my gold fish are hiding...ALL THE TIME

Question
I have two "feeder" goldfish that have now grown to 3+ inches since I got them.

I started this 5.5 gallon tank in August o8.

The tank has an Elite Mini filter.
live plants.
a big rock with holes.
gravel.

After cycling, it has been a consistent environment and the fish have behaved consistently, until this past week.

Up until this week, the fish have been active,swimming gently around the tank, and constantly interested in eating.

I've been changing about 2 gal. of water out every week.

I use NovAqua water conditioner.
ph up.
petco aquatic environment bacteria.
eco start.
I test the water with tetra test NO2 and NH3/NH4 also Quick Dip '6 tests in one strip'.
Every thing looks within normal ranges.

0 ammonia
0.3 mg/l.(or less) NO-2
7.2 ph
(the water IS very hard, 250 GH ppm, which I'm told they like, and is the same as it's always been)


I've been doing all the same things I've always done, and everything has been consistent, until this week. The fish are now spending almost all of their time in their hiding place together. Occasionally one of them will dart out and dash about for a moment, and then go back to the hideout.
They both came out this morning looking anxious to eat, and did eat, and then went back to hide.
In the past, they have ALWAYS been wanting to be fed every time they saw me walk near their tank. Now they just stay hidden, except first thing in the morning (and they're not eating as much when they DO eat).

There also seems to be a very thin white residue on the outside of the filter, some of the plant leaves, and scattered throughout the gravel. It scrapes off with a fingernail, but doesn't just wipe off to the touch.

The only thing I've done differently, is, last Sunday, to have stirred up the gravel a lot, to clean it more thoroughly.
Also, the room temperature MIGHT be slightly lower than it was a few weeks ago, but not by much, if at all.

(I've heard suggestions that they might be reacting to a cooler environment, or might be spawning)

I hope you can tell me what's going on.

Thank you,
diane

Answer
Hi Diane;

I think they are stressed so they are hiding out. There are a few things that are probably contributing to it;

The first and most important is that the tank is far too small for goldfish. Goldfish are very messy fish even while small and they get very large, over 6 inches long. Each one of your fish needs at least ten gallons. A 20 gallon tank would suffice for a few months but you would have to graduate them to a 30 or larger for them to live up to their true potential. They also need better filtration. Internal filters such as Elite Mini aren't nearly enough filtration for them. They need a hang-on-the-back filter or a canister that connects with hoses.

Another problem I see is the addition of so many different products to your water. They are causing fluctuations in the water chemistry and stressing the fish, as well as stressing the beneficial bacteria colonies.

You only need to add one thing; A basic water conditioner. NovAqua is fine and that's all you need to add. Here's why;

The "pH up" is causing fluctuations in pH. PH should be allowed to remain stable within a range of 6.0 to 8.0. Whatever pH your tank water tends to be within that range, it should remain stable at that reading. Your fish are already accustomed to the pH and hardness that the water tends to be. Every time an altering additive is put in there, it can change for a few minutes or a few hours, but then bounce back to where it was before. That is much too fast so it's just better to leave it alone.

Products such as "aquatic environment bacteria" and "eco start" are, in my opinion, useless and a waste of money. I have experimented with them myself even  before I heard the opinions of other experts on this subject.Your tank is already established with colonies of bacteria anyway so you don't need anything like that. The type of bacteria that balances your tank cannot live in a closed container on a shelf. If it is preserved alive, as it must be to be useful, it will be refrigerated. The only one I know that works for sure is called "Bio-Spira". It is hard to find and a bit costly, but it is a refrigerated container of true live nitrifying bacteria colonies. But, again, you don't need it. It's for new or re-started tanks.

You might also want to get a different testing kit. The strips are not very accurate. The little surfaces with chemicals attached to them are too easily affected by environmental factors. You are better off with a kit that uses liquid drops. You will get more accurate results. You may find that toxins are elevated right now. That could be a reason for hiding. They just don't feel good right now.

Doing a serious cleaning can cause some of the beneficial bacteria to die and cause toxins to rise as a result. That may be going on too.

To maybe help them feel better for now until you can get more tests done, make a partial water change of 25% every day for a few days. Use only the NovAqua and make sure the new water is the same temperature as the old water.

I hope they feel better very soon. Hopefully you can get them into a bigger tank soon too...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins