Every now and again goldfish will go off their food. To get them eating again, it’s important to know the reasons goldfish lose their appetite in the first place. If the correct cause of the loss of appetite is known, the necessary adjustments or treatments can be applied.

The reasons for goldfish losing their appetite fall into two main categories: goldfish diseases and environmental stress.

Goldfish Diseases

Constipation causes loss of appetite in goldfish. As regular readers of this blog will know from Goldfish Diet and Nutrition, goldfish do not have a stomach for holding and digesting food. Instead food passes through a goldfish’s digestive tract without stopping. If there is a blockage at one end there is no buffer zone to absorb the impact of food coming in at the other end, so feeding will stop.

A goldfish suffering from goldfish ick can also lose its appetite. Although not a guaranteed symptom of goldfish ick, it can occur in more advance cases of the illness and is due to a general and deeply unwell feeling caused by a goldfish disease that can eventually be fatal.

There is one more disease that can cause a loss of appetite in goldfish, but it is very rare among them. It is known as Hole in the Head Disease, or Freshwater Head and Lateral Line Erosion. More common among other types of freshwater fish it is a dangerous, but treatable condition that can be a cause of loss of appetite.

Environmental Stress

A change in diet can cause goldfish to go off their food. Obviously this is one of the easiest causes of appetite loss among goldfish to identify. If goldfish are changed onto a healthy diet from a poor one, they may well not eat for a few days. Their reticence to eat is due to being used to the old diet, and the slight stress of the change that may worry them until they get used to the new food.

Another environmental factor that may cause goldfish to lose their appetite is temperature variations. Again, regular readers of this blog will know from Preparing a Goldfish Pond for Winter that the natural seasonal drop in temperature can result in goldfish going the whole Winter without food. In parts of the world where Summer temperatures can fall sharply, pond goldfish can lose their appetite as a result.

Changes in water quality can also cause goldfish to stop eating, especially pH levels outside the optimum range. Goldfish that are put into new tanks that have abnormally high levels of ammonia and nitrite will also be susceptible to appetite loss.

Introducing goldfish into a new environment e.g. a new aquarium or pond, or bringing them back from the pet shop may well lose their appetite simply because of the stress of the move.

Finally, goldfish that see a new face pressed against the aquarium glass at feeding time, or goldfish that have to suffer a child splashing the surface of the water or tapping the aquarium glass will be frightened out of feeding. The same goes for pond goldfish that fear predation by a cat or heron. They simply will not surface for food, and will not emerge from hiding.

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