Goldfish worries

Question
Hi, I have a goldfish and currently it has a 1 cm line of poop or eggs or something hanging off it, on it's belly side, do you think it's okay? It seems less active than it used to be too, it sorta likes to just hang at the top of its tank not moving a whole bunch. Is there anything I need to do? It sits in a smallish tank I got from a petstore, I change its water once a months and feed it a bit everyday.

thanks a bunch!

Answer
Hi Kate;

I would say he is probably in too small a tank. He can't move much because of a lack of oxygen. There is more oxygen at the top so that's where he stays. He needs a water change at least once week to keep dissolved wastes like ammonia down to minimum. Ammonia also burns the gills so even less oxygen is able to be absorbed. It's just a bad deal for him all the way around.

Goldfish require 10 gallons per fish with good filtration to do well. It's unfortunately a common practice for them to be kept in small tanks or bowls. The truth is they usually don't live very long in there. Those that do survive for a long time are doing just that...."surviving", and just barely. Goldfish are deep-bodied messy fish that get big. Without a large enough tank they just get sick and die eventually.

So, get him a much bigger tank with a good filter and hopefully he will feel better and thrive again.

Here are some web sites with more info on goldfish and their needs;

http://www.flippersandfins.net/goldfishcaresheet.htm
http://www.geocities.com/shtinkythefish/goldfish.htm
http://www.firsttankguide.net/goldfish.php
http://www.goldfishutopia.net/information.php?pID=20
http://www.fishpalace.org/BowlMyth.html

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins