Fish gulping air and bubbles after feeding

[ryukins]

How can I stop or prevent them from doing this? I don't want my fish to get swim bladder issues because they are constantly gulping air and bubbles at the top after feeding. I'm pretty sure it is not aeration related because they only do this after feeding.

I am feeding ~10-15 hikari lionhead mini pellets each time 2-4 times a day. My 3 goldfish are each 2.5 inches long (not including their tail).

[ryukins]

Water parameters:
Ph 7.8
Amm 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20ppm
Temp 27 deg Celsius

Temperature went up recently due to the hot weather and the air conditioning has not switched on in my condo yet.

[LyndaB]

You could try rehydrating the pellets before feeding so that they are more easily digestable. I put my dry food into a 1/4 measuring cup with a little tank water mixed with either Garlic Guard or Vita Chem. Within a few minutes, you're ready to feed. Dump the contents of the measuring cup into the tank. The pellets will immediately sink and I think it'll get rid of your problem.

[ryukins]

I fasted the fish for a few days and fed them peas today. I also lowered the water level a bit and added a bit of salt--they seem to be better now.

I think they were constipated because their poop was stringy.

[LyndaB]

Originally Posted by ryukins

I am feeding ~10-15 hikari lionhead mini pellets each time 2-4 times a day. My 3 goldfish are each 2.5 inches long (not including their tail).

This is a lot of food. I feed one feeding every other day. You're feeding up to 4 times daily? You might want to cut back.

[yaya10]

I agree with lynda probably too much food, also I think 27c is too high for goldfish. Basically the higer the temperature the less oxygen will be available in the water. I would try feeding less (and maybe break up the pellets as suggested), lowering the temp and maybe throw in an air stone while your at it to increase the oxygen levels in the water.

[ryukins]

Thanks guys. Yeah I think I will feed less per feeding. I just thought baby fancies needed to be fed more to grow faster. I'm still feeding peas for the next few days before going back to pellets.

[jlk]

27c is around 80f- quite warm for fancies. Drop it down to 72-74f. Goldies have much higher oxygen needs than most fish. The higher temps mean less dissolved oxygen which may be why you are seeing them gulp for air & at bubbles. Do they do this after eating veggies as well or only pellets?

[ryukins]

Yes they do this after eating veggies as well but not as much. I have turned off the air stones so that they are not eating bubbles any more. It could be that I am feeding too much veggies too? I fed green peas as much as they could eat within 2 mins twice a day the past few days.

[fishdok]

woow that is a very high temp , i advise you to turn the heater down , depending on your room temperature you could even turn the heater off completely because ryukins and fish like them e.g goldfish and other fancies prefer cooler water's , also you shouldnt turn the air stone off because this may cause them to gulp even more because of lack of oxygen
,fishdok

[LyndaB]

Originally Posted by ryukins

I fed green peas as much as they could eat within 2 mins twice a day the past few days.

Yes, you're overfeeding the veggies, too.

[jlk]

Cut the peas back to once a day & offer them some broccoli to munch on when they feel like. You can try cutting their meal size down a little bit too. I would still offer them a few small meals a day but just not as big & see if this helps at all.

[yaya10]

Not sure what you mean by 'eating bubbles' but turning off the air stones when seemingly they are suffering from lack of oxygen is probably not a good idea. Also, I think feeding them peas instead of their food for a longer period of time is probably not doing them any good. From what I understand peas are meant to be given on occasions in small quantities to improve their digestion but I am pretty sure peas lack the nutrients needed by the fish and that are contained in their pellet food. Fish can survive a while whitout food depending on the species and condition but I would not keep them on a pea only diet.