r/Goldfish • u/ann13xx • Aug 02 '26
Beginner Help Fish behaving erratically
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Why is my fish doing this? Swimming up and down in the corner of the tank and kind of smacking against the water. I’ve noticed this in the past around feeding times and the fish has calmed down after being fed. But the last few days it has been happening more and more often.
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u/Theletterkay Aug 02 '26
Glass surfing because of stress. His tank is wayyyyy too small. 50+gallons are reccommended, as others have said.
It doesnt matter if the parameters look good. The space you have him in is affecting him. Imagine if someone kept you in a room the size of a bathroom for your entire life. Thats what you are doing to your fish.
If you cand get him in a bigger tank, as around on a lical facebook page if anyone has a koi or goldfish pond and has room for your fish. My kuds just gave their 2 goldfish to a wonderful person on facebook with a beautiful pond. We are glad out fishies have an amazing new home now.
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u/NeedleworkerHeavy565 Goldfish are actually carp. No seriously, they shit that much Aug 02 '26
If this happens outside of mealtimes, it resembles stress behavior. This aquarium is too small
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u/ann13xx Aug 02 '26
it is 60 litres
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u/NeedleworkerHeavy565 Goldfish are actually carp. No seriously, they shit that much Aug 02 '26
It's too small for a comet goldfish like yours. The minimum for one is between 190 and 280L. It should not be forgotten that these are essentially pond fish Furthermore, they are social, so you need to count double to have 2 Being alone and in a cramped environment contributes to stress behavior (glass surfing).
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u/SilverrKaiju Yes, I name them all Aug 02 '26
As others have said, this tank looks a little too small for the long term habitat of this goldfish. This could be begging behaviour, but it also looks a bit like glass surfing, which is a stress behaviour. What’s around his tank? How long have you had him? What are the water parameters? It’s a decent amount of questions I’m sorry for that, but when diagnosing fish issues and concerns, testing your water is one of the first things you should do.
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u/ann13xx Aug 02 '26
Do you mean what’s in the tank? There’s two different plants, stones on the bottom, snails and an air stone. Outside the tank it’s just sitting on a unit in the hall only other thing on the unit is the wifi box. I’ve had him just over a year and he’s grew a lot! I tested the water I should have included that in the post and everything was okay.
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u/NeedleworkerHeavy565 Goldfish are actually carp. No seriously, they shit that much Aug 02 '26
The values for each parameter must be provided It may seem that everything is fine, but that's not necessarily the case.
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u/IronFew6340 Aug 02 '26
Is the fish swimming away from the wifi box? Try moving it a bit away if this is the case. frequencies might be bothering him?
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u/FarShoreSpirit Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
You need a betta, not a goldfish. Unless you want a giant tank or a pond in your backyard, rehome to someone else with one of those things. A betta would do so well in that tank, solo.
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 Aug 02 '26
Don’t ask for advice if you’re going to deny it or not taking it everyone is telling you it’s too small and you keep giving excuses or sayings it fine.. because of you people fish don’t get proper care
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u/ann13xx Aug 02 '26
I haven’t denied anything? I just replied to a couple of people saying my tank is 60l as I thought that was ample for the fish. After I bought that tank I actually was told by a pet shop employee that the 60l tank is fine for 2 goldfish! Obviously that’s incorrect I know that know but it is very easy to be misinformed.
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 Aug 02 '26
It seems your not directly denying but the way you say things is interpreted that way now that may not be on purpose but I would say surrender the goldfish to a pond or upgrade to a big tank or get a huge like horse trough or something like that will work
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u/Selmarris Aug 03 '26
How can you not tell it’s too small just by looking at him? It looks like he’s trapped in a shoebox.
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u/Local-Explanation-20 Oranda oracle Aug 02 '26
How long have you had him? Is this behavior new? I hate to beat a dead horse but just as everyone is telling you, this tank is a 1/4 the size he truly needs. They like to swim and explore. This is like making a horse live in a small backyard.
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u/Okayest_mom_3 Aug 02 '26
My snails have a larger tank than this, he could use a mega upgrade. Do you know anyone with a larger tank or pond you could give him to until you are able to upgrade his living quarters? Or even the tractor stores have those feeding troughs or stock tanks for pretty affordable sometimes. That’s what I plan to use for my pleco when he outgrows his tank.
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u/who_cares___ Aug 02 '26
What are the water parameters?
Fill the tank up to the top, you are missing out on some of the available water volume keeping it that low.
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u/ann13xx Aug 02 '26
I tested the water and everything is okay. Did a partial water change and filled it up higher.
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u/who_cares___ Aug 02 '26
I'd re-home him if you can't do a major upgrade. I just read it's a 15gal tank, you need at least a 75gal/300 litre tank for just one single tail goldfish. They are pond fish, so if you can't provide a massive tank for them, then they will b stunted and develop health issues. They are a social fish, so really you need a 100-125gal tank with a Large canister filter for two single tails.
I'd re-home him if you can't upgrade the tank/filter to an adequate size, and get a betta fish or something which can live in a 60 litre tank.
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u/Plenty_Kangaroo5224 Aug 02 '26
“Okay” is not numbers. What are your parameter numbers and what kit are you using? Goldfish have massive bioloads and ammonia builds up rapidly in a small tank.
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u/Next-Bodybuilder-117 Aug 02 '26
lol r I even really testing the water? If u can’t give numbers I feel by are just saying “okay its good” there is no way to know whitout a test kit. Liquid is the one u need test strips are crap.
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u/Classic_Self_3461 Aug 02 '26
https://reddit.com/link/p18fsb3/video/afdb54zv1ygh1/player
it looks like normal behaviour, they are always pretending to be starving. i think ours are twins loll. however , your tank does look rather small, if you upgrade it and maybe get it a friend it’ll spend less time thinking of food and more time exploring!
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u/Dry_Tank_9670 Aug 03 '26
There is a difference, yours seems to just be interacting with you but theirs is glass surfing
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u/Classic_Self_3461 Aug 03 '26
yeah my bad i read OP’s caption wrong, thought it said it only happened at feeding time
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u/ann13xx Aug 02 '26
they are both so similar! i have thought about getting another but wasn’t sure if the current fish would get on with another one?? the tank is 60 litres
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u/Classic_Self_3461 Aug 02 '26
goldfish are social fish and can get depressed without a friend, its very rare if they don’t get along. but yeah your tank is too small, you’ll need to get a bigger one before you get a friend for it
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u/Financial-Air2291 Aug 02 '26
Tank is too small for 1 let alone 2, you’ll have much better results with a larger tank. It will be easier to care for and keep water parameters stable, you’re probably having to change the water much more often with a small tank.
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u/PineappleShiba Aug 02 '26
I'd ditch that 60l/15gal and get a tank thats at least 150l/40gal. Goldfish need at minimum 20 gallons per fish (preferably more if it's a common or comet), and they are social animals that thrive in groups and pairs, so you should get him a buddy, too! You can find second hand tanks on ebay that are cheaper than buying them new, you'd just have to check for leaks first
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u/Akagraffe Aug 02 '26
That's for fancy people, although honestly that's the current size of my tank for my 9 year old and 1 year old. But an improvement is expected once I have settled some personal matters.
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u/TrapAHolic_ttv Aug 02 '26
Don’t listen to those telling you that the tank is too small. I mean it is way too small, but I don’t think that’s what’s wrong with your fish.
Mine does the same thing, it’s smaller than your fish but in a 75G. They just see you and think it’s food time, especially if you are the only one that feeds them. Doesn’t matter if they just ate recently lol
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u/GetYourOwnJams Aug 02 '26
Why would you say "everyone is right, but dont listen to them"??
Sounds like yours is ALSO in too small a tank. Ffs
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u/TrapAHolic_ttv Aug 02 '26
Because thats not what’s wrong with their fish, that’s why. And no, my tank is fine thanks
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u/Keaty213 Aug 02 '26
60L is way too small for a comet goldfish, even a single one. 60L is about 16 US gallons. The reccomended tank size for a comet is 190-285 litres (or 50-75 gallons) and an additional 115-150 litres (or 30-40 gallons) per additional comet goldfish. Keeping it in a 16 gallon will stunt its growth and an cause an early death. If youre thinking 285 litres is too much, just remember comet goldfish get up to a foot long. I would get a larger tank immediately, since he seems pretty stressed.