Sad looking fish that just sit at the bottom

Hello and welcome to the forum :wave:

Shame on the Petsmart employee who sold you those fish! They're not swimming because there's no room to swim

The problem is that your tank is way too small to house anything other than a few snails or a single betta fish. Most will argue that the tank is even too small for a betta. To keep it healthy you would have to be doing a lot of water changes each week since it's really hard to cycle a tank that small because of the ammonia build up (without frequent water changes).

I'm guessing that the striped fish are zebra danios since they are common. They are big swimmers and need a much larger tank. Goldfish get HUGE and are notorious poopers so will foul the water pretty quickly. Please check out the fish profiles for suggested housing and requirements to keep those fish healthy here:

Freshwater Fish Profiles

The best thing that you could do for those fish is to rehome them or upgrade their tanks pretty soon so that you don't lose them all. I'm sorry that your first experience has turned out so badly but you'll find everything you need to know about keeping healthy fish here. We have a lot of great experienced members who are willing to help.

"Fish with Stripes" along with goldfish are almost always Zebra Danios.

The only snail that Petsmart sells is the "Mystery Snail" (Apple Snail).

You can totally keep the snail.


If you are asking if fish will survive, the answer is yes. For a while.
If you are asking if fish will be happy, the answer is no.


Search the web for an aquarist club near your location.

Atlanta Area Aquarium Association is the one for Atlanta, but every city has one.

Explain your situation. Someone local to you will be able to set you up with some small freshwater shrimp. They are very colorful, and your kid will love them. They can also help you find homes for your current fish.

Clubs like this love to assist new aquarium owners, especially children.

Welcome to the forum and to fishkeeping! I'm sorry, but you did get some very bad advice from the pet store. Those fish you have cannot live long-term in a tank like that. It sounds like you have zebra danio and goldfish (more specifically a redcap oranda). Zebra danio are active fish that like to be in groups of their own species; they like at least a 20 gal tank. Goldfish are also social creatures, and contrary to popular opinion do not grow to the size of their tank.

I think you have a couple of options. If you want to keep the goldfish, you need to get a larger tank. But you don't have to shell out the money; try looking for 40 gal or larger fish tanks on craigslist. That goldfish, fully grown with friends will need a tank that large. If you don't want that responsibility, that's just fine; goldfish aren't for everyone. You are also free to stop your fishkeeping adventure here. A local aquarium club will often help take unwanted fish from your hands.

If you do want to continue with fish, I'd advise getting rid of that tiny tank. It's honestly stretching it to even put a betta in there. Start looking on craigslist for a 20 or 30 gal tank (or buy a starter kit from Petsmart--but don't listen to the employees!). These are great starter sizes and allow you to have a few small schools of fish. When you are at the petstore, look at the names of some fish you like; write them down and search them online. You will get a much better idea of what the fish need to thrive there than you will at the store.

And lastly feel free to ask any questions you have here. Most of us were there at one point in time, lead astray by the fish store with a few dead fish on our hands.