Goldfish Constantly moving mouth and glass surfing

[bettaballistic]

I have two baby fancy goldfish in a 20 gallon. And I have been treating them for flukes for the last 2 weeks, they were piping, flashing, and generally moving very jerkly. I'm doing 5ml prazipro every 7 days with a water change on day 7. I'm leaning towards doing the 3rd week but I'm not sure how much of this behavior is normal. 

They are now moving normally and not flashing. One of them occasionally goes up to the surface, but only in the spot that I feed them so I think hes begging. But both of them are very frequently glass surfing, and CONSTANTLY opening and closing their mouths. There’s no ammonia, nitrite and nitrates is very little. I was using an air stone, but it really stresses them out so I only turn it on for short periods during the day.

Everything I find online says that moving their mouth frequently is a sign of low oxygen. Is that always true? Could this be damage from the flukes? Maybe the glass surfing is a stress response to the medication? I'm not sure what to do, any advice appreciated! 

Edited December 29, 2022 by bettaballistic

[Tanner Fish lover]

Hi, I have fancy goldfish. I'm no expert but I've been keeping them for a year now. It seems you are very in tune with your fish, which is good. One thing that i'd check is the temperature. i believe higher temp means lower oxygen in the water. that might be why they are opening their mouths so much. I keep my goldfish at around 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

[bettaballistic]

On 12/29/2022 at 1:47 PM, Tanner Fish lover said:

Hi, I have fancy goldfish. I'm no expert but I've been keeping them for a year now. It seems you are very in tune with your fish, which is good. One thing that i'd check is the temperature. i believe higher temp means lower oxygen in the water. that might be why they are opening their mouths so much. I keep my goldfish at around 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

 That's a great suggestion! I haven't thought about temperature at all, With the heater that I'm using right now I can't get the water any colder than 73. But I'm moving them to a bigger tank Soon so I bet it won't be as hot. If that doesn't work I can get them a heater that will actually keep the water at 68. They would be fine without one during the day, but my house gets really cold at night.

[Tanner Fish lover]

Also, if you lower temperature, the metabolism of the fish will slow, so feed less and expect slower movement. Be careful when changing temp, do it slowly so as to not shock your fish. good luck!

 

[Hally M.]

@Tanner Fish loverI was reading this post and found a lot of similarities with my goldfish. I’ve considered it to be gill flukes but haven’t taken action yet. I’ve never kept goldfish before so I wasn’t too sure. The temp is at 68 Fahrenheit I’ve had salt in there for a little less than a week. Should I consider meds?

[Tanner Fish lover]

Hi @Hally M.,

Ive never encountered gill flukes before. which part of her post is similar? If its the flashing, then a parasite like flukes could be the cause. are all your fish flashing? or is it the constantly opening of the mouth thats the problem?

[Hally M.]

It’s the constant opening of the mouth as well as glass surfing @Tanner Fish lover

Edited December 31, 2022 by Hally M.

[Tanner Fish lover]

opening the mouth could be begging for food or limited oxygen or stress. whats your set up like? how many fish do you have? are they all opening their mouths rapidly and consistently? Maybe you should message me directly so we don't over take this post 🙂