29 Gallon Tank Goldfish Won’t Stop Gulping Air

My goldfish that recently started gulping at the surface. Thinking he was low on oxygen, I split my Tetra Whisper 40 air pump and added a 4inch air stone in addition to the sponge filter. This has not stopped the gulping, but he is gulping less. In the past, this tank just had the 4inch air stone, and he didn’t gulp then.
I don’t see any film on the surface, I even shined a flashlight around to see if there was any oily sheen.

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm

He only gulps at the waterfall from the hob filter. I’m not sure why. The gulping is not causing any significant problems and he’s otherwise fine, but it is messing up his balance a little.

I really don’t want to get rid of the sponge filter since it polishes the water so well. I could invest in another air pump with a bigger stone if anyone thinks I should. Maybe one big pump with dual outlets and a 6-8inch stone?

 

You seem to be experienced, at least with this particular fish. Is temperature OK, i.e., not too high for him? Is it possible that your water conditioner is not good?

 

You seem to be experienced, at least with this particular fish. Is temperature OK, i.e., not too high for him? Is it possible that your water conditioner is not good?

I use Prime, and I’ve used it for years with no issues, but the bottle I have has been getting pretty ripe lately. I heard too much Prime can deplete oxygen, but I am following dosage instructions. Maybe use a little less? His tank is unheated, and is currently 68F.

 

Well, if nothing has been added to the tank to bring disease, and the temp is alright, there must be something depriving him of oxygen (that didn't happen before). Your water parameters that measure nitrogen products are good. One thing that remains that will choke fish is chlorine. That's my line of thinking, I could well be wrong. I don't know what you should do with Prime, but you could observe to see if the behavior is attributable to chlorine spike after water change, and experiment with another conditioner.

 

I have test strips that test for chlorine, and they come up negative, so it may not be chlorine. I'll go get another water conditioner to see if Prime is causing the problem. I'll try Tetra Aquasafe.
I have changed my routine from 2 water changes a week to only 1 (because doing 2 was unnecessary), so it could be the loss in aeration from water changes is the issue. In that case, I'll need more aeration.

Hmm... Any air pump recommendations? I was thinking the Tetra Whisper 60, because it has 2 outlets.

 

How old is your goldfish and have you had him for a while? I have heard they are prone to gill flukes, however I don't know how long that particular parasite takes to reach infestation levels where they would damage gill function.

 

How old is your goldfish and have you had him for a while? I have heard they are prone to gill flukes, however I don't know how long that particular parasite takes to reach infestation levels where they would damage gill function.

He's 5 and I've had him his entire life. It's possible he got flukes from the petstore I worked at, but I quit 2 months ago. Is there an incubation period for flukes? He's been gulping for a couple weeks.

 

He's 5 and I've had him his entire life. It's possible he got flukes from the petstore I worked at, but I quit 2 months ago. Is there an incubation period for flukes? He's been gulping for a couple weeks.

hm, yeah I don't know the answer to that. Just something I read was pretty common for goldfish when I was researching to start keeping them myself. Maybe have a look and see if his gills look inflamed or something?

 

Gill flukes is what I'm thinking as well...you could try a gill scrape to check, I've never done one before so I can't give much advice on that, but I'm sure you could Google it. If it is gill flukes, I recommend Minn Finn for the treatment, it's very effective for flukes and I consider it the best med option in most cases.

 

I looked in his gills, and they look like they always do; dark red, not pale or swollen. He’s not hyperventilating either, just occasionally gulping. I’ll increase his food a little, in case he’s having a growth spurt and is just super hungry (he sometimes will bulk up and put on like half an inch in size, despite being 5).

Because he’s not having any significant problems, I’m going to try more air first (a pump is in the mail) before meds. If that doesn’t help, then he may have flukes. However, for flukes, I think I’ll make the trip to the vet because this fish is very important to me, and I don’t have any experience at all with flukes or really any kind of parasite. I’d trust the vet to do a gill scrape. I’d probably hurt him if I tried it.

Btw, Tetra Whisper 60 air pumps are $11.55 on Amazon right now.