Why does my fish bowl smell like bleach / ammonia?r=1242275088?
It probably was ammonia you smelt. All fish excrete ammonia from their bodies, and in a small container like a bowl, it builds up quickly. You also have no filter which in a proper tank will break down ammonia into less harmfull nitrate. You have discovered why fish bowls are such a poor place to try and keep fish. Unless you keep changing the water, waste ammonia builds up in the water, and the fish dies.
