oranda goldfish

Question
i have 2 ORANDA GOLDFISH FOR ABOUT A WEEK NOW AND 1 WAS ACTING FUNNY LAYING AT THE BOTTOM IN THE PLANTS A LOT THE OTHER 1 WOULD CHASE IT LIKE IT WAS PICKING ON IT. THEN IT STOPPED LAYING AROUND AND SEEMED TO BE DOING GOOD BUT LAST NIGHT I NOTICED ITS TAIL LOOKED DIFFERENT AND IT WAS ON THE BOTTOM AGAIN THIS MORNING IT WAS KIND OF STUCK TO THE FILTER AND I MOVED IT AND IT IS AGAIN ON THE BOTTOM UNDER A PLANT, OH AND WHEN I FIRST GOT IT I NOTICED IT DIDNT SWIM LIKE THE OTHER ONE IT SEEMED TO HAVE A WADDLE TO IT. I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS  WHAT EVER IT IS I WONDER IF THE OTHER ONE WILL GET IT. I AM NEW TO ALL THIS BUT LIKE THE FISH VERY MUCH. ANY HELP WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED

Answer
Hi Rose,
Its possible the goldfish may have a internal disorder. It sounds like swim bladder disorder. The swim bladder is a special organ that controls the fish's equilibrium and if something interferes with it(such as overfeeding or a high protein diet causing a blockage in the digestive track and therefore putting pressure on the bladder) the poor fish will loose his equilibrium and often the fish will either float miserably at the top or sink to the bottom and all around have difficulty controlling movements.

But it is possible the fish may have a weak system and just not be very strong in general. He may not make it as sad as it is.

If the tank is a recent setup. Beware the stress caused by pollution from the goldfish and the fact that the aquarium hasn't 'cycled' or established the good bacteria that control ammonia yet. They take about 4-6 weeks to get established on the surfaces of your aquarium and water testing is highly recommend during this time to monitor the quality of your water.

You mentioned you were new to goldfish. Well I highly recommend you visit this website on goldfish for info about anything you've ever wanted to know about them and their care. It is an amazing site with lots of pictures!!

http://thegab.org/

I hope all goes well!
Karen~