Goldfish acting lethargic and not eating

[Figureguy]

Good morning. I hope someone can help as I am in dire straits. I have 2 4-year old goldfish in a 55G tank, a fancy and a comet. The comet has always been the more active and speedy one. However I noticed the other morning he stopped taking food. He is also acting very slow and lethargic. Not sitting on the bottom or gasping at the top but just slowly drifting around the tank. Their normal diet consists of goldfish crisps daily, a few baby shrimp as a treat and blanched spinach once a week. My wife, who works in science, tested all the levels. Everything is normal and within range, I'm sorry but I don't have the numbers. I do a 40 percent water change every week and always replace the foam filters. I noticed on Saturday the comet, who is more voracious, wouldn't take the spinach. I have been all over the internet trying to figure out what might be wrong. I tried Melafix for a couple of days as a precaution but also read that can affect appetite. He's a bigger fish so I'm not sure if he could be bloated but I read about constipation. We gave him an Epson bath in a bucket the past two nights and after the first one there was a definitely bigger poop with a lot of substance in it. Last night is was just stringy. We never give them live food and have no plants in the aquarium so I am thinking it isn't parasites. I tried shrimp again yesterday just to see and he actually took two pieces in his mouth but spit both out. The fancy has no issues, swims and eats fine. I don't have a hospital tank to put him in which is why I am trying to the Epson baths. Any help would be appreciated as I am very, very worried. Thank you in advance.

 

[Aiken Drum]

How big is the fish?

 

[Figureguy]

The fish is 7 in not including the tail fin. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I am including a post that should give all the pertinent information I have about the fish, the aquarium and the setup.

 

[Figureguy]

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 55 gallons
How long has the tank been running? 3 1/2 years
Does it have a filter? 2 HOB 110 gallon filters
Does it have a heater? No
What is the water temperature? 71.2F
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 2 fish, a comet and a fancy

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Once a week
How much of the water do you change? 40 percent
What do you use to treat your water? Seachem Prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? I vacuum the substrate and the water

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water? API 5 in 1 Test Strips and API Freshwater Master Kit if needed
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.

I spoke to my wife and she remembered a couple of the numbers needed
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: Under 40
pH: 7.4

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 1/4 tsp crisps twice daily, 1/4 tsp baby shrimp weekly, spinach weekly
How much do you feed your fish?
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Tetra Goldfish Crisps and Tetra Baby Shrimp
Do you feed frozen? No
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? The shrimp

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? Almost 4 years
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? A few days ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Lethargy and no appetite
Have you started any treatment for the illness? Melafix and Epson Baths
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Not swimming fast, not sitting on the bottom but just kind of floating

Explain your emergency situation in detail.
(Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now) The fish is just swimming lazily along and will not take food. When the crisps sink he swims right by them. He took 2 shrimp yesterday and spit them each out after a few seconds.

 

[Figureguy]

So I took my seven inch common Goldfish to the vets' the other day. He will not eat and he was the more voracious of him and his tankmate. She said he is in good health and shows no signs of stunting. He is in a 55 gallon tank with a tankmate. We did a full water test before we went all and parameters are fine which I showed her. She gave him and exam and said she felt no obstruction in him. She gave him a shot of B12 and said to give him a metrodinazole bath for 2 hours a day for 3 days. We did and he still will not eat. I have tried bloodworms, crisps, flakes, river shrimp and bug bites. If anything if he takes something in his mouth he keeps it in there for a minute or two and then spits it out. Any thoughts?

 

[Andy Sager]

If the Vet said there is no obstruction and the fish " tastes " the food and rejects it, it sounds like it doesn't like the food you are feeding. What you listed you were feeding are very high in protein but Goldfish do not metabolize protein very well and need a high vegetable diet. I would try adding some live frilly plants, Floating plants like Duckweed, frozen spinach, Spirulina flakes or frozen diet specifically for goldfish. Stay away from dry and freeze dried foods ( sans the spirulina flakes) . If the fish continues to reject all of these choices, you may need to start adding a liquid vitamin to the tank which will help keep the fish while not eating and often helps to stimulate feeding.

Hope this helps.

 

[Figureguy]

If the Vet said there is no obstruction and the fish " tastes " the food and rejects it, it sounds like it doesn't like the food you are feeding. What you listed you were feeding are very high in protein but Goldfish do not metabolize protein very well and need a high vegetable diet. I would try adding some live frilly plants, Floating plants like Duckweed, frozen spinach, Spirulina flakes or frozen diet specifically for goldfish. Stay away from dry and freeze dried foods ( sans the spirulina flakes) . If the fish continues to reject all of these choices, you may need to start adding a liquid vitamin to the tank which will help keep the fish while not eating and often helps to stimulate feeding.

Hope this helps.

Is it unusual for a fish to reject the food he has eaten for the last 4 years? His tankmate still loves it and I wasn't aware fish can change tastes. I do add blanched spinach once a week with clips and usually they both go crazy. This last week he took a bite and then spit that out also. What liquid vitamin would you recommend? Any brand of Spirulina flakes in particular? Thank you.

 

[Andy Sager]

Is it unusual for a fish to reject the food he has eaten for the last 4 years? His tankmate still loves it and I wasn't aware fish can change tastes. I do add blanched spinach once a week with clips and usually they both go crazy. This last week he took a bite and then spit that out also. What liquid vitamin would you recommend? Any brand of Spirulina flakes in particular? Thank you.

Yes fish can get tired of the same food. The spinach would be better 5 days a week, along with other foods throughout the day. The other foods you mentioned should be the once a weeks or used as " treats" for a single feeding in a day. The foods I mentioned should be the staples. Goldfish have no stomachs( per say) so they can't hold large amounts of food to get the nutrients out of them slowly through digestion so they should be fed ( or have access to food) at least 3 to 4 times a day.

As for the fish spitting out the food, whether a fish rejects a food because of taste, texture, or illness, it's a sign of something wrong. If other fish ARE eating the same food, it's not the food, it's the fish itself. If the fish starts rejecting a food that others are eating, there may be something in the throat of the fish causing it to not be able to swallow. ( Did the Vet look into the mouth of the fish? ) One possibility is a parasite that as taken up residency in the mouth/ throat. Argulus lice and anchor worms are most common in the gills and throat. ( Did the Vet look at the gills? ) Another possibility is the fish has some sort of infection or tumor affecting the throat. Just like you, if you have a sore throat or blockage, you may put food in your mouth but if it is too painful, you won't swallow it. More investigation needs to be done.

As for vitamins, I've only used Vitachem brand liquid vitamins but there are others. ( full disclosure: I used to work with the creator of VitaChem who I highly respected so if he said it was good, I took his word on it. ) Seachem, Tetra and Sera all make a vitamin supplement specifically for Goldfish so you can investigate the others and judge for yourself by the reviews.

As for Spirulina flakes, check the ingredients list and use one that is higher in fiber and amount of spirulina in the flake.

There is one more thing to consider: The fish's mental state. You said the fish is 7" long and if it is in a standard 55 gallon tank, it's in a 12"-13" wide aquarium. That means the fish really has to struggle to turn around. It may just be time for the fish to be rehomed or placed in a larger, wider aquarium or pond. Goldfish are not really designed for aquariums as much as they are deigned for ponds and to be viewed from above. Very few goldfish live a complete natural lifetime in a home aquarium. When all the above has failed, this is something that needs to be considered.

Hope this helps.