my goldfish is a jumper

i have a standard 99 cent feeder fish plain gold fish thing is hes 3 yes 3 years old & i have reciently transferred him to a 10 gallon tank & the 2 yr old gold fish i had didnt like the move & passed on but anyway i have 2 more goldfish with him theyre fancy ones & nother guy i cant remember the name he s but hes long & slinky almost looks like an eel but it isnt its a rainbow something but he lives under the filter or digs in the gravel but my qestion is i dont have a cover on my tank & the gold fish has started jumping i was watching him tonight & he was at it for a good 15 minutes lol i was sitting on the couch next to he tank & i got wet he never seems to go near to the edge but im half afraid he might & i really dont want to put a cover on the tank because if he jumps i dont want hin to get hurt he is 3 years old ( wil be 4 in augest) hes thriving in the tank with filtration before christmas he was in a fishbownl but he outgrew this but will he jump out should i be worried. hes so sweet if he sees you he wil come to the side of the tank we call him puppy because he loves attention & he will eat food from your finger

 

So you have three Goldfish and a unknown fish, maybe a eel in a ten gallon with no hood. One Goldfish is way to much for a 10 gallon let alone Three Goldfish in a 10 gallon. As for the unknown fish I would ask the lfs or where ever you got it from and ask what it is. Yes you should get a hood for your ten gallon so the Goldfish don't jump out. Hope this helps. :y_the_best:

 

i agree with Used

 

yah i agree to goldfish are way to messy and have potential to get big and live a long live

 

do you ever do water changes? what are your readings ?

 

Hi silent_bunni, Most likely the reason he is jumping is because he is being burned by high levels of ammonia in the tank. As others have pointed out the tank is much too small even for the one Goldfish, not to mention all three. With regards to being hurt by hitting a lid on the tank, It won't hurt near as much as a fall to the floor from jumping out. Also if you are not around when he jumps out he would most likely die laying on the floor. Considering all the factors a lid is an inexpensive safeguard.

 

oops te old tank was 10 this ones much bigger im not sure how big but the guy from the fish store said it was ok to put the fish in there with him
the levils are perfect & he jumped in the old fish bowl too( it had no ftration & the water would be changed every 2 weeks or when he was accidentaly overfed by a little one ) not as much as he does now i think he does it to get attention lol because he is a very socal fish & we talk to him a lot during the day ( he will follow u around if you move to another side of the tank) but hes still doin good we have some plastic mesh going up the sides about 5 inches so he cant jump out
so hes doin great now

 

What are the dimensions of your tank?

Common goldfish can get over 12" long and should have at least 50 gallons (they're really much more suited for ponds than aquariums). Fancies can get 6" - 8" and should have at least 15 - 20 gallons each.

So for your 3 goldies, you should have at least an 80 gallon tank (which is pretty difficult to confuse with a 10 gallon so I have a feeling you're still severely overstocked).

What are your exact numbers for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte?

-Chelle