to cut a fairly long story down to the barest bones; my little fantail
(though according to the Bristol Aquarists' site he's a Man-Yu - the
Aston Villa fan in the house does not approve) gets very floaty after
eating and will occasionally float upside down on the surface when at
rest. This wears off a few hours after eating.

I've tried sinking food (not a goldfish specific one but one aimed at
mid- and bottom-feeders) which doesn't help at all. However, bloodworms
don't make him float. I'm not at all convinced that a diet of only
bloodworms would be a good idea - if I did go for that I think it would
be feeding only every other day as they're so protein-rich. Also one of
the WCMs stuffs itself so silly on them that it has the opposite problem
and sinks like a stone... The goldfish all like algae wafers; would
these in combination with the bloodworms count as a sensible diet??

any suggestions very welcome!
--
sophie

Sophie,

Have you tried soaking the food before adding it to the tank? Worth a try.

In message <41F61369.C3472AD2@Freezer.com>, Geezer From The Freezer
<Geezer@Freezer.com> writes

I have. I'm not sure why it doesn't help, the only clue I have is that
I've seen the fish swimming at the surface trying to eat imaginary food
after feeding flakes or pellets, whether or not the food sinks. it
doesn't do this with the live (frozen) food, or with the algae wafers...
To quote the owner of the fish: "Jack is very silly, isn't he Mummy?"

--
sophie

Could try feeding less and occasionally feeding a cooked
shelled pea to see if that helps

In message <41F76757.CC5E4CEE@Freezer.com>, Geezer From The Freezer
<Geezer@Freezer.com> writes


They do get peas occasionally.

I don't feed a lot; a little bit once a day with the occasional day
(usually sundays) off. and very occasionally a couple of feeds in one
day. partly because I go away every so often I don't like them to come
to expect being fed at a certain time; it doesn't seem fair if suddenly
I'm not around... One thing I have noticed is that they respond
extremely badly to a fast immediately following a bloodworm feed (as do
the WCMs); it isn't a problem after anything else.
weirdos.
--
sophie