Fantail Continuously Spitting Out Food

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chimpnugget

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I've had this little fantail for almost two weeks, and every time I watch him eat, he seems to spit out his food. And he does it over and over with the same piece of food. I even gave him a different kind of food and he still spits it out. He is still very active and doesn't seem like he's starving. Google searches I've done say there may be something wrong with his water or something obstructing his throat or just something else stressing him out. I don't really know how to go about figuring out if those are the problems. Or does he just like playing with his food and I'm stressing out for no reason?
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :)

Can you post pictures and video of the fish trying to eat?
Upload videos to YouTube, then copy & paste the link here.
If you use a phone to take the video, hold the phone horizontally so the video fills the entire screen.

Check pictures to make sure they are clear and in focus before posting them.

-------------------
Check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.
If you don't have test kits for this, take a glass full of tank water to the local pet shop and ask them to test it for you. Write the results down in numbers when they test the water. If the shop says the water is fine, ask them what the results are in numbers.

How long has the tank been set up for?
How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you treat the new water with a dechlorinator before adding it to the tank?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

Are there any other fish in the tank with the goldfish?
If yes, how long have you had them for and are they eating normally?
Post pictures of them too.

What sort of food do you feed them?
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :)

Can you post pictures and video of the fish trying to eat?
Upload videos to YouTube, then copy & paste the link here.
If you use a phone to take the video, hold the phone horizontally so the video fills the entire screen.

Check pictures to make sure they are clear and in focus before posting them.

-------------------
Check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.
If you don't have test kits for this, take a glass full of tank water to the local pet shop and ask them to test it for you. Write the results down in numbers when they test the water. If the shop says the water is fine, ask them what the results are in numbers.

How long has the tank been set up for?
How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you treat the new water with a dechlorinator before adding it to the tank?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

Are there any other fish in the tank with the goldfish?
If yes, how long have you had them for and are they eating normally?
Post pictures of them too.

What sort of food do you feed them?
Hi! Thank you for the response. This is my first fish as an adult, so I guess I'm really starting out from scratch. I had fish growing up as a kid and it was really easy, just change the filter on occasion, clean the tank once a year, dechlorinate the water by letting it sit out overnight. I never tested the water. My fantail that I had then lived for ten years.

I do have a pretty small tank because I live in an apartment. This is the filter I got, because all the other ones were too large: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078WP442W/?tag=ff0d01-20

He is the only fish in the tank. There is also an african water fern and a narrow leaf plant in the tank.

I have been trying to catch him in the act but it's difficult. I have been feeding him aqueon goldfish flakes. I think I might have seen him eat some very small flakes and not spit them out? Could it be the size of the food?
 
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Big food can be difficult for fish to swallow, and some fish prefer soft food over hard food. It depends on what they are used to. But generally they should be able to eat flake food because it takes in water very quickly and softens up.

If the fish ever looks unwell or acts odd, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. This can help fix a lot of issues, especially if they are related to water quality.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

------------------
The air operated box filter is fine. The materials in it can be re-used over and over and will last for years. When it comes time to clean it, just squeeze the sponges out in a bucket of tank water and re-use the sponges. The gravel and ceramic beads at the bottom can be swished around in a bucket of tank water too. You probably don't even need gravel in it unless the filter floats around without the gravel.

When the materials are clean, put them back in the filter and tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn.

Don't clean the filter for the first 6-8 weeks, then do it once a month.
 

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