Lethargic Goldfish

[fish4fish]

I have recently bought 2, a calico oranda and a black/red(what does that mean, there are no red on him) oranda.

My slightly larger(1 1/2 inch) calico oranda is doing fine and is always swimming around looking for stuff.
But my BR oranda seems lethargic. He stays in the corner and just sits there most of the time. When the Calico comes by and touch him he would move around for like a minute and then settle down again. He does eat but very very little. oh and he has gotten stuck in my filters 2 times so there are some missing scales on him. I covered the pumps intake with a thin piece of filter fiber so even if he does get sucked in the wont get hurt.

So the question is, is he sick or is he just shock or what.??

Tank is undergoin cycle right now and i'm doing 20% water changes every 3 days (30 gallon) Temperature is constantly 72degreesF. Used Gravel..and one filter with used filter sponge (40gallon pump and a 20 gallon pump).

Help, please, and thank you.

[emc7]

Any fish that lets itself get stuck to the filter intake is in bad shape. I suggest putting it in a quarantine/hospital tank with a sponge filter.

[fish4fish]

u mean it mightve tried to get sucked into the filter? like suicide?

[Obsidian]

No, a fish will instinctually swim away from that particular current. If a fish does not swim away from it, or cannot swim away from it, then the chances are that this fish is very weak (unless it is a fry of course). If a fish is that weak it is in a bad way and probably should be quarantined for the safety of the other fishes. Of course "lethargy" and "weakness" are common in numerous illnesses makin git difficult to determine what is the problem.

I lost 3 fish that were weak. From the time they were caught on the intake for the filter I lost one overnight, one 3 days later and one a week later. The final fish was moved to quarantine and fed antiparasite food, to no avail.

If you have no quarantine option you can put a sponge over the filter intake, that will soften the flow even more, though the filter floss is probably already doing that.

As long as the room temperature in your house is not too low you can also put him into a tupperware/rubbermaid container appropriate for his size. You can then either clean/change the water daily, or buy or use an extra filter you have around. You can put a heater in with them as well, if it has suction cups. Since it is a Goldfish the heater is not really all that necessary unless your house is regularly going below say 65. It is a cheap option for a quarantine tank

Hope that helps some.

[fish4fish]

gawd he was such a beautiful (in the most manly way possible) fish. I just checked the post, turned around and found him scaless (without scales) on the filter intake.
gawwwwdd Death 3:53 pm

Very informative and thank you guys.

ok now im thinking about removing one of the pumps (40 gallon pump and 20 gallon pump [30 gallon tank])
YES or no?

[Clerk]

Go to the fish store/Box store whichever you wish, Go buy a sponge. Either an aquaclear or TETRAfauna makes a great one for turtles (Petsmart has these). Slip it over the filter intake, it will reduce the flow slightly, but not detrimentally. It will protect your fish, and act as a pre-filter. Merely rinse in tank water during a water change to clean.

[emc7]

Healthy fish won't get sucked up even if the flow is too strong, so you can't judge by this. Most likely this fish was dying when you got it or else an ammonia spike did it in. As long as there is a low flow area in the tank, extra filtration is fine and recommended in the case of goldfish.