fish not swimmin??

Question
QUESTION: i have had a fresh water tank, 10 galo for over 6 months with one fish. a gold fish. I bought 5 other goldfish and a scavenger. i got some drops t o help with the hard water in Chicago and i changed more than half he water before i added our new babies. the last few days however, i've noticed them all just lingering at the bottom of the tank, just hovering. im scared they are dying. one of the new fish dies a few days ago, but the pet store said to expect that as a possibility.ive never noticed behavior of this matter, they aren't dead, just hovering at the bottom. what's going on?

ANSWER: Hi Toya,
  6 goldfish in a ten gallon tank is a LOT.  What kind of filter do you have in the tank?  And what is the water temperature?

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Ron,
the tank is room temperature and yes i do have a filter. i was thinking now, since 2 of the goldfish have perished, that maybe the water had become poisoned due to the feces of 5 goldfish and one scavenger. i changed the filter and im scared to feed them now. i have since changed half of the tank water again, as i did when i first bought some company for my one goldfish.


Answer
Hi Toya,
  What actually keeps a fish tank healthy are the bacteria that grow on the surfaces of the tank and filter.  When you put a bunch of new fish in a tank, it can take awhile (weeks) for the numbers of bacteria to increase to the level to handle all the new fish waste.  So, time is
important.  Changing water helps this by removing the nitrogen (and ammonia) from the fish feces.  I suggest you keep doing a few more water changes over the next week or so and I think that might help.

 Feed them lightly. Be absolutely sure that no uneaten food accumulates in the tank -- that will make the problem much worse.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>