I have two goldfish in a ten gallon tank. This morning I looked at them, and one was having eggs! I really have no clue what I'm doing. I don't know what sex they are, so this might sound silly, but can a female just lay eggs even without a male? I didn't see them being fertalized. I took the fish out after a couple of hours because they were eating the eggs. Should I take some of the water out of the tank? Should I leave the filter on? I don't know if this is a lost cause or not, but any information would be very helpful! Thank you so much!!!

Firstly u need to look at the eggs. If they're white & fuzzy looking, it means they're unfertilized. If they look clear with black dots on them, it means they're fertilized. I would leave them there and see how things turn out

Yes, quite often actually when conditions are right. Just like chicken eggs, they're unfertile and won't hatch.

So the question is, is the other fish a male? Does he have white dots/bumps on the leading edge of his front fins and on his gills covers? Was he chasing the female all over the place like a maniac just before she laid her eggs? If the answer to both questions is no, then you've probably got two females (or a juvenile male) and it's best to just let her eat up all the unfertilized eggs before they go bad to replenish her energy.

Thank you so much for the comments so far! The eggs are clear without black dots, but it is just the first day. The male (or atleast the one not having the eggs....guessing it's a male) was chasing the other around like crazy before she laid them. I guess I'll wait a few days and see what happens. If the eggs are actually fertile, then is an almost full 10 gallon tank okay? Thanks again!!

If they do hatch,you can't keep them in more than 6 inches of water.They wouldn't be able to reach the surface for food.You would also need a sponge filter so the frys won't get sucked up the filter. Good luck and keep us posted!

Where do u put the other 2 fish? It helps to separate the male & female to help the female to recuperate.

And as coyote_ugly said, make sure the water is no deeper than six inches for the frys.

Take out all the fuzzy white eggs as they're infertile and growing fungus.

I'm glad I found this! I have three males and one female ( ) in a 55 gallon, she is black moorish, and my male black moor chases the poor thing constantly! She had laid eggs a couple of times but as I have nowhere to put them, I just let them eat them. Most of the time they look fuzzy, and I'm glad to know that means they are unfertile. I would love to try to raise goldfish, but like I said, I don't have another tank. I thought about moving her, but now that I read she could lay eggs anyway, does anyone think I should worry about that? Good luck Angie with your fish!

Mariposa-I think she will be okay were she is now...as for raising fry, I think that a 5 or ten gallon tank would be okay raise them iin when you are ready for that

Well, it turns out the eggs were not fertalized, so I put my fish back in the tank. Thank you all for your comments and help!

~Angie