Since my Calico Fantail has been back to exhibiting some of those same swim bladder symtoms, I want to explore a different issue now that my Red Cap Oranda and all-orange Fantail have been exhibiting...

What originally began with my questioning whether fish "sleep" or not, and if the signs my fantails have been exhibiting constitute sleeping behaviors, has morphed into me thinking that there may be a more serious problem going on in my tank -- I have taken notice to the fact that now the Red Cap Oranda, all-orange Fantail and chocolate/gold Fantail have all begun "resting" a whole lot in the aquarium, to the point that they can indeed be labeled as "lethargic." The Oranda and orange Fantail seem to hover and float just above the surface of the gravel, in the rear of the tank, one of them facing outwards towards us from behind a plant, the other always facing backwards towards the rear wall of the tank, near the bubble wand...the gold and chocolate Fantail always hovers up in the left back corner of the tank, near the Aqueon filter intake stalk, and can stay like that, still, for a good amount of time...

They all do not stay like this indefinitely, or for hours -- they come out from behind the plants and the bottom of the tank (and the chocolate/gold Fantail from his upper left corner) and swim around for a good amount of time, checking for food on top and such, but they end up swimming back to their "hiding spots" and sit like that for quite awhile. There does not appear to be any kind of breathing/respiration issue with any of them, nor is there any other kind of "off" behavior -- they continue to eat and show enthusiasm when the flakes and peas are dropped in, but it's this regular and constant lethargic behavior I am concerned with.

This happens mostly in the evening, when we turn the tank lights on and settle in to watch them a bit; they swim around, but eventually sink down to their spots and just float there, coming out to swim more but just for a few moments and then they're back at the bottom (and in the case of one of them, in the upper left corner) behind the plants, just kind of "resting" there. As I said, there's no visible issue or damage to their scales, no growths or bumps, no breathing problems, no gasping at the surface and no loss of appetite -- is this something to be concerned with? Is it normal for the goldfish to want to rest or "sleep" like this all the time? Is it connected to some kind of "bloating" issue like my Calico Fantail was/is experiencing?

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FUJIMOTO 60-GALLON RECTANGULAR - BLACK OAK STAND & FULL CANOPY - AQUEON GLASS VERSA-TOP (24"X1) & FLUORESCENT LIGHT STRIP - MARINELAND PERFECTO GLASS CANOPY (24"X1)
AQUEON QUIETFLOW 55 325GPH (1) - HAGEN AQUACLEAR A-620/110 500GPH (1)
RENA AIR 400 (1) - TETRA WHISPER 60 AIR PUMP (1) - PETCO BUBBLE BARS (18"X2)
RED CAP ORANDA (1) - CHOCOLATE/GOLD FANTAIL (1) - CALICO RYUKIN (1) - NEW! - ]RED/ORANGE RYUKIN (1) - NEW!

Can you test and post what your readings are for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? When was the last time you did a water change and how much did you change?

Hi JR and thanks, as always...

I did a water change about a week ago, the second in a row since my Calico started showing the "bloating" symtoms -- each change was about 15 or 20 percent. I haven't done a test of the parameters since before that first change, but the readings weren't terrible from what I can recall -- not perfect, but not terrible...as you know, I never have absolute zero on ammonia for some odd reason...

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FUJIMOTO 60-GALLON RECTANGULAR - BLACK OAK STAND & FULL CANOPY - AQUEON GLASS VERSA-TOP (24"X1) & FLUORESCENT LIGHT STRIP - MARINELAND PERFECTO GLASS CANOPY (24"X1)
AQUEON QUIETFLOW 55 325GPH (1) - HAGEN AQUACLEAR A-620/110 500GPH (1)
RENA AIR 400 (1) - TETRA WHISPER 60 AIR PUMP (1) - PETCO BUBBLE BARS (18"X2)
RED CAP ORANDA (1) - CHOCOLATE/GOLD FANTAIL (1) - CALICO RYUKIN (1) - NEW! - ]RED/ORANGE RYUKIN (1) - NEW!

One of the most important things that can be done for any fish is to make sure that their water conditions are good. Water changes are very good and weekly water changes is what I would suggest while raising these beautiful fish in aquariums.
When we had our Orandas indoors, they were constantly on the move, always looking for something to eat. At that time we also did weekly water changes but we also had very good filtration. On a couple of the tanks we had that were housing our breeders which were under our foyer, we used 25 gallon rubbermaid containers as bio-filters and our water was always perfect and our fish did well and grew properly.
On some of the smaller aquariums 55 gallons to 100 gallons, if we were not able to use larger filters I would get the largest outside filter we could find and use that as a bio-filter by remove the foam and charcoal and using scrubbies as bio-media for the good bacteria to grow on. We had the foam in there only as a mechanical filter to trap any debris that would have ended up on the scrubbies. That way we were able to house good size colonies of good bacteria to remove ammonia and nitrites from the water and of course, water changes from the bottom of the tank were done to remove nitrates.

Here are a few questions for you.

What size tank are your fish in?
How many fish are in the tank and their approximate size?
What type of filtration do you use?
How often do you have to clean your filter?

Every once in a while, feed your Orandas or any round bodied Fancy Goldfish some thawed peas for fibre to keep the digestive tract moving so that your fish don't get constipated which can also lead to bloating. Great topic. ;) LOL LOL


Your's Koily, Lorraine

Hello, Lorraine, and thank you for your detailed explanation and input. Just about everything you asked me in the below questions can be answered through my signature that's attached to every one of my posts, but I will answer them individually below anyway...

A 60-gallon rectangular (long), as per my signature.

Four fantail goldfish, approximately small-to-kind of medium sized, as per my signature (the number of fish).

Two HOBs are running on the back of this aquarium -- an Aqueon QuietFlow 55 and an AquaClear 110 (as per my signature as well), both good for over 800 gallons of water per hour turned based on factory specs, if my math is correct. I thought -- and was told -- that this is sufficient filtration for a 60 gallon tank given my bioload and stocking of four goldfish...

This is tricky -- I have been replacing the carbon cartridges in my Aqueon routinely (with new ones) and added a 100ml bag of Purigen to the filter, and the AquaClear has been maintained via rinsing the original sponge block every now and then, as well as the original ceramic bio-rings, plus I have added two (2) 100ml bags of Purigen to that filter as well (for a total of 300ml of Purigen in these filters -- for reference, Seachem recommends one of these bags to treat 100 gallons of water, and I only have a 60). The Purigen replaced the carbon pouch that came with the AquaClear after the carbon was exhausted.

Indeed, we have been now feeding them (we actually just have one Red Cap Oranda and the other three are a variety of a Calico Fantail, all-orange fantail and chocolate/gold fantail) peas on a routine basis (about once a week or so).

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FUJIMOTO 60-GALLON RECTANGULAR - BLACK OAK STAND & FULL CANOPY - AQUEON GLASS VERSA-TOP (24"X1) & FLUORESCENT LIGHT STRIP - MARINELAND PERFECTO GLASS CANOPY (24"X1)
AQUEON QUIETFLOW 55 325GPH (1) - HAGEN AQUACLEAR A-620/110 500GPH (1)
RENA AIR 400 (1) - TETRA WHISPER 60 AIR PUMP (1) - PETCO BUBBLE BARS (18"X2)
RED CAP ORANDA (1) - CHOCOLATE/GOLD FANTAIL (1) - CALICO RYUKIN (1) - NEW! - ]RED/ORANGE RYUKIN (1) - NEW!

Hi Terra. It takes about four to six weeks to build up bacterial colonies in the bio-media you are using in your filters. So, if you have to clean them every few weeks, there isn't much filtration going on in your tank except on the sides of the tank and any ornaments or plants you may have in said tank. If you can grow a nice layer of green algae along the sides of the tank, that will also help to filter your water and provide food for your fish, although, many people don't like the algae on the sides of their tanks especially if they are display tanks.

Exercise is also important for round bodied Goldfish so a little current in the tank provides them with some exercise which also helps them with their digestive tract.

There is a good possibility that there is not enough biological filtration going on in the tank, even though the information provided suggests that there is especially when you are dealing with Koi and/or Goldfish.

In the pond hobby, as far as filtration is concerned, small so-called biological filters suggest that they can filter anywhere from 2 to 5,000 gallons and what they are saying is true but you have to be so careful as to how many fish are put into these ponds and how large they will become.

I have always loved the Aqua Clears because they can easily be turned into bio-filters which makes it so much easier to keep the fish we love alive and healthy.

Your's Koily, Lorraine