Help!! The goldfish is swimming belly up!

[cynsaun]

My girls have a fish tank, and the new fish we bought last night is "sleeping" upside down! The girls are crying like we have had the fish for 10 years!

What did I do wrong?

 

[Aurora63]

Was it a goldfish?

I have heard that goldfish are always excreting a lot of "junk," and if the tank doesn't have a filter, they will die pretty quickly.

Sorry your girls are taking it so hard. Maybe a trip to WDW will cheer them up!

 

[Jimbo]

I'm sure the fish is OK. He's probably just pretending to be dead so that you'll flush him. All drains lead to the ocean, you know. Of course, everything I know about fish I learned from watching Finding Nemo.

 

[cynsaun]

Yes, it was a goldfish named, yup, Nemo!

Hmmm, funny they didn't tell me about that at the pet store!

I had two goldfish when I was a little girl that lived forever...until the little one committed fishicide that is!

Thanks Jimbo, maybe he has found his dad again...oh wait, we have a septic system!

Thanks! The girls will be ok. It's probably not helping that they are watching "Finding Nemo" now, is it?

 

[minniepumpernickel]

Do you have a tank thermometer? the temp should be in the safe zone. Did you use a solution to dechlorinate the water? Chlorine will kill them. You also need to float the bag in the water for about 15 min to acclimate the fish before you let it out!

Good luck next time!

 

[cynsaun]

Yes, we did all of the above! Followed the instructions to a T!

The girls are just beside themselves! I don't want to run out and buy another before I figure out the problem!

Thanks Minniepumpernickel!

 

[minniepumpernickel]

I feel so bad for you guys!

Did the dead fish have any white fluffy stuff kind of growing on it? If so, it's a fish disease called ick, and it will kill your fish. You will have to change all of the water if this is the case. It may not be anything that serious, maybe you just got a dud!

I love your fish clipart!

 

[luvmk]

We also have a fish named Nemo. He has a brother and sister named Mickey and Minnie. Is the Ph level in your tank ok? I know we had trouble in the beginning getting the Ph level to balance out. It could also just be a freak thing that you won't be able to figure out.

We also had a fish die, but we had to bury it in the back yard with a funeral service. It was all my dh could do to keep from laughing when our ds8 asked for everyone to say something nice about Goofy the fish.

Good luck and I hope your girls are feeling better.


Rachel

 

[cynsaun]

Thanks guys!

No, the fish didn't have ick on it. I think the PH was fine in the tank, but I'm a bit green in the gills!

The girls will be ok. We will try again tomorrow with a new fish. Nemo2...yes, they've already named it!

 

[smilingmouse]

to you and your family; it's always hard to lose a pet

I have to ask.....how does a fish commit "fishcide?!"

Best of luck.....

SmilingMouse

Originally posted by cynsaun
Yes, it was a goldfish named, yup, Nemo!

Hmmm, funny they didn't tell me about that at the pet store!

I had two goldfish when I was a little girl that lived forever...until the little one committed fishicide that is!

Thanks Jimbo, maybe he has found his dad again...oh wait, we have a septic system!

Thanks! The girls will be ok. It's probably not helping that they are watching "Finding Nemo" now, is it?

::

 

[cynsaun]

Thanks smilingmouse.

Sadly my goldfish, Flipper, jumped out of the bowl! I thought the big one had eaten him. It wasn't until a few days later that we noticed him behind the table!

 

[Jolie C]

Blame Kild, Cyn.

 

[onecoolmama]

That would be really hard to lose a pet. Too bad you can just sneak out and grab another one..as if nothing happened!

 

[cynsaun]

I do, Jolie! It's all his fault! Maybe he got too close to the tank with the bug zapping machine!

But, seriously, the girls are heartbroken! Poor, poor Nemo!

 

[Jolie C]

That's sad! Hope they feel better soon!

(And now I'm putting two and two together when Kild said not to eat the "catfish".... )

 

[dvcfamily41801]

We had a problem a few months ago. Last summer as a reward for staying in his bed at nighttime we bought our 4 year old a fishtank for his room and 3 fish. They were not goldfish, but just regular community fish. We got the pump, ornaments, fake plants, gravel, heater the whole nine yards. We had luck until one of the times we changed the tank, 1 of the fish jumped out and died. It was horrible, Matt was so sad. He is burried outback in the yard. We replaced Silver with Tiger and Pumpkin and then had 4 in the tank. A few days later, Mickey met his demise Matt was just heartbroken again, and now we have Spot, Tiger and Pumpkin and things seem to be going okay. We just have the worst time keeping the tank clean. My DH is always cleaning out the filter, adding these drops and the stuff inside still turns green.

I can't offer any advice as to what happened, I know our fishtank had to run for a few days before we could put the fish in it for the first time.

Hope the children are okay, it is heartbreaking for them

 

[littlegreydonkey]

poor nemo - I hope nemo2 fairs better - my boyfriend was devasted when fluffy died (this thing was 9, it was time to go for a goldfish).. but now we have sonny who actually does sleep belly up sometimes and frightens the life out of me regularly. But enough, I may be able to answer the green growth question. Is the tank in sunlight, if it is it'll go green really fast so you may need to move it.

 

[wishuponastarforever]

to your children. It's sweet that they are so sensitive and loving.

For you and DH may I suggest Fish Fry with a crisp garden salad and crisp Pinot Griggio???

 

[monkeyboy]

Cyndee I just saw this

I hope the littles ones (kids not fish) are ok

Call me if you need anything

 

[always quiet]

I learned the hard way, goldfish do NOT live in goldfish bowls. Last summer, my DD bought herself a Black Moor (named Hershey) and asked the salesgirl what size bowl he would need. This girl handed her the bowl, so we were all set to go. The next morning, the water was all cloudy and Hershey was gasping at the top of the tank for air! We cleaned the tank out again...........same scenerio the next morning. We head back to the pet store and question someone else. Turns out, the size bowl the girl gave her was too small for this fish. Instead of getting another bowl, we got a 2 gal tank with an aerator....and get a second fish, a Calico Telescope by the name of Nemo! The fish are doing great...........and getting huge!! The same DD decided she wanted a fish in HER room again (she says her dad 'stole' her fish, Hershey! ) so we go back to the pet store, she gets a bowl twice the size of the one from last summer and one Bubble Eye fish she named Airbag. Next morning, Airbag is doing the permanent backstroke!! DD is crushed!! Back to the pet store, fish in hand (Petsmart guarantees their fish for 2 weeks). Different sales person tells me no goldfish will do well in a tank, they are too messy a fish. Goldfish is exchanged for Beta and everyone is living happily ever after!

Hugs to your kids..............consider getting a beta............they seem to do well in these misnamed "Goldfish" bowls!