Hi everyone. This is my first post. I really like this website. It's by far the best resource I've found. I'm taking care of my first goldfish, which I got just 3 weeks ago. He's a little fish in a big tank right now (about 2 inches long, in a 10g tank) and he seems pretty happy. The only thing that worries me is that he seems to prefer sleeping at the top of the tank, right below the waterline. Everything I've read seems to suggest that fish should be sleeping on the bottom. Is this a sign that he has swim bladder disease or something else? If I tap the tank, he swims over quickly, and he seems completely healthy otherwise, although I'm obviously no expert. Anyway, any help anyone can offer would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Hi cmorten and a big

Have you got some water parameters you can post?

Hmmmm - My fish tend to sleep just below the waterline (about an inch) and my parameters are perfect, my ph is stable and there's plenty of aeration. So I think my fish just prefer it - the area they select is free from the filter current.

So perhaps some more information from you will tell us whether it may just be a preference or if there's perhaps a lack of air? A problem with your PH? Or you have some ammonia or nitrites present - it'd be great to be able to rule these out as a possible cause.

Please post back soon

And a big welcome from me too!

Does your fish have any problem swimming normally? What do you feed him?

You tank is cycling so that might be a factor too.

Thanks Jen. Unfortunately I don't have any test kits, so I can't tell you any numbers. I know I should have them, but I balked at the price at the pet store and was hoping I could get away without them at first. I know, I know. I'll try to pick some up this evening after work. I work in a chem lab, so getting some pH paper at least will be no problem.

The reason I thought I could cheat was that I have such a young fish in a 10 gallon tank. I hoped that ammonia and nitrite concentrations wouldn't get too high because there's so much water to dilute them. I've been doing 25% water changes every other day since I got him, and adding pouches of Cycle, which the pet store guy told me would help my tank cycle quicker, with every fourth water change. So basically I thought my tank would be ok during its cycle without me monitoring levels so closely. It looks like I might be wrong though...

Also, I have a Whisper Power Filter 10 hooked up, which I hoped would provide enough oxygen. I feed him flakes, which I haven't been soaking but which I will now.

The spot on the surface where he sleeps does seem to be the quietest and least affected by the filter current. and he always sleeps in that exact same spot now, although before a few days ago he had a favorite spot on the bottom.

One last thing... As he swims around now he definitely spends most of his time (like 90%) in the top half of the tank and on the side where I sit, but when I tap the bottom he swims down quickly and seems to stay there with no problem. Is it possible that he sees me sitting around at my desk and is just waiting at the top for a feeding?

Thanks again. Sorry for all the rambling.

and captk too! I'm not sure I know what normal looks like yet, but he mostly just swims lazy circles around the tank. Sometimes he'll sit at the bottom and poke around the gravel, but mostly he just does laps near the top. The things that worry me are how much time he spends near the top and also how fast he pops up to the surface when he's deep down. He looks like an elevator popping up sometimes. On the other hand, he can spend three minutes down in the gravel without coming up, so maybe the elevator action is voluntary. I wish I knew a little more about what normal was for goldfish. Too bad my family only ever had dogs.
Also, the food he gets is Wardley Total Goldfish Gourmet Flake Blend. It apparently "Outperforms the Leading Brand," but it's just what they gave out with the fish, and is probably not the best.
Thanks again. You folks are great!

What you said is correct. A fish uses its swimbladder to achive neutral buoyancy. It is hard work changing altitude all the time by muscle power. If there is a net positive buoyancy, it will float upwards if it stops swimming. As you said, a bit like an elevator. It doesn't have to be a lot and it doesn't seemed to be the case as he can still swim down and stay down if he wants to.

Have you seen any of his poop? Can you describe them? You might need to add peas to his diet. Just normal freezen peas will do. Defrost and cook in some water either on a stove or in the microwave. Shell and mash a little with a fork. Probably twice a week will do. That will give it some roughage and might clear his guts out a bit and fix the problem. But as Jen said, water quality issues can also affects his buoyancy as well so getting a test kit and using it would be a wise move.

Hey and welcome to Koko's! These guys have been an amazing help to me too.

My little nugget of advice is this - try getting an air stone, if he is looking for more oxygen, this helps a lot. My goldie was really sluggish until I added the air stone - now he zips around and has a ball tyring to swim against the air bubbles.

Thanks everybody. I'll definitely try the peas, and I'll pick up an airstone and some test kits (once my next paycheck comes in, at least...). I haven't seen his poop because I have these big gray/brown pebbles at the bottom, and I think everything just settles down in there and disappears. I'll try to watch next time he eats. Sorry if that sounds slightly gross. Thanks again for all the help. I think Whiskers is going to be fine. I hope I don't sound like a crazy new mom who'd drag her baby to the hospital the first time it gets a runny nose...