Gold Fish Tank Filter

Question
Hello!

I am very worried about my fish.

I have one goldfish in a large tank - its meant for two fish. I believe it was a 10L tank. The tank has a filter. I feed my fish about 2-3 times a day, a couple flakes of fish food each time. I am not sure what the water temperature is - but I do make sure to keep it constant since I read that fish don't like drastic temperature changes. I change the tank about every two weeks. And I put conditioning drops in the water when I change the water.  

My goldfish is a VERY active fish. Very playful, and always swims up to the surface when you walk by or when you feed him. He is constantly cleaning and rearranging the rocks.

However, I had to transport him from my college to back home. It was a five hour drive (traffic), and it was very bumpy. I kept him in a large container next to me, and wrapped a shirt around the base of the container to keep it from moving too much.

I put him back in his tank last night right when I got home. He seemed very different. He is barely swimming, and has been sitting on top of the pebbles. He's eaten a little, but he does not come up to the surface acting excited to get food.

I was wondering if this is normal behavior for fish after you transport them? Also, could the sound of the filter be stressing him out?

This is my first time having a fish, so I really am not familiar with this!

Thank you very much for answering my question. I appreciate the help!

-K

Answer
Karen,
Fish tend to stress when they are moved. Especially when in a long car ride. The bumps on the road feel like earthquakes for fish. Did you save water from his tank before you moved him and added back in when you re set the tank up? If not, the filter is going to go through a cycle process to get things going again. This process can take 6 weeks and there should be no fish in the tank while it cycles. He will probably look this way for a couple of days. Just keep him quiet for a few days and you should see him pick back up. 10 liters is not big enough for a goldfish. If you have 1 he can be in nothing smaller that a 20 gallon (76L) with a filter for a larger tank. I am sure the water temp is ok since they are cold water fish.