sunburst breeding

Question
Just wondering how I got babies. I had 4 sunburst in my 30 gallon tank and hadnt had them 2 weeks when 2 of them died. Then I had one that looked like it swallowed a marble and within 2 days it also died. I have one left. This was about 2 months ago. Just a few days ago I was playing with my goldfish and noticed 2 baby sunburst. They are extreamly tiny so thinking not 2 months old but I dont know how fast they grow so I may be totally wrong. One is about 1/2 of an inch and the other maybe a 1/4 of an inch. Do sunburst breed, have babies and dieNormally? or do the babies just grow really slow? Never had baby fish before and surprised the 2 1/2 inch goldfish didnt eat them. There may be more that I just cant see in there with lots of places to hide.

Answer
Hi Debbie,

It's very possible that they were eggs, not developed, hanging on the underside of a leaf someplace, and are just now hatching.  You may even see more babies come out as time goes by.

Sunburst do breed.

They don't usually die afterwards, no.  Very sad, but check your water quality and make certain the filtration is sufficient.  This is a major cause of deaths in goldfish.  In fact, each fish requires up to five gallons.  So, in a 20 gallon tank, you cannot have more than 4 goldfish to have proper filtration.

Babies do grow fast in my opinion.  So, these have to be pretty new.

Good luck and happy fish-keeping.
Renee