i have a 10 gallon tank

[Sammi]

and 2 goldfish.

i also have filter which also provides aeration bubbles.

my question is that my goldfish, either after a partial water change or after feeding go to the top of the tank and suck some water. when they get down, they release bubbles

is this normal or is this something to worry about

 

[unwritten law]

usually when fish do that they are having trouble breathing so there isnt enough O2 in the water... either due to aeration or bad nitrogen levels.. Do you have an ammonia or nitrite/nitrate test?

 

[Sammi]

yeha i do. the reading was fine when i tested it. i just dont get it why they do this. :/

 

[TMony]

A ten gallon tank is way too small for two goldfish. They can survive for awhile, but will quickly outgrow the tank. A single goldfish should be in about 30 gallons of water and each additional goldfish requires an additional 10 gallons. (ie 2 fish-40gallons 3 fish -50 gallons etc)

There is not enough surface area in a 10 gallon tank to provide the necessary oxygen exchange your goldfish require. They are suffocating.

Goldfish are very messy as well and should have a filter that can cycle the entire tanks water several times per hour.

Good luck

 

[J-pond]

A ten gallon tank is way too small for two goldfish. They can survive for awhile, but will quickly outgrow the tank. A single goldfish should be in about 30 gallons of water and each additional goldfish requires an additional 10 gallons. (ie 2 fish-40gallons 3 fish -50 gallons etc)

There is not enough surface area in a 10 gallon tank to provide the necessary oxygen exchange your goldfish require. They are suffocating.

Goldfish are very messy as well and should have a filter that can cycle the entire tanks water several times per hour.

Good luck

I partialy agree with TMony, from what i have learned in the past 3 months, your tank is definitley to small. I have been told if you have fancy goldies, they need 10gallons of water per fish. If they are common or comets, they need 20 gallons per fish. Also the filtration should be 100 times the tank size, as an example a 55gallon tank needs 550GPH. I hope this helps.

 

[TMony]

I partialy agree with TMony, from what i have learned in the past 3 months, your tank is definitley to small. I have been told if you have fancy goldies, they need 10gallons of water per fish. If they are common or comets, they need 20 gallons per fish. Also the filtration should be 100 times the tank size, as an example a 55gallon tank needs 550GPH. I hope this helps.

(A hundred times 55 gallons would be 5500GPH ??)

I have kept many varieties of goldies for over 30 years in ponds and tanks and as long as your tank water is cycled 2 to 3 times an hour you will be fine. However, I would recommend if you have the ability to get a pump that will cycle the water 4 to 5 times per hour.

 

[J-pond]

(A hundred times 55 gallons would be 5500GPH ??)

.

Ok, so i messed up on the hundred, at least i had the write number calculated.*celebrate

 

[Violet]

The rule of thumb I always heard for goldfish is 2 gallons per inch of fish (1 gallon per inch for tropical). As a guideline though, obviously you wouldn't put a ten inch fish in a 10 gallon aquarium!

 

[GiantManLittleFish]

Funny Violet. That's what it says on the back of aquariums set ups sold ar walmart. LOL. But goldfish the more room the better. I wish I knew that when I was younger. I had a common goldfish I won at a carnival for eight years. I had no idea about anything besides use decholrinator. I kept him in a ten gallon tank, let the water get green often. I would then empty and scrub the tank in the bath tub and scrub all the rocks. He got to about a foot long when I put him in a 29 gallon tank. My dad bought two plecos to put in the tank and the plecos killed my fish and my goldfish killed them when he died. He is actually on a family tree we have because he was my pet and had him for a good chunk of my childhood and survived the trip from PA to IL in a cooler.

 

[Queen_of_Red_Lions]

While I agree that your tank is too small as well, I would not be overly concerned about his behavior. If generally he only does it after water changes, he might just be adjusting to the new Ph or water hardness. Otherwise I would only be concerned if he is doing it quite often, and acting strangely as well. A good way to tell if a colourful fish is deprived of oxygen is that he will be more pale than usual. If none of these are the case, from personal experience, I would say he is fine and just doing something that fish do.

 

[exhumed07]

what I have personally noticed when it comes to fish suffocating is they will stay right at the top and stay there sucking water from right at the surface, but if it spends most of it's time further down in the water colum and ony comes to the surface and gulps air every now and then I'd say it is fine.

 

[jo3olous]

While I agree that your tank is too small as well, I would not be overly concerned about his behavior. If generally he only does it after water changes, he might just be adjusting to the new Ph or water hardness. Otherwise I would only be concerned if he is doing it quite often, and acting strangely as well. A good way to tell if a colourful fish is deprived of oxygen is that he will be more pale than usual. If none of these are the case, from personal experience, I would say he is fine and just doing something that fish do.

lol it's not something that fish do, maybe a betta because it gets air from the surface normally; your tank is probably not cycled and the fish are suffering from ammonia poisoning. Water changes to an uncycled tank can also delay the cycling process and it's almost like you are setting back the cycle; the water change helps/hurts the fish at the same time. A fish that constantly goes to the top for air is either gasping for air because there is little oxygen, or its suffering from ammonia poisoning.

2 goldfish can make a serious mess in a 10G rather fast. They excrete A LOT. they should be in a 20G if fancytailed, a 30G if common.