Comet behaviour

[soup]

Son has two red and white Comets and they seem
to "eat" the bubbles on top of the water then swim
down and release the bubbles into the water, at first
I thought the water wasn't oxygenated enough but
they spend time at the bottom and at the middle of
the tank, is it fairly common for Comets to exhibit this
behaviour, or are we not feeding them enough so
they go through this surrogate behaviour?
Supplementary question we have some greenery in the
tank, if we are under feeding will the fish eat the plants
( have seen them swallow loose bits and then spit them
out again)?
--
yours S

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione

[soup]

soup popped their head over the parapet saw what was going on and said
> Son has two red and white Comets and they seem
> to "eat" the bubbles on top of the water then swim
> down and release the bubbles into the water, at first
> I thought the water wasn't oxygenated enough but
> they spend time at the bottom and at the middle of
> the tank, is it fairly common for Comets to exhibit this
> behaviour, or are we not feeding them enough so
> they go through this surrogate behaviour?
> Supplementary question we have some greenery in the
> tank, if we are under feeding will the fish eat the plants
> ( have seen them swallow loose bits and then spit them
> out again)?

Tank is only 5 gallons, realise that two is too many.
Wife wants to put even more in [1] ah well fight on my hand :((

[1] Well give more to son who will do the physicaly putting
them in bit but you know what I mean

--
yours S

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione

[humBill]

"soup" > wrote in message
k...
>
> Son has two red and white Comets and they seem
> to "eat" the bubbles on top of the water then swim
> down and release the bubbles into the water, at first
> I thought the water wasn't oxygenated enough but
> they spend time at the bottom and at the middle of
> the tank, is it fairly common for Comets to exhibit this
> behaviour, or are we not feeding them enough so
> they go through this surrogate behaviour?
> Supplementary question we have some greenery in the
> tank, if we are under feeding will the fish eat the plants
> ( have seen them swallow loose bits and then spit them
> out again)?
> --
> yours S
>
> Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione
>
The 'gentle' answer (IMHO) first. I do have a few comets in the pond who
seem to do this occasionally, although I have never observed them spitting
the air bubbles back out. Goldfish in general seem to busy themselves
constantly swimming around hunting for food. If there are plants in there,
hungry or not, it would not be unusual for them to eat the plant or at least
rip it up pretty good trying to check it out.

The more probable answer is that they are telling you they are in trouble.
As I recall you are probably still cycling this tank. Ammonia or Nitrite
poisoning would also be a reason they are on the top gulping for air. As
has been mentioned, goldfish are not a good fit for this small tank. Even
the most generous assessment would allow for 1" of goldfish per 2 1/2-3
gallons of water. So even if they are very tiny - healthy comets grow quite
rapidly and will reach their probable death sooner rather than later.
Adding any more will just hasten this process. If you are checking your
parameters regularly, perhaps daily water changes might prolong their life.
Adding a tablespoon of non iodized salt (rock salt, solar salt for ex.) will
make them less susceptible to nitrite poisoning, but you plants will
probably not like the salt. I really hate to be amongst the group of nay
sayers, but it is analogous to asking how you can run your car without oil.
There might be some suggestions to keep it running longer than expected, but
inevitably a very premature death would be expected. I once heard someone
who had a number of small comets in a small still water garden tub. They
lived two years but before they finally died they had hardly grown at all.
It is a misconstrued myth that goldfish will only grow to the size of their
container. While the observation may be true, it is because their growth is
being stunted by unhealthy conditions and they are uncomfortable and dying
albeit slowly sometimes.
We have all heard the occasional story of someone breaking all 'the rules'
and their fish surviving, at least for a while. But your fish gulping for
air is probably a sign this will not be the case here.
This might not even be a correct suggestion but - after your comets die, if
the tank has cycled, if the dead fish are removed quickly, you might be able
to do a 100% water change and put 3 or 4 neons in, with some success. Don't
clean everything or you will be removing the nitrifying bacteria and be back
to square one. Neons do not fair well during cycling either. If you don't
want to spend $20 or the equivalent over there, at least buy a nitrate test.
This will tell you if your tank is nearing completion of the cycle. It will
not tell you whether you have toxic levels of ammonia and nitrites as well.
I have written such a long response, because I feel for you. When I was
setting up my pond I received a number of suggestions which I believed were
overly conservative - and indeed many of them were, when I did everything
else properly. Being a major penny pincher I also empathize with the
possibility that you don't want to spend a bunch of money on chemicals,
tests, better filters etc, if you have a very small investment in your tank
and a couple of fish. And yes I have read many posts which report that the
LFS said 'this' should work fine. However, when all is said and done I must
agree with the much briefer responses which tell you your pets probably will
not be long lived, under your current conditions.
Good Luck!!
Bill Brister - Austin, Texas

[soup]

humBill popped their head over the parapet saw what was going on and
said
> "soup" > wrote in message
> k...
> >
> > Son has two red and white Comets and they seem
> > to "eat" the bubbles on top of the water then swim
> > down and release the bubbles into the water, at first
> > I thought the water wasn't oxygenated enough but
> > they spend time at the bottom and at the middle of
> > the tank, is it fairly common for Comets to exhibit this
> > behaviour, or are we not feeding them enough so
> > they go through this surrogate behaviour?
> > Supplementary question we have some greenery in the
> > tank, if we are under feeding will the fish eat the plants
> > ( have seen them swallow loose bits and then spit them
> > out again)?

> The 'gentle' answer (IMHO) first. I do have a few comets in the pond
> who seem to do this occasionally, although I have never observed them
> spitting the air bubbles back out. Goldfish in general seem to busy
> themselves constantly swimming around hunting for food. If there are
> plants in there, hungry or not, it would not be unusual for them to
> eat the plant or at least rip it up pretty good trying to check it
> out.

Thanks for that Bill, must have over stated this surface behaviour
as they are not "gulping air" would say it is more like this busying
themselves eating ,looking for food and going through the motions
of eating, they seem to spend 1/5 of their time at the bottom 1/5 of
their time at the top and the remaining 3/5 in the middle of the tank
so they don't seem to be short of oxygen Pretty much right on
with me being a "penny pincher" and the LFS did give the "oh they
will be fine you don't want to listen to those folk on the internet"
'advice'. Yet more of the plants have been broken off and they
seem to have a great time tasting it, deciding it's yukky and spittingi
it out about thirty seconds later they try that again.

Not very fair on the fish but if they survive a couple of months they
will have done their job and acted as eye candy for that length of
time and maybe the younger lad (10 really but mentally he is 4)
will have an appreciation of looking after something else that is alive.
Eldest son (who is the actual owner) will probably find another
interest next week he is 12 so what he is into (a horrible phrase)
changes very rapidly (one reason we are not going into this too deeply)
Still argu^^^discusing with the wife that the tank is too small for
the fish it already has never mind adding more too it.

Everytime I Google something seem to get lots of differing advice
think
this is one of those hobbies that could very easily take precedence
over everything

--
yours S

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione

[humBill]

Hi soup - Thanks for the clarification about what you and your boys are
trying to accomplish. It certainly does put several things in perspective.
So let's just say yes, the trolling for food on the top is not unusual, feed
sparingly and make water changes as regularly as you can, (with dechlor in
the water) and you will probably meet your goals.

You are certainly right about the hobby and different opinions. When I
was first 'learning' I remember one store owner saying - If you ask 6
different people the same question you will probably get 5 different
answers. The chances are the only answer you can rule out is the one that
the two agree on:) There can be so many variables to factor in, the answer
for any given situation will vary slightly. For instance I don't remember
if you have a heater. I would not use it simply because higher temperatures
(and pH) make ammonia more toxic at lower levels. (and I could add 5
different addendums to that:) Yes it can be extremely all consuming.
Have fun!
Bill

"soup" > wrote in message
...
> humBill popped their head over the parapet saw what was going on and
> said
>> "soup" > wrote in message
>> k...
>> >
>> > Son has two red and white Comets and they seem
>> > to "eat" the bubbles on top of the water then swim
>> > down and release the bubbles into the water, at first
>> > I thought the water wasn't oxygenated enough but
>> > they spend time at the bottom and at the middle of
>> > the tank, is it fairly common for Comets to exhibit this
>> > behaviour, or are we not feeding them enough so
>> > they go through this surrogate behaviour?
>> > Supplementary question we have some greenery in the
>> > tank, if we are under feeding will the fish eat the plants
>> > ( have seen them swallow loose bits and then spit them
>> > out again)?
>
>> The 'gentle' answer (IMHO) first. I do have a few comets in the pond
>> who seem to do this occasionally, although I have never observed them
>> spitting the air bubbles back out. Goldfish in general seem to busy
>> themselves constantly swimming around hunting for food. If there are
>> plants in there, hungry or not, it would not be unusual for them to
>> eat the plant or at least rip it up pretty good trying to check it
>> out.
>
> Thanks for that Bill, must have over stated this surface behaviour
> as they are not "gulping air" would say it is more like this busying
> themselves eating ,looking for food and going through the motions
> of eating, they seem to spend 1/5 of their time at the bottom 1/5 of
> their time at the top and the remaining 3/5 in the middle of the tank
> so they don't seem to be short of oxygen Pretty much right on
> with me being a "penny pincher" and the LFS did give the "oh they
> will be fine you don't want to listen to those folk on the internet"
> 'advice'. Yet more of the plants have been broken off and they
> seem to have a great time tasting it, deciding it's yukky and spittingi
> it out about thirty seconds later they try that again.
>
> Not very fair on the fish but if they survive a couple of months they
> will have done their job and acted as eye candy for that length of
> time and maybe the younger lad (10 really but mentally he is 4)
> will have an appreciation of looking after something else that is alive.
> Eldest son (who is the actual owner) will probably find another
> interest next week he is 12 so what he is into (a horrible phrase)
> changes very rapidly (one reason we are not going into this too deeply)
> Still argu^^^discusing with the wife that the tank is too small for
> the fish it already has never mind adding more too it.
>
> Everytime I Google something seem to get lots of differing advice
> think
> this is one of those hobbies that could very easily take precedence
> over everything
>
> --
> yours S
>
> Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione
>
>

[Starfish]

Dont put any more fish in there....they will die!
"soup" > wrote in message
k...
> soup popped their head over the parapet saw what was going on and said
>> Son has two red and white Comets and they seem
>> to "eat" the bubbles on top of the water then swim
>> down and release the bubbles into the water, at first
>> I thought the water wasn't oxygenated enough but
>> they spend time at the bottom and at the middle of
>> the tank, is it fairly common for Comets to exhibit this
>> behaviour, or are we not feeding them enough so
>> they go through this surrogate behaviour?
>> Supplementary question we have some greenery in the
>> tank, if we are under feeding will the fish eat the plants
>> ( have seen them swallow loose bits and then spit them
>> out again)?
>
> Tank is only 5 gallons, realise that two is too many.
> Wife wants to put even more in [1] ah well fight on my hand :((
>
> [1] Well give more to son who will do the physicaly putting
> them in bit but you know what I mean
>
> --
> yours S
>
> Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione
>
>