Odd problem...

Laura · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 10

My lionhead goldfish stays at the top of the tank 24-7, has for 2
months, except for when he eats, and he eats good but soon as he's thru,
he heads for the same exact spot and just "hovers" there. He honestly
stays in about a 6 sq. inch space, on occassion he'll swim in a circle.
Should I be concerned? No visible problems either and no gasping. I've
had him a year. All water conditions are good.

Archived from group: rec>aquaria>freshwater>goldfish

EDM · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 5

"Laura" wrote in message @storefull-3272.bay.webtv.net...
>
> My lionhead goldfish stays at the top of the tank 24-7, has for 2
> months, except for when he eats, and he eats good but soon as he's thru,
> he heads for the same exact spot and just "hovers" there. He honestly
> stays in about a 6 sq. inch space, on occassion he'll swim in a circle.
> Should I be concerned? No visible problems either and no gasping. I've
> had him a year. All water conditions are good.

If he's alone in the tank he's probably gone insane.

dr-solo · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 1445

a normal GF swims all over the tank, is busy looking for food all the time.
Check water parameters including ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH and temperature.
especially check nitrates.
what and how much are you feeding the fish? does the food sink?
Ingrid

Fanta_Seas@webtv.net (Laura) wrote:

>
>My lionhead goldfish stays at the top of the tank 24-7, has for 2
>months, except for when he eats, and he eats good but soon as he's thru,
>he heads for the same exact spot and just "hovers" there. He honestly
>stays in about a 6 sq. inch space, on occassion he'll swim in a circle.
>Should I be concerned? No visible problems either and no gasping. I've
>had him a year. All water conditions are good.

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carlrs · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 120

Laura wrote:
> My lionhead goldfish stays at the top of the tank 24-7, has for 2
> months, except for when he eats, and he eats good but soon as he's thru,
> he heads for the same exact spot and just "hovers" there. He honestly
> stays in about a 6 sq. inch space, on occassion he'll swim in a circle.
> Should I be concerned? No visible problems either and no gasping. I've
> had him a year. All water conditions are good.

You could have intestinal gas or a swim bladder problem.
Do you feed your goldfish flake? I personally do not recommend it,
especially TetraFin. I recommend soaking any dry food for at least 5
minutes so it will sink and the fish will be less likely to get air in
its digestive system. I have used Sanyu and Hikari pellet food with
good success, I also recommend Brine Shrimp as a supplement as they
tend to be a natural laxative. I do NOT recommend worms for goldfish.
Another often forgotten water parameter for goldfish is KH. KH is
basically the buffering capacity of the water as it pertains to
Calcium, and Calcium is essential for goldfish (and many other fish as
well). Calcium is essential for osmotic processes and proper healing.
Magnesium (as contained in GH) is also important.

For more information:

http://aquarium-info.blogspot.com/

Carl

Lyns · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

Hi Laura, it sounds to me as if your fish has something called
'Swimbladder' which affects it's ability to swim properly. I have 2
fan tailed goldfish and they have suffered with this as well.
Sometimes it also has the opposite affect that the fish sinks to the
bottom of the tank. You can get treat it with something from your pet
store/fish eqatic called Swim bladder treatment which you have to add
to the water. This is a serious condition so get it sorted out before
it's too late. I hope that helps Smile

Laura wrote:
> My lionhead goldfish stays at the top of the tank 24-7, has for 2
> months, except for when he eats, and he eats good but soon as he's thru,
> he heads for the same exact spot and just "hovers" there. He honestly
> stays in about a 6 sq. inch space, on occassion he'll swim in a circle.
> Should I be concerned? No visible problems either and no gasping. I've
> had him a year. All water conditions are good.

Mellie · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

Hi, Laura. I had a Ryukin that sat in exactly the same spot of the
tank for about 3 weeks. It was in the center and she just hovered. I
would go out and come back and wondered if she had moved. She would
feed fine but just didn't move.

Another or my fish got sick and I eventually treated the tank with
either furanase or quickcure. It was a while back so can't remember
exactly but was one of them as they are the only one's I've ever used.
After that she moved around the tank like she had done before.

I'm not saying that treating the tank is the way to go only that is
what worked with my Ryukin. I also noticed that she had a few blood
streaks in her tail. She is white so much easier to see.

Hope you get to the bottom of this. I was stumped as to why she was
doing it. This was back in April. She hasn't done it since.

Cheers
Mellie
Lyns wrote:
> Hi Laura, it sounds to me as if your fish has something called
> 'Swimbladder' which affects it's ability to swim properly. I have 2
> fan tailed goldfish and they have suffered with this as well.
> Sometimes it also has the opposite affect that the fish sinks to the
> bottom of the tank. You can get treat it with something from your pet
> store/fish eqatic called Swim bladder treatment which you have to add
> to the water. This is a serious condition so get it sorted out before
> it's too late. I hope that helps Smile

>
> Laura wrote:
> > My lionhead goldfish stays at the top of the tank 24-7, has for 2
> > months, except for when he eats, and he eats good but soon as he's thru,
> > he heads for the same exact spot and just "hovers" there. He honestly
> > stays in about a 6 sq. inch space, on occassion he'll swim in a circle.
> > Should I be concerned? No visible problems either and no gasping. I've
> > had him a year. All water conditions are good.