I am new to this. I have aquired a goldfish, algea eater, & a catfish, they had been abandoned. My rent lady called me & said I have a present for you, & want you to pick it up asap. So, you can say I rescued some fish   I am sure the fish are sick, after I seen what they were in, & the poor condition of the water they had been in (for how long IDK!). So, the goldfish is a Sarassas, I have been told, he is about 6inches long, to me he is a big goldfish. They were in a 20? gallon homemade tank, which I did replace with a 37 gallon tank starter, that came with everything. I do know the goldfish is constipated, I have fed him peas today, & it has helped. I named the goldfish Lucky cause to me he is lucky to be alive after what I seen!!! I have been keeping the water tested regularly, & the ammonia is always way outta wack, I keep putting ammonia detox in the tank, which does bring it down temporarely. I had water tested today & it stands as this Hardness:30 PH: 6.0 Ammonia3.5 which ammonia has been up to a 7 on Thursday. Lucky has been rubbing himself on the bottom of the tank, going to the top a lot for air, constipation, looks like his gills are little red, but I got him like this. He also looks like he is going to go belly up from time to time, but he recovers before he does. I really dont know if this is his normal appearance or not. I have asked for help from pet shops, but dont feel that they are being to honest with me. They tell he will be fine he is stressed right now, which I am sure he is!!! Oh yeah have had the tank set up since Monday 9/19/2011, Iam trying to remember if I have got everything you need to help. Can you please help? Thank You, Rescue Mom  

Hi Gwen, welcome to the forums!

My goldfish is also called Lucky and like you I'm fairly new to fish keeping myself!

Well firstly when you say the gills are red on your goldfish, is this under neath the gills or on top? Maybe post a pic of the lil guy, that could help. Sometimes gills being red is a sign of them being healthy, but I think from what the others here have told me, it depends on the shade of red.

Also if the goldfish is going belly-up occasionally, it could be having problems with its swim bladder.

Good call on the peas though, that will definitley help him, if his constipated And good to see you're already on to the water quality by dealing with the ammonia. As well as the water tests, it may help to change the water more regularly as well.

That's all I can think of right now, sorry I can't be of more help, I'm sure the more experienced guys on here will be able to help you out as well 

High levels of nitrogen in he water will make your fish act like they're constipated/have swim bladder issues. What you need to do, is change out 50% of the water EVERY TIME AMMONIA GETS HIGH. You see 3,5 is easily enough to kill a fish. He's suffering really bad having to swim in that, so try to change out half of the water or more whenever the ammonia gets high like this! Usually it's a good idea to change the water every second or third while the tank is cycling. And after that, change the same amount (or more) every week

Your fish will be fine! It was a good call to get them a bigger tank since there are 3 potentially giant fish in the tank
Do you have water conditioner and beneficial bacteria? (sometimes called bio filter booster) Stress zyme is recommended to add every time you change the water during the first few weeks of having the tank set up

It makes me really happy to see that you care so much for these abandoned fish (It warms the heart of a mad fish-lady <3)

Yes, the ammonia sounds nice as it is, on the way down and that's how we want it!
I love this fish of yours!! Such a cutie! Do you have photos of the other tank buddies too? I'd love to see what kinds they are

Please keep us posted on your progress!

Thanks guys yall r so wonderful, now I can quit stressing so much. I could only afford to get the test to test for ammonia, seeing how I extended my funds to make the fish more comfortable in a newer home than what they had. I will post pics of the other 2 so yall can see them too, they seem fine to me, not acting funny. I do have another question though . With Lucky being 6 incehs in size how much do I feed him? He is even eating the food for the algae eater & catfish, so they aren't getting any food because of Lucky. 

I am curious if he came out of a pond, & they just put him in an aqurium? I have been told he will get bigger, not sure, but he is part of the family now Thanks fantailer .

What a lovely fish Gwenblack! He may have been raised in a pond but, given enough room, goldfish can grow very large in an aquarium.

Regarding feeding instructions, feed small ammounts of food twice a day. Do not overfeed as that will create an ammonia problem in the tank....remember, a slightly underfed goldfish is healthier than one that has a polluted tank. All of my goldies are quite tiny, (right now) so maybe others will be able to advise you better on the specific portion size to feed your beautiful fish.

Wishing you well on your fishkeeping experience! 

Well Lucky & the others are doing fine this morning I will only feed twice a day then. The ammonia level is still down .25 nnow so it is going down YAY!! I was really worried about these poor fellas, now knowing all that I have learnt I keep asking myself "How in the world did these fish survive what they were in?" I am glad that they are going to b very healthly now that they are in my care now I have noticed that Lucky was very bloated when I first got him, he now looks so much more slim & healthier. Thanks for everyones advice & expertice, it has been greatly appreciated!!!