constipated goldfish?

[frankenfish]

so this morning i woke up and looked at my goldfish and noticed that he was spending more time near the surface of the bowl than usual (i know i know. bowls are the devil). i kind of freaked out a little and lowered the water level so more oxygen could get in and added an extra little dose of stress coat+. doing a little bit of research i figured out that he was just constipated (he did have a big thing of s**t hanging out of him). the little research i did told me that he is not in any immediate danger but still should be treated as soon as possible. veggies seem to be the best thing for this. now how often should i give the spinach (i know peas are better but spinach is all i have lying around) and will this be a permanent diet change or once he is better can i go back to flake foods?

i didn't even know fish could get constipated. haha

 

[frankenfish]

nobody? man slow forum

 

[IThinkTherefore]

There shouldn't need to be a permanent diet change. Some blanched spinach in place or normal feeding for the time being should do the trick.

I think the lack of posts is due to the fact that there isn't much you or we can do to ensure the future health of your goldfish in a bowl, if that bowl is less than twenty gallons and/or unfiltered.

Health problems are caused by stunting, as well as buildup of ammonia and waste in a small space :/. How often do you change water? Some of the problems could be mitigated by daily 100% changes, but otherwise he'll likely continue to have issues unless moved.

 

[frankenfish]

There shouldn't need to be a permanent diet change. Some blanched spinach in place or normal feeding for the time being should do the trick.

I think the lack of posts is due to the fact that there isn't much you or we can do to ensure the future health of your goldfish in a bowl, if that bowl is less than twenty gallons and/or unfiltered.

Health problems are caused by stunting, as well as buildup of ammonia and waste in a small space :/. How often do you change water? Some of the problems could be mitigated by daily 100% changes, but otherwise he'll likely continue to have issues unless moved.

daily water changes? no way but i do stay on top of it and do it ever 3 or 4 days. and yes i know bowls are bad. i have no where to move it at the moment though. there was that goldfish that lived 20 years in a bowl. you never know. i might break the record. haha

 

[aakaakaak]

From what everybody I've every heard has said, peeled peas is nature's fish laxative.

So yeah....goldfish in a bowl.....nag, nag, nag, nag, nag. Here's where your goldfish is supposed to go:
Fish Pond with pics

 

[frankenfish]

From what everybody I've every heard has said, peeled peas is nature's fish laxative.

So yeah....goldfish in a bowl.....nag, nag, nag, nag, nag. Here's where your goldfish is supposed to go:
Fish Pond with pics

thats right down the road from me. haha. but ya we might be putting a pond in this summer. we have all the stuff. we had to get rid of our last pond when we re did our back yard. he's so small tho shouldn't i wait till he's a little bigger before throwing him in there?

 

[aakaakaak]

He'll never get "bigger" unless you put him in a larger tank. His organs will continue to grow while his body doesn't. This will compact the organs and make them not function properly. If you're worried about birds but some fake snakes and maybe a net around it.