my goldfish are dead-again!

[yinyang]

when I got up this morning all 3 of our goldfish were either lying at the bottom of the tank ( still breathing) or trying to swim but kept rolling onto side or back.they all seemed fine last night but now 2 are dead and ones not got long left. The terrible thing is this is the second set of 3 goldfish we've had since easter!

I'm starting to feel like a mass murderer(of fish). I'm obviously doing something wrong but I don't know what. We use water treatment when we change the water and feed according to pack instructions. I don't let my girls tap the tank or stick their fingers in the water.

I would just give up but the fish were a present to my 4 year old daughters and they love having them. So any advice to prevent this happening again would be greatly appreciated.Thanks in advance.

p.s. we live in the west of scotland if that helps any regarding water quality.Also the tank gets direct sunlight for a fair part of the day.

[little coojy]

so sorry about your loses, i don't keep cold water fish but i do keep tropical, which i would imagine run on the same kind of rules, never keep fish in direct sunlight, take a water sample to your local fish store to chq nitrate, nitrite, amonia levels, poor water is often the reason for many deaths, sterilise your bowl before adding new fish into a bowl that has had unexplained deaths and rinse and rinse to clear out any remaining chemicals, do not over feed as this will make the water toxic, make sure your water has enough oxygen either from pump or tablet form, make sure gravel is washed well before puttimg it in to tank/bowl. don't put hands unnessaraly in water as this can contaminate it, hope this helps, you could try another great forum www.ukaquarist.co.uk for advice too.

[Mrs R]

They could have something wrong with there swim bladders that apparenlty makes them loose the balance or something?? Or the tank could be overcrowded and they maybe suffocating. Or maybe theres something wrong with the shop you are buying them from. Try going to a different shop see if the new ones last any longer. Do you have a water pump in there?. Sorry I dont know much it's just what Ive heard my Dad talk about as he keeps fish.

Good Luck

[Champagne]

It sounds like acute poisoning to me, yinyang.

Check this out: http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/clinicalsigns.htm

I owned goldfish in the past. People say that they're really easy pets to keep but I went through 2 years of hell where all my fish got different varieties of diseases and eventually all died. It was emotionally draining, as well as expensive, I can tell you!

You need to get your water right. Get advice on this from your local aquarium when you buy new fish. And do move your tank away from direct sunlight as it promotes algae growth, warmer water and a breeding ground for disease. A fairly well lit corner will do, with no surrounding loud noises as this can also stress fish.

Believe it or not, my goldfish were better suited to small basic tanks with untreated tap water!! As soon as I upgraded to a 'unit' tank with lights, filters and relevant water treatments it all went downhill. :o(

Good luck.

[yinyang]

Thanks to all three of you for your help.When we break the news to the girls tonight ( again) we'll say we're not going to get any new fish for a couple of weeks. This'll give us time to sort out water ,new location etc. and hopefully prevent this happening again.as champagne said it's draining and expensive.

Don't remember it being this hard keeping fish when i was a wee girl. Again as Champagne said, we just filled their bowl straight from the tap, bunged them in and fed them.

Thanks again.X

[Kozmic Blues]

I have 3 gold fish one that is 6/7 years old and the other two are 2/3 years.I use tap water and a few drops of conditioner the tank has a filter to stop the water going stagnant.they are out of direct sunlight and are fed once a day could be left for two days.over feeding can kill fish!

[Kozmic Blues]

A basic page about goldfish http://www.nunnie.com/goldfish.html hope it helps.
LOL ♥♥♥ Kozmic Blues *_*

[Kozmic Blues]

Well my love hearts did not work!
they came out as a bunch of numbers :(

[sixpence]

yinyang, I kept tropical fish, and went through a bad spell, like you. I went to the local petshop for advice, frequently, with my tales of woe. One day he greeted me with "Oh, here comes the lady who has killed more fish than Captain Bird'sEye".You can imagine how I felt.

[Kozmic Blues]

what type of goldfish are they,the one with a fancy tail or a plain tail?the fancy tail are not a hardy as the plain tail.

Kozmic *_*

[yinyang]

LOL sixpence - I can sympathise.I don't think my shop will sell me any more.

Thanks Kozmic for the advice and for the secret number code - will it lead me to the truth about the Holy Grail? : )

We've just done the ceremonial flushing the fish down the toilet with the girls. They were really good about it -bless 'em.

[yinyang]

Plain tails Kozmic - apparently I can kill even the hardiest of fish!

[B00]

Ooooo naughty naughty, you aren't supposed to flush them down the toilet, toxins in the sewers and all that, but i won't tell em if you don't ;-)

[Kozmic Blues]

Its not you!! its prob all to do with the chemistry of the water oxygen and pneumonia.you can buy things that will make bubbles in the water.

Wish you all the best with fish in the future..
Kozmic Blues.*_*

[Kozmic Blues]

When i was younger my fish always went down the toilet.
Just like Nemo!!!

[yinyang]

Toxins, Boo?Aren't the sewers full of [email protected] my garden would look like a pet cemetary if I buried them all.LOL. ; )

[Beanmistriss]

You should ring my mum! Our last fish just died age 22. The one who died youngest died at 18 and the second at 21. They has all sorts of stuff happen to them over the years - they even survived my cousins trying to feed em with the contents of the fruit bowl.

They just had a tank out of direct light with tap water. Nothing else added except a little plant and a ceramic frog and wee stones at the bottom. So maybe someones selling you duff fish or your waters not good. If it is the water hope you're not drinking it :/ x

[hammerman]

I wonder if people would be this flippant if it was their dog we were talking about

[clairey-s]

well, hammerman, if 2 lots of puppies died in that amount of time i think it would be a different kettle of fish (haha) and you cant exactly take a goldfish to a vet can you? yinyang is just trying to do right by his kids (and fish) and trying to get some help!! there are worse things happen to animals all over the world so why dont you go do something about that instead of dumping all over somones question!!!!!!!!!

xx

[dacezza]

Do you keep them on the fridge? I only ask as this seems to be a common place for them to live.

I have lost a few fish this way as did a couple of my friends.

It seems the fridge is not a good place for them to live.

[JJF]

When I was little and had goldfish, if they used to drift onto their sides my mum always used to put soluble asprin in the tank and ther perked up no trouble.....honest!