ill fantail goldfish

Question
hi,
I have two fantail goldfish and they are over a year old they both live in a large bi orb and have always seemed very happy. About a month ago, the larger fish started to spend a lot of the time at the top of the biorb just resting. I changed the water and he seemed to go back to his usual self. A couple of days ago he began swimming on his side. I do not know much about fish i am afraid as they have never beeen any difficulty. They keep me company at uni and I dont want to lose them. This morning I took the poorly 1 out of the biorb and into a fish bowl with some salt water. He seems to be swimming a little better but the other fish seems distressed that his friend is not there so I moved him as well into the bowl and am currently cleaning out the biorb. They both seem happier in the bowl without the filter.
To make matters worse I am going to america on fri for 5 days and have nobody to look after them. What should I do? Will they be ok with some of the holiday sticks? or will they just feed off the plants?
Thank you Beth

Answer
Hello,

First off, about your holiday. If you are worried about your goldfish's health its best to have someone look after them. But if that is completely impossible then yes, you should just leave them with a feeder stick.

Swimming on his side and at the surface could be several things. Its not enough info for me to diagnose an illness, but I will try and diagnose the cause. It could be a water quality problem. Go through your basics. Check temperature. Whether or not you have a heater is irrelevant, you should have a thermometer. If there is fluctuations in temperature it can harm your fish. If there is fluctuations and you don't have a heater, move the bowl into a room with a more steady temperature, so one not near a cold/warm window or cold/warm door.

Also check that the gravel or bottom covering is clean. Check that the goldfish don't have any other signs of disease. And as a final check, have your water tested (or buy a test kit) to check nitrite. Maybe your biord just needed a good cleaning. Make sure you don't change all parts of the filter at once so that some bacteria will remain when you reestablish your biorb.

I hope this helps, and please feel free to get back to me with any follow-up questions.

From Stephanie