fan tailed fish scared?

Question
hi i have one fan tailed, and 5 other goldfish. the goldfish are fine. but the fan tailed goldfish started acted different yesterday, as i walked by i couldn't see him any where for a few days he had been hiding in a brick thing we have in the 40 gallon tank, but yesterday he wasn't in there and i couldn't see him anywhere, after a while i went on doing my thing, and later on he was out again, but not for long. eventually i saw him come out from under a big rock. he doesn't stay out long, and gets right in there. he's smaller than the other fish and they sometimes nibble on him or chase him but its usually not too bad. is this normal or is he sick?

Answer
Hey tina!

Goldfish can bully smaller fish which is the case with your fish.  There are 5 against one which doesn't sound fair on him.

I would get a 10 gallon and keep him in there on his own.  If he gets better after a few weeks, try getting another small goldfish to put in there, a very small one as goldfish should have10 gallon to themselves whereas if yoiu got aanother one there would be two in a 10 gallon.  I think if you got a good filter and maybe an airstone and regular water changes, you might get away with it!

Hope this helps and Good Luck                      Jack