why is goldfish smacking sides of bowl? water change 1x wk fed daily.?

This question gets posted a few times weekly here on Y!A. The simple answer is that bowls are for soup- not fish.

The bowl is too small, does not have enough water to dilute the fish's wastes, will never foster a good population of beneficial bacteria, and has poor oxygenation w/no filtration of surface agitation. Have your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels checked- most petstores will do it for free. I would bet that they are sky-high, and are causing your fish to become somewhat disoriented when coupled w/ low dissolved oxygen levels.

A lot of people have the misconception that fish can live happily in bowls- it is not true for goldies, nor bettas. An aquarium of 20 gallons is needed to house 1 goldie, with 10 additional gallons for wach additional goldfish. Good luck. Happy fishkeeping!

its probably because what he sees is distorted by the warped sides and its confusing him. also, did you say GOLDFISH IN A BOWL!!!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! no! no! do not keep goldfish in bowls! if it's a fancy, it will need a 50g/200l+ tank with a strong filter, commons need 100g/400l tank/pond! in that bowl, it will die within a year from:

ammonia poisoning (goldfish produce a LOT of waste)

or

stunting, where its body can no longer grow but its organs do, resulting in a very painful death.

MOVE THAT FISH!!

a goldfish in the proper environment can live past 10 years and get over 8 inches (fancy) or a foot (common). in a bowl, you'll be lucky if it grows a half inch and lives a year. stunting is irreversable, so get a bigger tank asap!!!!

Absolutely agree with previous answer - this fish is in way too small a bowl. In fact, he shouldn't be in a bowl at all but a proper filtered tank.

It's possible the small space has led to poor water quality and caused ich which causes fish to rub themselves against surfaces to scratch the infection.

However, I would be less worried about this and much more concerned about getting him into a decent sized tank where the water quality will be much better and he'll be much happier and therefore, better able to recover naturally from any infection/disease.

He's saying "LET ME OUT OF THIS TORTUROUS BOWL!" If he's a common goldfish he need a 55 gallon tank and if he's a fancy goldfish he needs a 20 gallon tank.

probably because he is angry

he needs a 20 gallon if he is fancy

or a 50 gallon if he is a common/comet

nothing at all should live in a bowl.

thats horrible

please get him a tank

Fishbowls aren't good