For the past few days my goldfish has been hovering over the gravel, maybe just touching the bottom. It started after a bad infection of ick showed up, and I used an ick clear tablet by Tetra. He doesn’t act as if he is sick, just more of a change in attitude. He also will sometime hover at the top of the tank and just kinda point home nose up to the sky. I did a water change last night, and it is still persisting.
Goldfish hovering at the bottom
- Thread starter Ammon
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Please provide as much information as you are able from the "unhealthy fish" sticky.
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/before-posting-about-unhealthy-fish-read-this-32451.html
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/before-posting-about-unhealthy-fish-read-this-32451.html
All right. Sorry about that. So two of my three seem to do that this, and none of my other fish do it either. In total I have 3 common goldfish, 3 TINY baby yellow lab cichlids, 3 mystery snails, 1 catfish and 2 angels. Trust me. I know it is overstocked, but I am trying to get the money to set up my 29 gallon tank. The angelfish are small enough that they don’t find the cichlids as food. It is a 10 gallon tank, and on Wednesday, the last time my water was tested, they were all just fine.
Please go back to the sticky and answer as many of the questions as you can. Not just everything is fine, give details.
Sorry 
I will answer every question to the best of my abilities. 1: The afflicted fish are goldfish. They look just fine, but they keep hovering at the bottom of the tank about a millimeter away from the surface, or even touching it.
I don't have the exact values for all of these, but Wednesday, when my LFS tested my water, all of parameters were good. (Such as: Ammonia: 0.00ppm, Nitrites 0.00ppm, Nitrates ???, temp is 80 degrees Fahrenheit, Ph ???) Like I said I don't know some of the exact levels. Might go back and have them test it again and give me exact numbers.
The tank is a 10 gallon tank, and has been set up for 2-3 weeks in the current... Session?
I have a Tetra 10I filter in it, and I think I am going to buy a second, or buy a 20 gallon filter, and use this one for something else.
I have 3 goldfish at about 1.5 to 3 inches long, 3 yellow lab cichlids that are about half to an inch long, 3 snails at a rather small size, 2 little angelfish ( they aren't babies, but they aren't adult size for sure ), and one pleco that is about an inch or two long. As I said before, I am trying to get my 29 gallon tank ready.
I did a water change last night (12 hours ago) of about 30% of the water. I do it every Friday for the same amount.
I have had the fish for about a week or so, and acclimated them for 20-30 minutes.
No new things in the tank.
I have been feeding them all Tetra tropical flakes. I have been using this for them since the beginning.
I will answer every question to the best of my abilities. 1: The afflicted fish are goldfish. They look just fine, but they keep hovering at the bottom of the tank about a millimeter away from the surface, or even touching it.I don't have the exact values for all of these, but Wednesday, when my LFS tested my water, all of parameters were good. (Such as: Ammonia: 0.00ppm, Nitrites 0.00ppm, Nitrates ???, temp is 80 degrees Fahrenheit, Ph ???) Like I said I don't know some of the exact levels. Might go back and have them test it again and give me exact numbers.
The tank is a 10 gallon tank, and has been set up for 2-3 weeks in the current... Session?
I have a Tetra 10I filter in it, and I think I am going to buy a second, or buy a 20 gallon filter, and use this one for something else.
I have 3 goldfish at about 1.5 to 3 inches long, 3 yellow lab cichlids that are about half to an inch long, 3 snails at a rather small size, 2 little angelfish ( they aren't babies, but they aren't adult size for sure ), and one pleco that is about an inch or two long. As I said before, I am trying to get my 29 gallon tank ready.
I did a water change last night (12 hours ago) of about 30% of the water. I do it every Friday for the same amount.
I have had the fish for about a week or so, and acclimated them for 20-30 minutes.
No new things in the tank.
I have been feeding them all Tetra tropical flakes. I have been using this for them since the beginning.
There are a few elephants in the room.
Yes you are overstocked.
A tank 2 to 3 weeks wont be cycled. I would be getting a decent test kit (eg API freshwater master test kit) and doing my own testing. You need actual numbers for your water parameters and i would trust my own testing over someone elses, especially when its in their interest to tell you everything is good so they can sell you things. Change 50% of the water daily until you can do your own tests. This will prevent water parameters getting to harmful levels without you knowing about it.
You are keeping temperate and tropical fish together. The temperature requirements of the goldfish are very different to the other fish. The warmer water required by the tropical fish will make life more difficult for the goldfish and this will lead to ill health. What temperature are you keeping the water at?
While this may not be an immediate issue, but 10 gallons is nowhere near big enough for 3 goldfish, let alone 3 goldfish plus everything else in there. Even the 29g you are planning isnt big enough for 3 goldfish. 50g minimum. Too small a tank will stunt their growth, but their internal organs keep growing. This leads to ill health and shortened life. At 3" they are already too big for the tank and will be developing long term health issues which they may not recover from.
All of these issues could be causing or contributing to your goldfishes issues.
Unless you are going to rehome fish, as a minimum do the water changes. Medium term get a test kit and get the tank cycled. Relocate all the fish to more suitably sized tanks ASAP. You probably need 2 x 50g tanks, one for the goldfish and 1 for the tropical fish.
Let us know when you get your test kit and we can advise further on cycling the tank.
Yes you are overstocked.
A tank 2 to 3 weeks wont be cycled. I would be getting a decent test kit (eg API freshwater master test kit) and doing my own testing. You need actual numbers for your water parameters and i would trust my own testing over someone elses, especially when its in their interest to tell you everything is good so they can sell you things. Change 50% of the water daily until you can do your own tests. This will prevent water parameters getting to harmful levels without you knowing about it.
You are keeping temperate and tropical fish together. The temperature requirements of the goldfish are very different to the other fish. The warmer water required by the tropical fish will make life more difficult for the goldfish and this will lead to ill health. What temperature are you keeping the water at?
While this may not be an immediate issue, but 10 gallons is nowhere near big enough for 3 goldfish, let alone 3 goldfish plus everything else in there. Even the 29g you are planning isnt big enough for 3 goldfish. 50g minimum. Too small a tank will stunt their growth, but their internal organs keep growing. This leads to ill health and shortened life. At 3" they are already too big for the tank and will be developing long term health issues which they may not recover from.
All of these issues could be causing or contributing to your goldfishes issues.
Unless you are going to rehome fish, as a minimum do the water changes. Medium term get a test kit and get the tank cycled. Relocate all the fish to more suitably sized tanks ASAP. You probably need 2 x 50g tanks, one for the goldfish and 1 for the tropical fish.
Let us know when you get your test kit and we can advise further on cycling the tank.
Okay. I think that I will take the goldfish back to the LFS or re-home them. I really don't have the money, let alone the space to get two 55 gallon tanks. I will be returning the goldfish tonight, and I read the cycling thread you sent earlier, and I will cycle it for a month or two. I knew it was over stocked, but I thought that the 29 would be good enough for the goldfish and other things. I appreciate it, and I will buy a test kit and update you. Thanks
You still need a 50g for the angelfish and cichlids. The angel fish could be ok in a 29g but the labs need a bigger tank.
Do you know what type of pleco you have? That could get huge, like 2 feet and need a massive tank.
Do you know what type of pleco you have? That could get huge, like 2 feet and need a massive tank.
Common plecos will grow to 2 feet. Take that back too when you return the goldfish.
You could grow out the labs in a 29g, but if you are only planning on having 1 tank its going to be way easier and cheaper long run to just set up a properly sized tank from the start rather than swapping to an upgrade a few months later.
Similar threads
