fantail goldfish odd behavior

Question
Chris,

Thanks for your response...I am so disappointed that the fish guys at Petland didn't tell us our tank was too small!  I should have done more research...Thank you so much for your speedy response.  We will look for a bigger tank asap!

Wendy :)
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Followup To

Question -
We just bought two fantail goldfish for our son and daughter.  They seemed vibrant and healthy at the Petland where we purchased them, but seem to be acting strange since they've been in our tank.  We have a 5 gallon tank with Bio-wheel filtration which we were told as long as we did regular water changes should be fine for two small fish.  The fish are about 2 inches from nose to tail.  We had our tank set up and running for about two days before adding the fish.  We aclimated them as directed.  They seem to mostly want to stay near the bottom in the corners and one is always on the other's tail.  Occasionaly we've noticed them shaking almost like a tremor.  Today we also noticed that they both are slightly tilting to one side when swimming straight across the tank.  We took a water sample to Petland yesterday and the water was fine...didn't get the details of pH, ammonia or nitrite levels, but they said it was good water quality and right where it should be for them.  I'm changing 25% of water every other day and cleaning the gravel since we've only had them now about 3 days.  We are feeding them twice a day with TetraFin goldfish crisps.  Our water temp is running about 74 degrees...we've removed cover with the light since it was raising the water temp.  Could constipation cause this type of behavior?  I may try feeding the peeled peas and see what happens.  Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated!  Thank you :)

Answer -
Hi Wendy;

Poor guys. The tank is just too small for goldfish. They get big (6 to 8 inches) and are just naturally messy. It's too soon to have more than one single 1/2 inch fish to to the tank I'm afraid. The tank is still in the break-in period and it can be deadly with more fish than just one inch for every ten gallons. The beneficial bacteria is not mature enough yet to handle their waste. It will build up to very high levels before the bacteria develops enough to handle that much. Take a water sample to the store again, but have them write down the actual readings. You need a reference point with actual numbers. You will find ammonia to be at  high levels at this point. It will continue to rise and in a week or two you will see deadly levels of nitrite too. You can make 25% daily water changes but these guys need a 20 gallon tank if they are to survive long-term. A ten gallon would be okay for a few months but eventually they need a bigger one. Here are some site links to check out about the break-in period (on my own web page) and another about the needs of goldfish;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help
http://www.firsttankguide.net/goldfish.php

Let me know if you need more help.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Answer
Hi Wendy;

I'm so glad I could help! This kind of thing happens far too often I'm afraid. The people working in many of those chain stores have no genuine hands-on experience with what they are selling and recommending. I had a girl working for me that worked in one of those chain stores. They give the new employee about 6 hours of training and they become a "specialist". I had to retrain her with information that wasn't based on making a sale regardless of the outcome for the fish. Their "training" gives them a false sense of authority in their designated department. It just isn't realistic. It happens in owner-operated individual stores too, just much less frequently. It's all about making a buck. It isn't so bad if they're selling cars or furniture but we're talking about little lives here. It's really sad. Worse are the department stores that have a pet section. The guy catching your fish and dropping them on the floor today was the shoe "expert" yesterday. Yikes!

I hope you can find a good deal on a bigger tank. Shop around and be sure it comes with a good power filter that hangs on the back of the tank, or a canister that sits below with a hose to attach it to the tank. Goldfish can't be in tanks with undergravel systems. Those guys are just too messy for a UG to handle. Also, don't waste money buying a heater. Goldfish don't need it. They are cold water fish and can't live with tropicals.

And most of all.....have fun! ;-)

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins