My goldfish is not acting right?

Question

Hers is the deal, I have a 30 gallon tank I bought as a starter kit, It came with an algae relief which I used when I set the tank up and everything was fine. I had five 1 inch goldfish in the tank for about a month and had no problems.. After normal maintenance I noticed a few days ago the water was getting a bit green. I scrubbed the sides on the tank and added more of the algae relief...this was yesterday. A few hours later I went to the store where I bought the tank and fish to purchase another fish...this one about 6 inches long. I came home and adapted it to the water. When I let it in the water I realize one of my other fish was dead. All of a sudden in less than an hour all 5 of my fish are dead. I did an emergency water change and chaged out 95% of the water because it only made sense that this algae relief killed my fish. All the ph, ammonia levels etc in the water were perfect. The fish we purchsed yesterday has yet to eat. He stays at the bottom of the tank unless you tap

Answer 1

Sounds to me like you didn't cycle the tank.....

Answer 2

a 30 gallon tank is too small for 5 goldfish to live in anyway, they need atleast 10 gallons per fish, so the most goldfish you should have in there is 3.

I am guessing you either a) didn't properly cycle the tank

b) had sick fish when you got them or c) the water you used was treated water that had chemicals in it that killed the fish. You must let water from the tap sit out atleast 24 hours, 48 is better, or use Anti-Chlor in the water before putting the fish in.

Answer 3

Those algae products aren't the greatest.  They deplete the oxygen out of the water, so you have to be careful if the tank is warm, and make sure there's adequate surface agitation to allow oxygen into the water.  And, they usually don't work, so save your money.  I was wondering why that product was in the kit....should've been a water dechlorinator sample with the kit, not an algae remover.  

Now, 5 goldfish in a 30 gallon tank is way too many.  Even for small ones, it's too many, because most will grow anywhere from 8-12 inches, or largre, which won't happen in a cramped tank.  Depending on what type of goldfish you have now, that tank may be fine for it-if it's a fancy variety.  So don't add anymore to the tank.  Your green water before was a sign of too many nutrients in the tank-too much fish waste, uneaten food, high nitrates, etc.  Common with an overstocked tank.

The fish now sounds like he's stressed, probably from everything that's happened-moving, new tank, large water change, etc.  Don't feed him until he starts perking up, it'll just foul up the water if he doesn't eat it.  Make sure the ammonia and nitrite levels are at 0 ppm as well.  Depending on how long the tank's been up and running(sounds fairly new), I would say it's still going through the cycle process, and may have progressed on to the nitrite phase.  Common symptoms of that is fish sitting on the bottom, breathing heavy, gasping at the surface.  Get some aquarium salt as well, add 1 tablespoon per 5 US gallons.  That helps if there's nitrites present.  Keep the light off in the tank as well, and just let him adjust.

Also, you said all the levels are where they should be, but you onlly mention ammonia and ph.  Ph you really don't need to worry about too much, just make sure it's not fluctuating bad, but anywhere in the 6.0-8.0 range is fine.  Don't buy products that alter the ph either.  You mainly want to watch your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels.  So, you'd need a kit for all of those.

Answer 4

Look at pictures on the web to see if it looks like "hole in the head" disease and go from there.

Answer 5

OK, well a 30 gallon is only suitable for a SINGLE fancy goldie. nothing else. if you want this fish to survive and its a fancy, let it be alone. if you want more or have a common/commet goldie, get  a tnak of 100 gallons. they get HUGE!!  =] good luck=]

Answer 6

Did you cycle your tank before you set it up? Cycling is very important, and could harm your fish. I don't know if this is the case, but the situation sounds like the Nitrite level spiked, and killed some of your fish. And before you add new fish into a tank, you should leave it in the quarantine tank for a few weeks to see if it's sick, but if it's fine, then you can. You also should let the new fish get used to the water in it's tank, so that it wouldn't be shocked by any of the water changes.

Answer 7

ask the people  at the store