Listless fish

Question
I have two goldfish who are about a year old. They live in a small tank (but big enough for the fish) with just water and stones in it. I clean the tank about once a week. I don't know the water chemistry because they weren't expected to live past two weeks (you know how goldfish are), so I didn't buy a lot of equipment other than a tank and the stones. Anyway, my fish are usually quite lively, but for the past week, one of my fish just lies on the bottom of the tank. He doesn't float a bit above the stones, he literally just lies there on his stomach. When I feed them he struggles to get up to the surface, but can't seem to make it up there. The other one was okay, but now he's really listless and I think he's starting to get what the other one is got. What's wrong with my fish, and how can I fix them?  

Answer
Hi Mary;

Listless fish are usually suffering from the effects of waste toxins. The one that sits on the bottom has lost the use of his swim bladder. It could be from toxins or from an infection. If the tank has no filter and is less than 5 gallons it is from toxin build up. It only takes a couple of days for them to reach harmful levels and stress the fishes' organs and burn their skin, eyes and gills. They have probably grown since you first got them, so you may have to graduate to a bigger tank now if they are to survive.

Goldfish are deep-bodied very messy fish that get quite big. They reach a size of 6 to 8 inches and can live to be 10 years or more. Each fish needs at least 10 gallons with a good filter to reach that potential. When they are 2 to 3 inches (at most), they should never be in anything less than 5 gallons. Waste toxins build up too quickly and that is the cause of most of them dying in the first days and weeks in their new home. Many have been kept in little tanks and bowls, but most have died that way too. It's just a miserable life for them.

Hope yours feel better soon....

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