Goldfish are peaceful freshwater fishes. However, your goldfish can come under stress if they discover anything unusual in their surroundings. So, how can you calm down your stressed goldfish? What to do if your goldfish is stressed? Let us find out:
In general, adequate water conditions and parameters help calm down stressed goldfish. However, unfavorable housing conditions like aggressive tankmates and overcrowded tanks lead to stress in your fish. Consider providing a good-sized tank and many hiding places to eliminate stress in your fish.
The article below will discuss all the essential measures you can take to calm down your stressed goldfish.
Contents
How to know if my goldfish is stressed?
Here are the ways to detect whether your goldfish is stressed or not:
- Your goldfish showing lethargic behavior indicates stress in your fish.
- Your goldfish swimming in erratic patterns also means stress in your fish.
- If you discover your goldfish hiding around the tank’s corner, it indicates stress in your fish.
- Your goldfish gasping air at the water surface indicates stress in your fish.
- Goldfish are enthusiastic eaters that will eat anything you provide them. However, if you discover your goldfish avoiding food, it indicates stress in your fish.
- Your goldfish losing its color also shows stress in your fish.
- Your goldfish suffering from any health issues like bloated stomach, ich, or bent spine can make your fish suffer from stress.
- Goldfish spitting out food also indicates stress in your fish.
- If you discover your goldfish staying still at one spot, it indicates stress in your fish.
- Any injury in your goldfish can also make your fish suffer from stress.
What are the causes of stress in goldfish?
Here are the causes of stress in your goldfish:
- Poor water quality
- Inadequate water parameters
- Aggressive tankmates
- Overcrowded tank
- Improper feeding
- High levels of ammonia and nitrate
- Your goldfish in a bowl
Poor water quality can lead to stress in your goldfish. Contaminated water can drop the tank’s oxygen level, making your goldfish stressed and gasp air at the water’s surface.Â
In addition, contaminated water can also lead to various health issues like constipation in your goldfish.
Inadequate water parameters can also shock your goldfish, making your fish suffer from stress.
Although goldfish are hardy fishes that can survive in high pH levels in captivity, sudden fluctuations in the pH level can affect the health of your fish.
Pairing your goldfish with aggressive tankmates like betta can lead to extreme aggression in the tank, eventually making your goldfish suffer from stress.Â
In addition to this, aggressive tankmates can also lead to injury in your goldfish, making your fish suffer from stress.
Overstocking your goldfish tank can also make your fish suffer from stress. Overstocking also affects the growth of your goldfish.
An overcrowded tank can also make your goldfish territorial, leading to aggression in the tank.
Improper feeding can also make your goldfish suffer from stress. If you are overfeeding or underfeeding your goldfish, it can lead to stress in your fish.
High ammonia and nitrate levels can also make your goldfish suffer from stress.
Contaminated water can lead to a spike in ammonia levels, making the tank’s water highly acidic. High acidic water can further damage the gills of your goldfish.Â
Goldfish can also suffer from stress if placed in a bowl due to limited swimming space inside the bowl.
Also read: Are My Goldfish Stressed?
How to calm down stressed goldfish?
Here are the ways to calm down your stressed goldfish:
- Avoid overcrowding
- Provide a good-size tank
- Provide adequate water parameters
- Provide good water conditions
- Avoid aggressive tankmates
- Add aquatic plants and other hiding decors to the tank.
- Avoid overfeeding
- Feed your goldfish regularly
Avoid overcrowding:
You should avoid overcrowding your goldfish tank to calm down your stressed goldfish.
Overcrowding can make your goldfish aggressive while competing for food and being territorial.
Overcrowding also provides no space for your goldfish to swim freely in the tank, leading to stress in your goldfish.
As goldfish are messy fish, overstocking can make your tank’s water contaminated in no time.
Contaminated water can further lead to several health issues like constipation in your goldfish.
Therefore, it will be advisable to avoid overcrowding your goldfish tank for the well-being of your goldfish.
Provide a good-size tank:
You should provide a good-size tank to your goldfish than a bowl to keep your goldfish calm and avoid stress.
A bowl offers no space for your goldfish to swim freely and has no benefits of a water filter and other goldfish essentials required for the well-being of your fish.
Whereas in a tank, you can add a sound filtration system that helps to eliminate all the toxic chemicals from the water and keep the water clean.
Always provide a good-size tank for your goldfish for their proper growth and development.
| Types of Goldfish | Minimum Size | Maximum Size | In a 10-Gallon Tank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarasa Goldfish | 4 inches (10.16 cm) | 14 inches ( 35.56cm) | 1-2 small goldfish |
| Comet Goldfish | 2 inches (5.08cm) | 12 inches (30.48cm) | 1-2 small goldfish |
| Common Goldfish | 4 inches (10.16cm) | 14 inches (35.56cm) | 1-2 small goldfish |
| Shubunkin Goldfish | 9 inches (22.86cm) | 18 inches (45.72cm) | 1 small goldfish |
| Fantail Goldfish | 6 inches (15.24cm) | 8 inches (20.32cm) | 1-2 small goldfish |
Also read: How Many Goldfish Can You keep In A 10-Gallon Tank?
Provide adequate water parameters:
You should always maintain adequate water parameters in your goldfish tank to keep your goldfish calm and for the well-being of your fish.
Inadequate water parameters can lead to severe health issues like dropsy in your goldfish.
Sudden fluctuations in the water temperature can also lead to digestive issues in your fish, further making your goldfish constipated.
Adequate water temperature and pH level are essential for your goldfish to stay active and healthy.
| Particulars | Goldfish |
|---|---|
| Water Temperature | 68-74 °F |
| PH level | 7.5 |
- 68-74°F is the ideal water temperature for goldfish.
- Your goldfish performs best at the pH range of 7.5.
Also read: Best PH Level For Goldfish?
Provide good water conditions:
You should always provide good water conditions to your goldfish to calm down your stressed goldfish and for their proper growth and development.
It will be advisable to perform a regular water change (30%) weekly to maintain the tank’s water quality.
Consider using a gravel siphon to eliminate all the solid debris and other waste from the substrate.
Contaminated water can lead to numerous health issues like dropsy, constipation, loss of appetite, and swim bladder disease in your goldfish.
Such health issues can further lead to stress in your goldfish.
In addition, contaminated water can also lead to a drop in the oxygen level and a spike in the ammonia level, causing significant damage to your goldfish.
| Particular | Goldfish |
|---|---|
| Ammonia levels | 0-0.25ppm |
| Nitrate levels | 0-40ppm |
However, it will be advisable to keep the nitrate levels below 10ppm when breeding your goldfish or battling algae growth in the tank.
Providing adequate water conditions will help your goldfish to stay healthy and active.
Avoid aggressive tankmates:
Avoiding aggressive tankmates to calm down your stressed goldfish would be best.Â
Pairing your goldfish with aggressive tankmates like betta can lead to extreme aggression in the tank leading to stress and injuries to your goldfish.
Goldfish are peaceful fishes that should be placed with non-aggressive species for the well-being of your fish.
To develop a healthy environment in your goldfish aquarium, you can add the following fishes to your goldfish tank.
- Guppy
- Rosy barbs
- Snails
- Giant Danios
- Zebra Danios
The above are some best tankmates for your goldfish aquarium.
Also read: Are Goldfish Aggressive?
Add aquatic plants and other hiding decors to the tank:
You should add live aquatic plants in your goldfish tank to keep your goldfish calm and avoid stress in your fish.
The aquatic plants that you can add to your goldfish tank are:
- Java Fern
- Anubias
- Java Moss
- Anacharis Plant
- Cryptocoryne Plant
Aquatic plants also help maintain the tank’s oxygen level and act as a hiding spot in your goldfish tank.
Other hiding spots that you can add to your goldfish tank are as follows:
- Driftwood
- Terra Cota Pots
- Aquarium rocks
- Aquarium Ornaments
Also read: Do Goldfish Eat Plants?
Avoid overfeeding:
You should avoid overfeeding your goldfish to keep them calm and avoid stress in your fish.
It would be best not to overfeed or underfeed your goldfish to provide them with a healthy life.
Overfeeding can also lead to health issues like loss of appetite and constipation in your goldfish.
It will be advisable to provide a diet mix of all the essential nutrients to keep your goldfish active and healthy.
| Goldfish Diet | Serving Quantity | No. of times |
|---|---|---|
| Blanched peas | Half a pea | 2-3 times a week |
| Blanched Zucchini | A small slice | 3-4 times a week |
| Brine shrimp | One pinch at a time | 1-2 times a week |
| Mosquito larvae | 10-15 | 2-3 times a week |
| Tubifex Worms | One pinch at a time | 1 time a week |
| Leafy greens ( kale, spinach, lettuce) | A small piece of leaf | 3-4 times a week |
| Veggie Pellets | One pinch at a time | 2 times a day |
Also read: What Do Goldfish Eat?
Feeding your goldfish regularly:
You should provide food to your goldfish regularly to keep them calm and avoid stress in your fish.
Goldfish love to eat and will consume anything that you provide them. However, as goldfish are omnivore species, their diet should contain meat and green veggies for proper growth and development.
It will be advisable to provide high-quality food to your goldfish to avoid significant health issues like constipation in your fish.
Conclusion:
- Your goldfish can suffer from stress due to the unacceptable housing conditions in the tank.
- Lethargic behavior, erratic swimming patterns, losing color and staying still indicate that your goldfish suffers from stress.
- You can keep your goldfish calm by avoiding aggressive tankmates, overcrowding, and providing a good-size tank to your goldfish.
- It will be advisable to provide a stress-free environment for your fish’s proper growth and development.
Reference: ResearchGate ResearchGate