T
tezza
Guest
Following my last question, we went to the pet shop and bought three shubunkin goldfish. One the day, it was raining heavily and I put a bucket with a plant in it inside so that the fish could have a more gradual temperature change (they were in heated tanks at the aquarium.)
The water had sat for almost 48 hours and the shop assistan said no dechlorinators or chemicals were needed. I am aware of chloramines, and this could be one cause of the problem(s).
I was worried of the pond overflowing, but I figured that as soon as the pond got to the top, it wasn't like it was going to come gushing out all at once. The next day, my fish was gone (one of three) and my sister's fish was swimming funnily. We assumed they'd been attacked, and we got chicken wire to go over the top.
Dad then found the fish beside the pond, and we assumed it had jumped out when the water level was high, and Mum bought another fish.
This new fish did not seem as great as the other. My other fish was a clever fish, the only fish of the three that new that the top of the bag was where to get out, and this one seemed a bit dumber.
So today, Mum thought my fish was dead because it was staying still in the plants and she moved the water a bit. It then moved, but quickly returned to its original state, and later, it didn't respond to Mum touching the pond.
My sister came along later (after Mum told her my fish was dead) and found it was swimming, just slowly. When I got home, My fish was staying relatively still, with the occasional movement.
Now I was wondering if this sounds familiar to anybody. The water is dark and it is hard to tell you the appearance of the fish, but my traditional orange shubunkin is swimming slowly or not at all, my sister's mostly white, but slightly gold one seems to be swimming fine, with the occasional jerk of its head and a quick movement behind it self (like it is chasing its tail for a split second).
The final fish is my brother's. It is a dark one with spots of colour that seems to be the best of them all. It is eating and swimming fine and doesn't seem to mind the others, but it could be acting aggresively, as unlikely as it seems.
Some of the contributing factors to these (the ones I could think of) may be:
Poor water quality (I haven't tested it)
Algae
Chemicals from the chicken wire
The dirt in the water (the plants are in pots that have soil)
Added salt (the assistant told us to place 1 teaspoon for every 10 litres (~2.5gal) to assist with the white fish
Overcrowding (3 shubunkins in a 13gal pond
Ammonia poisoning (no filtration)
Bad plants (they look fine, but you never know...)
I know this is long, sorry, it's a habit, but I'm hoping someone can help.
Thanks in advance
Tezza
All the fish look fine. At the moment my gold one is swimming OK. It seems to be going slower than the others though. The white fish was hiding under a lily pad for some time, but soon came out. I just removed a stick that was in there. Obviously wasn't doing that great for the fish. I think my sister may have put it in there when playing with the fish (she is only 6) or Mum when checking if my fish was alive.
The water had sat for almost 48 hours and the shop assistan said no dechlorinators or chemicals were needed. I am aware of chloramines, and this could be one cause of the problem(s).
I was worried of the pond overflowing, but I figured that as soon as the pond got to the top, it wasn't like it was going to come gushing out all at once. The next day, my fish was gone (one of three) and my sister's fish was swimming funnily. We assumed they'd been attacked, and we got chicken wire to go over the top.
Dad then found the fish beside the pond, and we assumed it had jumped out when the water level was high, and Mum bought another fish.
This new fish did not seem as great as the other. My other fish was a clever fish, the only fish of the three that new that the top of the bag was where to get out, and this one seemed a bit dumber.
So today, Mum thought my fish was dead because it was staying still in the plants and she moved the water a bit. It then moved, but quickly returned to its original state, and later, it didn't respond to Mum touching the pond.
My sister came along later (after Mum told her my fish was dead) and found it was swimming, just slowly. When I got home, My fish was staying relatively still, with the occasional movement.
Now I was wondering if this sounds familiar to anybody. The water is dark and it is hard to tell you the appearance of the fish, but my traditional orange shubunkin is swimming slowly or not at all, my sister's mostly white, but slightly gold one seems to be swimming fine, with the occasional jerk of its head and a quick movement behind it self (like it is chasing its tail for a split second).
The final fish is my brother's. It is a dark one with spots of colour that seems to be the best of them all. It is eating and swimming fine and doesn't seem to mind the others, but it could be acting aggresively, as unlikely as it seems.
Some of the contributing factors to these (the ones I could think of) may be:
Poor water quality (I haven't tested it)
Algae
Chemicals from the chicken wire
The dirt in the water (the plants are in pots that have soil)
Added salt (the assistant told us to place 1 teaspoon for every 10 litres (~2.5gal) to assist with the white fish
Overcrowding (3 shubunkins in a 13gal pond
Ammonia poisoning (no filtration)
Bad plants (they look fine, but you never know...)
I know this is long, sorry, it's a habit, but I'm hoping someone can help.
Thanks in advance
Tezza
All the fish look fine. At the moment my gold one is swimming OK. It seems to be going slower than the others though. The white fish was hiding under a lily pad for some time, but soon came out. I just removed a stick that was in there. Obviously wasn't doing that great for the fish. I think my sister may have put it in there when playing with the fish (she is only 6) or Mum when checking if my fish was alive.