Unusual behavior change (goldfish)

Question
Hi Sam!
Ready for this one?  I have a BELOVED goldfish, Sharkie, who was bought to be a feeder fish for my turtle, who luckily went into hibernation and didn't eat the tiny fish.  That was 3+ years ago & sharkie is a joy.  He is alone in a tank, a long skinny tank, very spacious.  He is extremely active & fun & communicative with me.  I've always had very large rocks in his aquariums (changed with his growth),which contributed to his well-being as I changed the configuration often & he played a great deal with the designs I made. About 2 weeks ago, he started to swim faster & I heard him bang into the rocks!  I told him to be careful but he didn't listen :P. I spotted a wound on both sides, they resemble 'bruising' & one side was actually raw & scales missing. I immediately removed the rocks (of course) & substituted with larger live plants, mainly as something for him to play with, because I know his nature very well. He is very active & strong! His wounds appear to be healing, no visible change other than the redness (scary!), he eats very well..I purposely move his feeding spots to see if he will 'hunt'~ he does. He wants to eat..also in a healthy way.  His waste is normal, too, so I'm taking he's not constipated.  He swims well, all signs of health. (phew).  Ok, here's the odd part & why I write you:  the behavior change is that right after I took the rocks out..he seemed to find a new game.  He started swimming through the cleared out spacious water a lot and seems to have found the SURFACE. Now he likes to spend all his time up there, he still swims below, still scours the bottom, still behaves the same, swims the same, he's super active, yet also very still & calm.  But when he's on top, he skims the surface & I watch him expose his back out of the water!! sometimes the top of his tail as she swims casually, I've even once seen him bring his eyes out and swim to me normally.  It is so bizarre, i don't know whether to be scared or just be amused. he is truly an amazing fish in many ways, we've been through a lot together and in all ways he is the same. but whoever heard of a fish swimming on top of the water?? Have you?  it appears to be choice, and no one has a clue because his wound is clear, he's eating, pooping, swimming, reacting to me the same..just his rocks are gone & now the fun seems to be up top. He only tilts & recovers when he becomes still. It seems like as he's swimming on top, he takes in air. That's what I'm observing.  Yes, I've changed the water, I'm siphoning it every day (which he plays with that, too.  adding water is 'waterfall', he plays with that process.  every interaction is a game..but when I look for him now..he's always at the surface..hanging out.  So..What do you say?  I can't wait to find out your thoughts!  Best wishes, Elizabeth & Sharkie

Answer
Hi Elizabeth! (and Sharkie :D)

I'm very surprised to hear that you fish treats everything as a "game"! That has never happened to me (so jealous).  If you want to speed up his wounds, try the API Stress Coat. It has the healing properties of Aloe Vera which should heal the wounds faster. If you don't want him to bump into anymore rocks, or at least lower the possibility, leave the light(s) on (I know, I know, everybody's on tight budgets and we want to lower electric/water bills) or at least the UV light if you have one.
By examining the data you inputted, my hypothesis is that Sharkie is "playing" another game. I've heard about fish swimming on top of the water because they either have an infection in the swim bladder or they are almost dead. But that's not the case since he's so active.

Hope this helps! :D
Don't hesitate to ask more questions and pls give me a good rating! xD

~Sam