small tank with a filter to keep water clean and water aerated

Zascar

So is there anything I can do to get more oxygen in there?
Seriously they are right beside my pc and this sucking noise is irritating the crap out of me...

Sigma Force

The poor fishys, bowls are really torture chambers for goldfish, if you can't get a small tank get am air pump with a wee filter on it asap. There are small ones you can get and you just put them under the water and switch them on also you will need to get some stress coat to put in.
Most pet shops and aquarium places should sell the small filters, they aren't that expensive. If possible switch to a tank you can get tank sets for 45 euro upwards, the one we got was about 45 euro and included the pump/filter. Change only about 30% of the water at a time. It's vital you get an air pump in there esp. with two now in the bowl which means they are using more air and the water will dirty quicker. You will see a huge difference in them very soon after the pump goes in.

Zascar

Ok so we changed the bowl and got a huge pastic container, 4-5 tmes the size of the last one, but they are still doing it!
Do we really need a filter? Surely plenty of people have fish without pumps etc?

eiretamicha

Zascar wrote:

Ok so we changed the bowl and got a huge pastic container, 4-5 tmes the size of the last one, but they are still doing it!
Do we really need a filter? Surely plenty of people have fish without pumps etc?

Umm...I might be completely off, but it sounds to me like they're just looking for food?

That's what our goldfish always did...would swim around, come up and gulp at the surface looking for food, swim around some more, we'd put food in the tank and they'd come up and gulp the food, swim around some more...etc.

ETA: I will say, though, that yes, you do indeed need a filter. That is, you need a filter if you'd like your fish to live longer and healthier lives. Plenty of people do keep goldfish without tanks/filters, but the lifespans of the fish are significantly shorter.

Zascar

Not sure as I don't feed them, but I heard many people overfeed their fish and they die... They only need a tiny pinch of food once a day. I;ve only fed them a few times but sometimes I feed them and they don't eat it at all...

Edit: The seem to rummage around in the stones at the bottom a lot, does this mean they are hungry?

Sigma Force

Depending on their size 2 small flakes a day each should be enough, mabey change their food to a pellet form. They do still need a filter, you would be suprised howdirty the water can be even if it doesn't look it. They need air in there, the air water is static at the moment.
People that don't use an air pump often end up with short lives fish, trust me once you plug the pump in you will see a difference, they also have to swim against the water a bit which I think is good excercise. The pumps aren't expensive in fact you can get some fun ones as well the most commen ones I've seen are little chests that open up, divers or ladybirds.
Here's a link http://www.pet-bliss.com/acatalog/Aquarium_Pumps.html you'd probably only need a small one only about 8.99.
Makes the tank look more intereseting if you can get your hands on some oxygenating safe edible plants too most places that sell fish have them.
There's also the background you can buy and stick on the outside of the tank makes it look less bare.
Link to the aquarium toys that pump air http://www.pet-bliss.com/acatalog/Aquarium_Ornaments.html

Don't forget to add stress coat to improve the water esp. if you have limey water it also helps with the fishys slime coat.You only need a teeny bottle of it because you don't use much only a little when changing the water.

I used to think fish were boring but once you get into the whole decorating their tanks etc they are fun esp. with all the cool stuff you can get for tanks these days.

The Sweeper

All I can think of to describe this is, imagine the difference between a pint of cold, clear water you've just poured yourself from the tap. Now imagine the same pint sitting on your beside table for two days. You accidentally swig out of it one morning - it's flat, stale, horrible. Which would you rather live in? Buy the air pump!

oshi

Zascar wrote:

Not sure as I don't feed them, but I heard many people overfeed their fish and they die... They only need a tiny pinch of food once a day. I;ve only fed them a few times but sometimes I feed them and they don't eat it at all...

Edit: The seem to rummage around in the stones at the bottom a lot, does this mean they are hungry?

overfeeding polutes tank water and this is what can kill the fish. goldfish love sucking stones, they are actually eating microorganisms and algae off the gravel, goldfish are always hungry!!! mine beg like dogs for food.

A filter is really important cause it converts all the fish wastes into nitrates which are harmless. but you still need to keep a check on the water when you get a new filter. untill the filter bacteria become established, cause that can take ages (2 months). partial water changes should be done very often, untill the filter can deal with the waste. Then once that happens it is practically maintainance free.

I know it seems like a lot of bother. but this is why fish die in bowls. goldfish can live for a really long time and grow really big if properly cared for.