Goldfish are peaceful species that perform well when you provide them with adequate water conditions.
If you discover any unusual behavior in your goldfish, like gasping for air, you should take immediate action for the well-being of your fish.
So, why is my goldfish gasping for air? Is it normal? Let us find out.
Oxygen deficiency in the tank is the root cause behind your goldfish gasping for air. Other factors like overcrowded tanks, poor water quality, and diseases like gill flukes can make your fish gasp for air. Ensure good water quality and add an air pump to keep your goldfish tank well-oxygenated.
The article below will discuss the reason behind your goldfish gasping for air. In addition, we will also discuss the preventions you should take to prevent such issues.
Contents
Is it normal for your goldfish to gasp for air?
Your goldfish gasping for air at the tank’s water surface indicates unfavorable tank conditions and some severe health issues in your fish.
There can be many reasons like poor water quality or swim bladder disease that can make your goldfish gasp for air at the top of the tank’s water surface.
However, serving floating foods to your goldfish can also make them intake air while consuming the floating pellets.
So, if your goldfish is not gasping for air to grab their food, then the situation requires your immediate action for the well-being of your fish.
What are the reasons behind my goldfish gasping for air?
Here are the reasons behind your goldfish gasping for air
- Lack of aeration in your goldfish tank.
- Inadequate water parameters
- Overcrowded tank
- Bowling your goldfish
- Illness
- Poor water quality
- Providing floating food to your goldfish
Lack of aeration
Lack of aeration can lead to oxygen deficiency in water, making your goldfish gasp for air at the tank’s water surface.
Lack of oxygen in the water can lead to several health issues in your goldfish.
A still water surface cannot offer more oxygen to enter the water.
Inadequate water parameters
Inadequate water parameters in the tank can also make your goldfish gasp for air at the top of the tank’s water surface.
Placing your goldfish in too hot water will decrease the oxygen level of your goldfish tank, making your fish suffer and gasp for air at the top of the tank’s water surface.
Unstable water temperature can also lead to excessive stress in your fish.
Excessive stress further can also lead to the passing out of your fish.
Stress for a long time can also make your goldfish prone to several diseases and parasites.
Also read: What Is The Ideal Water Temperature For Goldfish?
Overcrowded tank
Placing your goldfish in an overcrowded tank can also make your goldfish gasp for air at the top of the tank’s water surface.
Goldfish are messy fish that produces a lot of waste in the tank. So, placing your goldfish in an overcrowded tank can lead to water contamination.
Contaminated water can further lead to a drop in the oxygen level, making your goldfish suffer from oxygen deficiency and gasp for air at the top of the water surface.
Also read: What Happens When You Overstock Goldfish Tank?
Placing your goldfish in a bowl
Placing your goldfish in a bowl can also make your goldfish gasp for air.
You cannot add the essential aquarium equipment like a filter to keep the tank water clean and an air pump that keeps the tank well-oxygenated to the bowl.
The small surface area in the bowl will not be able to have enough oxygen for your goldfish.
In addition, the bowl will not have much movement in the surface area, resulting in a lack of aeration.
Also read: Can Goldfish Live In A Bowl?
Illness
Several diseases like swimbladder disorder or gill flukes can make your goldfish gasp for air at the top of the tank’s water surface.
Your goldfish swimming on one side is a symptom of swim bladder disease, whereas your fish having red gills is a symptom of gill flukes.
In both cases, you will discover your goldfish being less active and swimming at the tank’s water surface every few hours, gasping for air.
Also read: Why Can’t My Goldfish Swim?
Poor water quality
Poor water quality in the tank can also make your goldfish gasp for air at the top of the tank’s water surface.
Contaminated water can drop the tank’s oxygen level, making your fish suffer from oxygen deficiency and gasp for air at the tank’s water surface.
The beneficial bacteria in the tank requires oxygen to break down ammonia and nitrite.
Due to the lack of oxygen in the water, the beneficial bacteria will not be able to eliminate ammonia and nitrite, eventually leading to a spike in the tank’s ammonia level.
Also read: Can Goldfish Live In Dirty Water?
Providing Floating Food
Providing floating doos to your goldfish can also make your fish gasp for air at the tank’s water surface.
When you provide floating pellets to your goldfish, they will come at the top of the water surface, trying to consume the food.
Providing floating food encourages your goldfish to go to the top of the water surface and gulp in the air, mimicking their way of capturing the floating foods.
What are the solutions for your goldfish gasping for air?
Here are the solutions for your goldfish gasping for air
- Add an air pump to keep your tank well-oxygenated.
- Provide good water quality.
- Avoid overcrowding your goldfish tank.
- Add live aquatic plants to your goldfish tank.
- Avoid placing your goldfish in a bowl.
- Provide adequate water parameters
Add an air pump
You should add an air pump to your goldfish tank as it helps maintain the tank’s oxygen level by increasing the water movements on the tank’s surface.
Your goldfish require adequate oxygen in the water for their proper growth and development, and an air pump helps to introduce more atmospheric oxygen into your goldfish tank.
It will be advisable to add more than one air pump if you have a large tank.
We advise you to purchase a Tetra Whisper Pump for your goldfish tank to keep your aquarium well oxygenated.
You can buy it from Amazon Tetra whisper Air Pump
Also read: Can Goldfish Live Without An Air Pump?
Provide good water quality
You should provide good water quality in your goldfish tank to prevent your goldfish from gasping air at the water surface.
Contaminated water can lead to oxygen deficiency in the tank making your goldfish gasp for air at the tank’s water surface.
You should perform a 30% water change weekly in your goldfish tank.
In addition, we advise you to add a water filter to the tank as it helps maintain the tank’s water quality and eliminates all the harmful toxins from the water.
Avoid Overcrowding your goldfish tank.
You should avoid overcrowding your goldfish tank to prevent your fish from gasping air at the tank’s water surface.
Overcrowding your goldfish can also lead to oxygen deficiency, making your goldfish gasp for air at the tank’s water surface.
Goldfish are active swimmers who prefer ample space in their tank for their proper growth and development.
Placing your goldfish in an overcrowded tank can affect the growth of your goldfish leading to stress in your fish.
To avoid overcrowding, we advise you to follow the one-inch one-gallon rule, which means one inch of fish per gallon of water.
Add live aquatic plants
You should add live aquatic plants to your goldfish tank as it helps keep the tank well-oxygenated and prevent your goldfish from gasping air.
Live aquatic plants will also help keep your goldfish tank clean by absorbing ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.
The live aquatic plants you can add to your goldfish tank are as follows:
- Java Fern
- Java Moss
- Anubias
- Cryptocoryne Plant
- Anacharis Plant
Avoid placing your goldfish in a bowl
You should avoid placing your goldfish in a bowl to prevent your fish from gasping air at the tank’s water surface.
A bowl provides no space for your goldfish to swim, eventually affecting the growth of your goldfish.
You cannot add a water filter or an air pump to the bowl required to develop a healthy environment for your goldfish.
Placing your goldfish in a bowl can contaminate the bowl water in no time, requiring frequent water changes that can lead to stress in your goldfish.
Therefore, we advise you to provide a big-size tank to your goldfish to prevent such an issue and for your fish’s proper growth and development.
Provide adequate water parameters
You should provide adequate water parameters to your goldfish to prevent your fish from gasping air at the tank’s water surface.
Sudden change in the water temperatures can lead to shock in goldfish leading to significant health issues in your fish.
You should keep eyeing the tank’s ammonia and nitrite levels for the well-being of your goldfish.
| Particulars | Goldfish |
|---|---|
| Water Temperature | 68-74°F |
| Ph level | 7.5 |
| Ammonia | 0-0.25ppm |
| Nitrite | 0ppm |
| Nitrate | Below 40ppm |
We advise you to purchase an API Test kit as it provides accurate result
You can buy it from Amazon API TEST KIT
Therefore, you should also provide adequate water parameters for the well-being of your goldfish.
Also read: Ammonia Poisoning In Goldfish
Conclusion:
- Your goldfish gasping for air indicates unfavorable tank conditions and several other health issues in your fish.
- Many reasons like poor water quality and swim bladder disorder can make your goldfish gasp for air.
- You should provide adequate water parameters, good water quality and avoid overcrowding to prevent such issues for your goldfish.
- You should avoid placing your goldfish in a bowl for your fish’s proper growth and development.
- You should add a water filter and an air pump to your goldfish tank to maintain the tank’s water quality and keep the tank well-oxygenated.
Reference: ResearchGate