Goldfish issue; trying to break bubbles in mouth?

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Carch

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Sep 1, 2010
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Alright, I've got two baby fancy orandas in a 29g with an XP2 filter, and I do 75% water changes weekly. Current parameters are (tested correctly with an API liquid kit)...

pH 6.8 (this is also roughly what my tap water is)
Ammonia 0
NitrIte 0
NitrAte 10 ppm
Temperature: 72-74f

The XP2 spray bar is angled upwards to create some surface disturbance, and I have an air pump attached to a disc that blows lots of bubbles (not enough to "cloud" the water, though).

Fish Description:

One of my orandas has always been an underdog. He is an orange oranda with one eye (was purchased that way) and Lupin told me on the MFK boards that he appears to have already been stunted before purchase. He's 3 inches long from nose to tail tip.
When purchased, he was quarantined for 2 months before being moved to the larger tank. He showed no symptoms of any disease. I bought another baby red and white oranda for him as a companion, and went through the same routine. 2 month quarantine, no issues.

Both of these fish were, and still are, SUPER active. They spend all day swimming around and picking at the bottom of the tank. Their fins are always perky and extended, and they both appear happy as can be.

Symptoms:
A few weeks ago I noticed that my orange oranda had "slimey" feces. They did not appear to be parasite related, so I assumed it was from stress. They were normal brown feces, but with spaces of mucous between the feces.
Because this fish has not really fattened up much, I went ahead and treated him with a general anti-parasite medication (Tetra Parasite Guard, it was all I could get). His activity improved even further, and he zooms around faster than before.

However, on day 2 of his treatment I noticed that he seemed like he was having trouble breathing. He swims to the top, picks at bubbles from the surface (bubbles from the pump, he does not just gulp air), and then "sinks" while jerking his head around as if he's trying to break the bubbles in his mouth. It also looks like he's "chewing" while he does this. After about 5 seconds of this head jerking, he spits out 2-3 bubbles and goes about his business.

I immediately did a large water change because I thought the medication messed with him. The current perimeters are listed above.

He's still doing this behavior after the water change though. He doesn't really look distressed to me, because after he jerks his face around a bit, and spits the bubbles out, he starts swimming around happily and pecking at things in the tank again. My red and white oranda has shown none of these symptoms.

I'm beginning to wonder if this is a game? Is he playing around and just goofing off, and it happened to be a coincidence that he started while I was medicating?
 
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