My brand new goldfish is gasping for air
Today I went to the pet shop and got a goldfish. My tank is 20litres and the goldfish is pretty small. When I first got the fish it was gasping and eating the bubbles in the bag I thought this was normal. At home I let it acclimate and everything then I put it in the tank.
It is swimming fine and not rapidly breathing but it goes to my air stone and filter and eats the bubbles. I don’t know why this is happening because I have enough oxygen in there and I know that.
I have and air stone and filter. I think it might be because one of the suction cups that was holding up the filter got loose and the goldfish keeps on eating the stuff on that so maybe it needs more air to supplement the food it’s eating or something like that I have no idea.
Is it maybe just because it is stressed and hasn’t got used to the place. Please help I don’t want him to die. He doesn’t go up to the surface to often though like maybe a few times every minute. Please help though
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If your fish is gasping for air something is clearly wrong,It can be ammonia(this is a waste product from your fish urine and decomposing food-plant matter)
Ammonia will be broken down by bactera and create nitrite,this and ammonia is toxic to fish and other life in your tank.
You can read more about this here www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
The end product of ammonia and nitrite is nitrate(plant food)This is not toxic unless the consentration gets high,To keep the nitrate down you need to change some water every week.
When your fish gets ill the first thing to do is to stop feeding to get the bioload down,you need to take water tests to find the cause of the problem it is often ammonia or nitrite poisoning that is the root cause for fish getting ill.
Poor maintenance of a tank will often make problems for your fish,You need to vacum the gravel about twice a month change about 20% of the water each week and clean the filter when you can see the flow is reduced(use water from your tank when you rinse the filter material)Do not clean more than half of the filter material each time you do this.
A tank of only 20Liters is too small for goldfish(and most other fish)You will need a tank of 60Liters or larger for one single goldfish.
thegoldfishtank.com/goldfish-care/tank/do-goldfish-need-a-big-tank/
Gasping for air can mean a few things. First you want to check all parameters. You already checked Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. Check PH, Hardness and Temperature. Gasping usually means the metabolism is in over drive (too hot, stressed) or there is an issue with the gills (not enough o2, irritation, infection, poor water quality). Eating bubbles is just a weird behavior in some fish and not recommended, try to prevent it and make sure you fish has plenty to eat but no left overs. Eating air bubbles can interfere with the swim bladder and force the fish to the surface.
Prevent your fish from getting stressed out, so don’t make water changes too fast. Rule out water quality as an issue. Next look for any irritation, infection or parasite on the gills. They could be swollen and red, tiny white dots, white Cotten appearance, black tiny dots.
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