my fish are sitting on the bottom off the tank!!!!!

Question
QUESTION: hi ...
i cleaned my tank two days ago and now my two little fish have died and the rest of my fish (3 large goldfish two medium sized one's) are all sitting on the bottom of the tank they also don't seem to be eating very much I'm worried i don't want to loose any more fish, i did everything the same as usual except the tank was dirtier to begin with because i have been away and my mum looking after the fish it hadn't been cleaned for 3 weeks, i also addend a algae thing the pet store sold me to help with the algae problem as the tank is outside..... please help my poor fish

cheers Kirstin
ANSWER: Hey Kirstin,

Sounds to me like you've been over stressing your fish by cleaning the tank too often. When you pull fish in and out of water and scrub their tank down, you stress the fish out by handling them, killing beneficial bacteria, and by chaning their water quality too fast. You're far better off getting a filter pump (shop around, you'll find some real cheap ones) to reduce cleaning. Also, use of soaps, and other non-natural cleaners will be very harmful to the fish too. When replacing water, chlorine becomes a huge fish killer. Without use of conditioner, or some other water purifier (such as boiling water, then cooling it before adding it) chlorine, copper, iron, and other harmful metals will grow in quantity to a dangerous level in your tank. Rapid temperature changes (as little as 4*F) can kill fish too. When caring for fish, there are many, many things you have to be attentive for.

As for helping these fish recover, add a water conditioner to remove all the bad chemicals in the water (Chlorine, ammonia, nitrite, etc). Also, just let the fish sit for a few days. Feed them lightly, but make sure that nothing bothers them. The rest and relaxation will help reduce stress and help them become healthier again.

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

QUESTION: ok so i understand what your saying but i don't clean my tank that often when i cleaned it this time it had bee three weeks between cleans and i only did about thirty five percent of the water, and i never use soaps excetera i usedthe same water conditioner and bio purifier that i normally do i have had fish for about 3 years now and have never had this happen befor i added some salts to helpp revitalise them and have just let them rest most of them seem happier still not swimming as much as normal but happier but one poor little fish is having swim bladder problems i have read on this site and others that i should feed him peas ans put him in a shallow tank to help but how do i feed him peas and if i move him wont it strees him more ????


any extra advice would be great  cheers kirstin

p.s the tank water has now gone cloudy even though my pump extra is working fine ?????????

Answer
Hey again,

first of, a cloudy water could be one of two things. Tiny air bubbles in the water, or your carbon is not working properly any more. replace the cartridge and see if that helps.

Next, you can feed peas, just cut them up small enough for fish to eat, but swim bladder disease is typically something you cant cure.

As for the fish, give them a couple of days. As long as they're eating and not struggling to breathe, they should recover. Bear in mind, any rapid netting or movement will make things stressful on a fish, so doing a full scale tank scrubbing has tendancy to harm them. it may not happen the first time, or the second, or even the 100th time, but eventually all the stress catches up with the fish, and they have a shortened lifespan because of it. rapid changes in water quality can be harmful too. Test the water just to see where the ammonia levels are, you may find out that cleaning your tank may have caused them to rise unexpectedly. becoming over excited and trying to do too much at this point will only make things worse. Just let them rest for a few days, and let them have some rest. A Vitamin rich pea and broccoli diet wont hurt them, but dont expect miricles from it either. The bristly green tops off of broccoli are super rich in vitamins needed for recovery, and i use them as a twice a week meal for all my fish as means to prevent problems.

Hope your fish get better soon!