fantailed goldfish

Question
Hi i would be gratefull if you could answer my question as i am very concerned about my fan tailed goldfish, it is living in a tank with a Shubunkin and has recently started lying on the bottom of the tank and not moving for long periods of time and i am woirried it could have  some kind of ilness and do not want the shebunkin to fall ill also. I have had them for 3 years and have never had any other problems, do you have any idea what could be wrong with my goldfish? thank you for your time

Answer
Hello Sinead!

I'm surprised your fantail and your shubunkin get along - usually the fantail ends up getting bullied.

First off - Do a chemical check. Change about half of the water, and be sure it's not at extremes (hot/cold)

Fantails like to rest on the bottom of the tank, especially if there's gravel. If he's resting right-side-up, that's better than if he's on his side.

You can try feeding your fantail a defrosted, frozen pea (squeezed out of its shell.) This adds some veggies to his diet and will help if the fish is having swim bladder problems. If your fantail is in otherwise good health, the problem is probably not bacterial/fungal and your shubunkin should be okay. If the fantail seems stressed you can separate it and place it in a "recovery tank" to be safe.

Most likely, (if your fish seems fine except for resting on the bottom) he's just got a swim bladder problem (rarely fatal.) Try feeding him a pea or to and see if anything improves.

Hope this was helpful! Feel free to write back with any updates/further questions!

-Amber Worman