Need Urgent Help with Goldfish!!

Question
I'm having some problems with my goldfish and really need your advice! I have a 12L tank with a filter and 2 plants. I have a medium goldfish which i have had for about 2 months.
Last week I got a new small goldfish and added it to the tank. Since then both fish have been uninterested in food and are sitting on the bottom of the tank. I changed a lot of the water to clean out the poo in the bottom to reduce the ammonia in the tank.
I have had the water tested twice at 2 different places and the water is all good. I was given some salts to put into the water and have added stuff for fin rot. The fish are on their sides on the bottom of the tank, they are still alive.
I also tried feeding them peas incase they were constipated but they are not interested in any food. Please help me! Thanks so much!

Answer
Hi Rachel,

Please remember I am an expert and I answer these questions because #1, I love animals and #2, I truly like people.  With that said, I have bad news to deliver to you.  I don't want you to hold it against me, but rather, please, read it with an open mind.  This is absolutely NOT any type of personal attack on you.  I know you truly love your fish, and that is why you sought help from All Experts.

The reason they aren't moving and are having trouble breathing is because they are living in their own sewer water and there is no filter, and they have no running water, and are in too small a tank.

A proper size aquarium for 1 goldfish is 10 gallons when it's under 2" long.  Once a goldfish matures, 4-6", it will require at least 25 gallons of water for itself.  They are severely heavy poopers.  Two fish in a 3 gallon bowl is cruelty to animals and the water has to be in very, very poor condition.

Even with proper love and care, the water cannot possibly be clean.  One little poo, and it's ruined in that small of a container.

With that said, you are indeed probably very loving and good to your fish.  I don't mean to make you worry about that at all...but I'd like to advise you to get a properly sized aquarium to put them in.  Something at least 20 gallons.  They will grow.  They cannot live in a bowl, now, or ever in the future.

Petstores sell bowls and it is just awful of them.  It promotes the wrong conditions for goldfish to live in, and it does so, with their FULL knowledge.  Yep, most petstores know it's wrong.  But they will sell you anything so they can sell you fish and the products to go with them, and then the products to treat the infections caused by filthy water conditions, etc.  It's a money-making adventure.

But, not here.  It's not a money-maker for me.  I'm just a lady who volunteers her expertise to help people such as yourself. :)  So, let's get this situation solved.

The reason they are gasping and laying at the bottom is because there is ammonia in the water.  That comes from their feces.  Changing water isn't enough.  The gravel has to be cleaned.  While both fish live in one 3 gallon container, it will need cleaned daily.  Every day.  Even one extra day will give them poo in the water and they will be breathing it.

I'd like to know who tested water in 2 different places, yet didn't have the intelligence to advise you that the fish are overcrowded, and that they are swimming in poop.  I'd like to know what they consider good readings, because it's no laughing matter...there's no possibility the water is clean in a 3 gallon tank with 2 goldfish in it.  Even with water changes.

Please read http://www.suite101.com/content/goldfish-righting-abuse-with-proper-care-a292985

This isn't your fault.  This is the fault of the pet store industry.  They even got you to buy medication.  Rotten.

To get this to pass, you will have to make some changes.

My advice:

1. Increase tank size.  
2. Add a filter to clean their water.
3. Regular water changes of 25% every other week are needed for the entire life of these fish.  They are poopers in the extreme sense, and therefore the water quality will always be off, even with filtration.
4. Add a few live plants.  They eat some of the poo out of the water and live off the nutrients the poo provides.  They return oxygen to the fish.  This will boost their health and immunity. :)
5. For now, change the water.  Wash the bowl thoroughly.  Be sure to dechlorinate water, even if it's well water.
6. No more medications and salt.  It's not necessary.  The issue has nothing to do with illness.

I get this exact question almost daily from someone with a fishbowl.  Same symptoms.  Same sad story...I feel so bad for you, and them, and it makes me sad to have to write it all over and over again, but if someone doesn't speak out, who will know the right way?

I used to keep my goldfish in bowls too.  You're not alone.  I was told to put them there by the pet store.  Fortunately, I figured it out when test readings were above .10ppm Nitrates (nothing above that is considered safe.

If you need any further advice, please, please feel free to post a followup question and I will do my best to assist you.  

Remember, my words are no reflection on you. They are on the petstore industry.

Happy fish-keeping.

Renee