Based on what you described above I don't think your goldfish is laying eggs.
You can tell if a female goldfish is ready for spawning by:
1. Season: generally goldfish are ready to spawn in spring when the temperature become noticeably warmer. Orandas are usually later.
2. When the female fish has eggs the males may sense it and chase it
3. Female fish may swim around the male trying to get their attention
Furthermore, female goldfish will need to be chased by a male (or males) to lay eggs. The males will push her into a nest where she will lay the eggs. A nest is usually a bundle of plants, or an artificial nest such as a breeding mop.
Based on what you described above, the fish may be lethargic, sick, or foraging.
Please provide more information so we can look into this further. For example:
- how much water did you change?
- is there enough oxygen in the water?
- did you test the water condition for pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, water hardness, before and after the water change?
- did you use water conditioner/primer, where did you source the water
- what type of goldfish? some types of fish, especially fancy goldfish, are not as sturdy as the likes of comets, shubunkins, fantails etc
- how big is your fish, in comparison with the fish tank?
Hope this helps.
