Goldfish Health Check

[TheFishGuy]

Hello great peoples of the forum, I am pet sitting a goldfish and a few zebra danios for a few months. I have already had them for around 4 months, and Have noticed the goldfish sitting on the gravel a bit more than normal. It always swims around for a bit when I approach the tank ( food hog ) but when I leave a lot of the time the fish goes back to sitting. I just did a large water change yesterday to eliminate any doubts that water quality was a concern. Is this just normal sleeping and laziness or something to be more concerned about. The goldfish otherwise has good coloration, is plump, extends all fins when swimming, and seems normal. The tank is a custom 22g long. ( a bit small but still provided 3ft of swimming space ).

Here is a picture:

 

[WaterGardener]

There is no way to know the quality of the water without testing it, so that is always the first step when a problem is suspected.

 

[rubyduby]

When you did the water change did you add dechlorinator to the water?

 

[TheFishGuy]

There is no way to know the quality of the water without testing it, so that is always the first step when a problem is suspected.

Along with the water change I did do water tests, nitrates were around 15-25 before the change and 5 after the water change. Ammonia and nitrites were not tested as this tank has been cycled for a long time. PH is 7.6.

The goldfish appears more active this morning, Mabye it was just stress from a large water change.

 

[TheFishGuy]

When you did the water change did you add dechlorinator to the water?

Yes I did, along with tempature equalizing the water. It was really very large ( 80% ) so it probably did cause some stress.

 

[WaterGardener]

It doesn't matter how long the tank has been cycled. Things change. Fish grow and produce more waste, creating more ammonia. If your filters aren't up to the task of larger fish or more feeding, you could have ammonia and nitrite spikes no matter how old the tank is.

It never hurts to know that those things are good and testing them eliminates the possibility that they are not.

 

[Mmathis]

Agree with what’s already been said. It’s harder to keep a good balance in a smaller body of water. Not impossible, but takes closer monitoring and intervention. The fish looks bright and healthy — good that it has a conscientious person watching over him.

 

[TheFishGuy]

It doesn't matter how long the tank has been cycled. Things change. Fish grow and produce more waste, creating more ammonia. If your filters aren't up to the task of larger fish or more feeding, you could have ammonia and nitrite spikes no matter how old the tank is.

It never hurts to know that those things are good and testing them eliminates the possibility that they are not.

Good point, I will check ammonia and nitrites today.