Comet Goldfish

Question
i have a few goldfish that vary in sizes from small to large. Lately the bigger ones have been laying on the bottom of the tank, i have tried tank and gravel cleaning but nothing seems to work. these are my daughters fish and frankly i'm tired of replacing them every few weeks can you tell me what i am doing wrong?

Answer
Lonnie,

I am not sure what a few goldfish are, and I don't know what size tank you have. 1 goldfish needs 20 gallons just for himself, and the 15 gallons for every other goldfish. So, if you have 3 goldfish, then you need to have them in a 50 gallon tank. Gold fish are the largest waste producers because they do not have a stomach and everything that goes in comes right back out as ammonia. A tank needs 2 to 3 weeks to set up or "cycle" Every time you do a complete cleaning in the tank, you are forcing the filter to recycle. If your tank is over crowded, i would suggest adding another filter to the tank. They might also be suffering from swim bladder disease which is cause by both over feeding and bad water quality. If their stomachs are bloated, do the following:

Feeding frozen pea:

  Remove the sick fish and put them in your hospital tank. Fast them for 2 days, on the 3rd day take a frozen pea and put it in hot water. This thaws it out and cooks it. Remove the shell from the pea and throw it away. DO NOT feed the shell to your fish, they cannot digest it. Cut the inside of the pea in small pieces and feed them to your fish. Fast them again for another 2 days. If they are still bloated, repeat the whole process. Let me know if you have any more questions.