my tank has a ton of surface aggitation, from the 2 vernturi valves with air pumps running to them on the fluval 4+ filters with the outlets positioned right on the surface of the water, the 4 air stones i have in the gravel, and the fx5 outlets aimed upwards to create waves on the surface.
even with all this going on, and the water surface bubbling away and waves all over the place, i still have a select couple of goldfish who gasp. it drives me mad. its usually my biggest calico fantail, but also my bright orange fantail,female panda oranda and my black moor have been seen doing it too but its nowhere near as bad as the big calico. the others dont seem to do it unless im near the tank, which i think they do because they think its feeding time and they all come to the surface when im near the tank at all.
they had a water change yesterday, but it makes no difference how much water i change, how many times per week, or what temperature the water is.
i have live plants in there, bunches of hornwort, and some (chewed up) melon swords and crypts planted in there.
i havent tested my water in a while as i have run out of nitrate tester. it doesnt seem to matter though as i put her into QT and she continues to do it even when she has 15 gallons all to herself, fully filtered and cycled.
shes started to get somewhat bouncy in the water too, i feed shelled peas at least twice a week, and it now has littel effect on her. shes almost like a basking shark drifting around the surface like she does.
i feed saki-hikari fancy goldfish sinking pellets every day. they also get frozen blood worm/brine shrimp/white worm/daphnia, and shelled peas 2-3 times a week. they chew up their plants too so i also add plant cuttings of wisteria/baby tears/elodea/vals from the QT tank.
2 of the females spawn every couple of weeks (including the female panda), and all seem healthy in every other way. im guessing it isnt a water quality problem but i could be wrong.
i would take my water to be tested but i decided to test the LFS myself once and i tested a sample of my water before i went to the LFS and it came out at ammonia and nitrite 0, nitrate 20. when i had them test the same sample from the same bottle, their test 'strips' showed ammonia 10, nitrite 10, nitrate 80!(this was 2 days after a PWC of around 40% with dechlorinator when the tank was heavily planted and under stocked!) when i asked them to re-test using liquid drops they refused and said the strips work best. so i dont see the point in going back to get it tested, i just need to save up for a new test kit.
the thing is, i dont know if shes just gotten into the habit of gasping and the others think she is eating so they go up, or if i do actually have an issue. i am overstocked, i have 13 fancy goldfish and 1 small common goldfish in a 6x2x2 tank, but i run a lot of filttration and make sure i do at least 70-80% PWC every weekend. the amount of water movement on the surface is so much so that it sounds like we live under a waterfall
i am looking into rehoming a couple of the fancies but im finding it extremely hard to make the choice as to who stays and who goes. so for now the stocking will stay as is.
does anyone have any idea why they are doing this? i dont want them struggling for oxygen if i do have an issue, but if they were then surely all would be doing this. also, i have noticed its the fish i have gotten from a slightly 'dodgy' shop that are the main culprits, if they have been kept in very poor conditions in the past could this make any difference to what they are like now? thanks for reading the essay
even with all this going on, and the water surface bubbling away and waves all over the place, i still have a select couple of goldfish who gasp. it drives me mad. its usually my biggest calico fantail, but also my bright orange fantail,female panda oranda and my black moor have been seen doing it too but its nowhere near as bad as the big calico. the others dont seem to do it unless im near the tank, which i think they do because they think its feeding time and they all come to the surface when im near the tank at all.
they had a water change yesterday, but it makes no difference how much water i change, how many times per week, or what temperature the water is.
i have live plants in there, bunches of hornwort, and some (chewed up) melon swords and crypts planted in there.
i havent tested my water in a while as i have run out of nitrate tester. it doesnt seem to matter though as i put her into QT and she continues to do it even when she has 15 gallons all to herself, fully filtered and cycled.
shes started to get somewhat bouncy in the water too, i feed shelled peas at least twice a week, and it now has littel effect on her. shes almost like a basking shark drifting around the surface like she does.
i feed saki-hikari fancy goldfish sinking pellets every day. they also get frozen blood worm/brine shrimp/white worm/daphnia, and shelled peas 2-3 times a week. they chew up their plants too so i also add plant cuttings of wisteria/baby tears/elodea/vals from the QT tank.
2 of the females spawn every couple of weeks (including the female panda), and all seem healthy in every other way. im guessing it isnt a water quality problem but i could be wrong.
i would take my water to be tested but i decided to test the LFS myself once and i tested a sample of my water before i went to the LFS and it came out at ammonia and nitrite 0, nitrate 20. when i had them test the same sample from the same bottle, their test 'strips' showed ammonia 10, nitrite 10, nitrate 80!(this was 2 days after a PWC of around 40% with dechlorinator when the tank was heavily planted and under stocked!) when i asked them to re-test using liquid drops they refused and said the strips work best. so i dont see the point in going back to get it tested, i just need to save up for a new test kit.
the thing is, i dont know if shes just gotten into the habit of gasping and the others think she is eating so they go up, or if i do actually have an issue. i am overstocked, i have 13 fancy goldfish and 1 small common goldfish in a 6x2x2 tank, but i run a lot of filttration and make sure i do at least 70-80% PWC every weekend. the amount of water movement on the surface is so much so that it sounds like we live under a waterfall
i am looking into rehoming a couple of the fancies but im finding it extremely hard to make the choice as to who stays and who goes. so for now the stocking will stay as is.
does anyone have any idea why they are doing this? i dont want them struggling for oxygen if i do have an issue, but if they were then surely all would be doing this. also, i have noticed its the fish i have gotten from a slightly 'dodgy' shop that are the main culprits, if they have been kept in very poor conditions in the past could this make any difference to what they are like now? thanks for reading the essay
