I found one of my two goldfish dead this morning. They were my first two fish. I've only had them for a few years though. I don't know why Copper could have died, though I think it may have been ammonia related (I haven't changed the water for a while). As soon as I got home from school I did a large water change, probably around 75%. My other goldfish, Goldy, seems fine, though s/he does seem a bit depressed. At least I got Goldy to eat some shrimp pellets. I remember when I bought them for 60 cents at a pet store. They were feeder goldfish, so at least they got to live instead of being fed to something larger. I hope that Copper had a good life, even if it was only a couple years. I also hope Goldy doesn't get too depressed. After spending his/her whole life with Copper, Goldy is now alone in the tank. I am wondering if I should buy a new fish of the same size so Goldy won't be alone.

Sorry to hear of your loss There is nothing worse as a fishkeeper than loosing one of our charges especialy if it is one of our first ever fish. i personaly think you are right in replacing Copper as Goldy is used to being with another fish, personaly i dont think fish should be kept on their own unless they are classed as specimin fish that need a tank on their own.

Yeah, I'm going to see if I can get another 8 inch long goldfish sometime soon. Goldy is just sulking at the bottom of the tank and won't come up to eat. Goldy will only eat if i drop some shrimp pellets into the tank in front of him/her. I never thought a fish could be so depressed. I hope Goldy doesn't die too. When one of our dogs died a few years back, his brother died within a week of his death. They'd always spend their time together. Also, my neighbor had a pony and a horse that were always together. After one died, the other one did too soon after. Animals seem to suffer a lot when a friend dies. At least in a community tank there are schools of fish, so if one dies, the others aren't alone. My goldfish however were always together. I should probably get more zebra danios and black phantom tetras, since I only have one of each too. They don't seem very unhappy though. I wonder if they are ok with the other fish. They may be the only ones of their kind in the tank, but at least they have other fish around them. I wonder if Goldy would be fine with another species of fish or one of a different size.

i would have thought so as they are a schooling fish, so are better kept in company of their own species

I often read that species that are shoaling, or schooling fish, should be kept in groups. Tetras and Cory's being good examples.

I haven't substantiated this by checking my records, but off my head, I feel my Cory's have had increased lifespans, since they first begun breeding, and I've had large groups (50 plus) rather than the 3 or 4 I've kept in the past.

Conversely, I've had a female Bristlenose last eight years, with only the occasional second female around, of whom she was relative aggressive toward.

I confirmed that my other goldfish, Goldy, was dead today. S/he'd been sluggish for the past few days, and stopped eating. Then Goldy started to lay on the bottom. I was pretty sure the fish was dead yesterday, but left him/her in the tank just to be certain. S/he was still laying on the bottom this morning, not breathing, so I decided the fish had died. I buried Goldy next to Copper by the woods. I hope they had had a good life with me instead of getting fed to something larger or being kept in a bowl by some child (they were feeder goldfish.) I just keep having a thought that neither were dead when I removed them from the tank. They both still looked perfect, no fungus or anything. They definately weren't breathing though and Goldy was stiff after the one day I left him/her in the tank to make sure she/he was dead. Copper I'd found quite soon after his/her death, since Copper'd been alive the night before. Well, they lived their lives confined in a tank, so their spirits are finally free.

I never was able to get another goldfish to be with Goldy. I wonder if s/he died from lonelyness. Then again, if I had gotten another fish, and Goldy had still died, then the other fish would be alone now....

Sorry to hear that.

Perhaps there was a water problem, after all ?