Goldfish

[celtic]

Dear all,

5 weeks ago i purchased 2 goldfish ( flipper & bubbles!). For the first two weeks everything was going swimmingly, put them in a big goldfish bowl, stuck in a few ornaments, even a little china sign saying 'no fishing'. My daughter was well chuffed. Anyway, i come back in from a night out, turn the light on get the fish food out and as if by magic bubbles has done a Lord Lucan ffs!!!! I couldnt believe it. quick look round and i discover the daft fish lying on the carpet, not very active! It had somehow managed to get out the bowl, wriggle accross the table and come to rest on the carpet. ( NO mean feat i may add) Cut a long story short it came back to life briefly but sadly died the next day. So i then go out and buy a tank and pump etc for flipper, few more signs and a bit of gravel. All ok for a week or so but now he seems suicidal! Now i know some people may think this is only a fish etc but i need advise.
1. Is it common for fish to escape from fish bowls? ( There was quite a gap between the water and the top of the bowl)

2. My remaining fish seems to just sit there now and not swim about anymore, seems quite content to sit in the path of the air flow from the filter and let it push him around every 30 seconds or so. not really sure if he is eating either as he lets it sink to the bottom and i cant watch him for hours to ensure he is eating. So does anyone know anything that will help or is he soon to be following bubbles down the toilet er i mean to the fish graveyard.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Cheers

Vince

[Claw75]

Sorry - never heard of this before.  Hope your other fish is ok soon.

[Sark79]

When I was younger, we had four Oscars.  They are very intelligent fish and follow people with their  eyes as you walk around the room and they also recognised people.  On more than one occasssion they jumped out of the tank when the cover hadn't been put on properly.

Here is a picture of one. This is the exact kind we had

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_%28fish%29


I would recommend looking at one of the fish keeping sites, there is some useful info on them 

[Sark79]

Here is one I sent to you, not sure if you got it

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Goldfish-Live-for-Decades

[TightEnd]

Vinny

Goldfish are sociable and like regular company. How can you expect flipper to be life and soul of the tank when he/she has lost his/her soul (sole?) mate?

I would strongly suggest purchasing a new friend for flipper witht he same physical characteristics as bubbles pdq.

This way he/she can banish the blues and return to happiness.

[Harmony26]

Hi, sorry to hear about these problems with your fish.  Glad you ask for advice as they are still living creatures and fish deserve more credit than they are given - they do learn to respond to feeding, from your hand too, and to recognise the vibes of one's voice. Also understandably I can imagine that you don't want to cause any more upset for your daughter.

Have you any decent aquarium shops nearby which specialise in fish - they may be able to advise - also some vets specialise in fish and are not averse to giving advise for treating these smaller pets. There are also some good proprietary brands of medicines and treatments available for fish - if you can, go and have a read of the different ones available in a good reputable pet shop - there are general preventive treatments eg. names like "Fish Safe" to prevent them becoming unwell, freshening up the water and acting as a tonic,  general cures eg." Disease Safe" for swim bladder probs, fungal probs, white spot, and various general probs, but there are some very excellent specific treatments for particular problems, eg. Swim Bladder Treatment.  The info on/in the packaging is usually good to help identify problems.  Also you possibly have already used  the likes of Chlorine Control drops and weekly cleaner drops to keep the water in good condition and remove excess chlorine. 

An excellent aid I would advise straight away, if you have a large late night pet shop in an retail area nearby - is Doc Wellfish's Aquarium Salt - This reduces stress and adds electrolytes, improving gill function.  You can use it with most remedies to improve disease recovery but it is ideal to use by itself whenever a fish is stressed as in water changes, loss of other fish, etc. It'll also improve osmoregulation. You can add a few grains at any time. I really would really recommend this right now as Flipper sounds well stressed.  I also wonder if from the sound of his behaviour he is suffering from swim bladder problems, not swimming much and wanting to be near the filter action.  My info on that is currently at work, not at hand, so I can't check on it exactly.  Which reminds me, there are a no. of good books detailing goldfish maladies and it is well worth having such a source to id. any problems. I think Sark has directed you to a website - I know I have googled eg. Swim bladder problems, and been able to read up on symptoms, solutions, etc.

I also have to say that a couple of drops of brandy or whisky from a medicine dropper deposited near the fishes head can work wonders. A couple of glasses can also help the pet owner (I can vouch for this but not advisable before dashing off to nearest pet shop to buy additional equipment, medicine and salt - in case a police car is followin you  enroute)  I have also found it useful to decant the fish into a smaller container to treat "intensively" for awhile, when they are really ill - if they are having real probs staying upright and breathing - just add a small pump.  In fact before now I have treated fish in a cereal bowl, then gradually introduced them to deeper bowls before being able to return them to the tank, when they are swimming properly and using their gills well again. This is fine if you have the time and there are no cats around! I would also advise a cover over your tank for the future.  Yes, I have had a fish leap out - on a day when I had to rush my son to hospital and never managed to draw back the curtains in his room.  It was an hot day and I think the fish felt "all overcome"(!) and took a leap to freedom.  Goodness knows how long she was out of her bowl, landing on a pile of books - I too, was mystified to discover her missing and eventually found her.  Fortunately she came round after 3 days "intensive"treatment! She also survived a tank which split and leaked and left her dry on the gravel for some hours - again she survived and is now about 23 years old!

Sorry if I have "gone on a bit" and sound a bit bossy - just want to help - have brought various fish back from the brink before now - so hate not to give a fish a chance.  I am sure you will be able to help Flipper, and if the worse comes to the worse, you will all have done your best.

If you want anymore help just PM me or Bainn. All the best to you all and Flipper. 

[bolt pp]

Get an exciting pet! Goldfish are boring, even the kids lose interest after a while.

get a dog

[roverthtaeh]

Get an exciting pet! Goldfish are boring, even the kids lose interest after a while.

get a dog

There's no way a dog would fit in the bowl, silly.

[Poppet7]

Same thing happened to my fish Whizz. His friends died and he lived on for a while but I could tell he was sad everyday, swimming around all by himself, bless him. Not much you can do except try and get another fish but even then I've been told that can do more harm than good sometimes.

Good luck