new goldfish

Question
Hi there! I recently bought a Calico fantail goldfish and have a few concerns regarding his behavior. I bought my fish yesterday, and put him into a 1 gallon hexagon shaped tank. Last night i observed that he was rapidly opening and closing his mouth and would swim to the surface and "gasp". When i filled the tank before putting him in, I used tap water (we have a well). Once i observed the gasping, I took out most of the water and replaced it with a gallon of spring water from the grocery store. This morning when I checked on my fish I noticed that he seemed to be moving his fins very rapidly, but staying in one place for the most part. This afternoon I added an aerator with a new stone, and I also added the recommended dosage of API Stress Coat drops to the water. In addition to this I also tested the pH of the water and based on the box its about where it should be (7.5), but maybe a little on the high side. My fish still seems to be moving his fins very rapidly, and I also feel like he is drifting sideways, mostly to his left and then swims frantically to make up for the drift. It's almost as if he is trying to fight something pulling on his left side. Any ideas of what could be wrong with him? Any suggestions on how to help him?

Answer
Hi Emily,
Sounds like he needs a water change + dechlorinator ASAP. I would do a big water change (taking down just enough water so he can sit comfortably) and refill with water of the same temp and dechlorinated with water conditioner like the Stress Coat you have.

Goldfish produce a lot of waste and therefore produce a lot of ammonia.. It builds it really fast and can burn their gills and even their skin and fins. In such a small tank like a 1 gallon, it would be a matter of maybe half a day and his tank could already be considered 'toxic' to him.

He needs a larger tank and some aeration is very important for goldfish. If you can at least try to do daily big water changes like I described above then this might help him pull through. Otherwise, he is swimming in his own toilet. Even an inexpensive 10-gallon would be a beneficial upgrade.

You probably don't need spring water... And while the well water likely doesn't have chlorine it can have heavy metals dissolved that are toxic to fish. Water conditioner will neutralize this.

Let me know how he is doing!

I wish you the best!
Susan~