fishy fun

Question
i have 5 small fantails, i recently put a airstone in my tank and i have noticed that the fish keeping swimming in the bubbles, they seem to keep swimming in and out of them like they are coming back for more, also they like to swim in front of the filter and get whizzed around the tank. do you think this is bad for them or are they amusing themselves. is there anything i can do to keep them interested by maybe putting in more plants and hiding holes. also i have noticed one of my fish is always by its self and the others hang around together. he is smaller than the others, is there anything i can do.

Answer
Hi Lauren,
Sounds like your fantails are just having fun! Few people will believe it, but fish do like to do things just for fun. They will exercise themselves by swimming against the current of a filter, they will swim through bubbles from an airtstone, and a lot of fish like to push a ball around their tank. Oscars are said to love ping-pong balls.

A lot of fish can get bored and depressed if they don't have an interesting and stimulating environment. Bettas and Pufferfish are well known for getting bored and depressed sometimes if they aren't entertained. With these fish you need to provide them plenty of decorations, hiding caves to swim through, plants to explore through and that sort of stuff. Make sure you don't overcrowd their tank though. The little goldfish is probably going to be a runt for a while. This happens a lot with groups of fish. The highest ranking fish in the pecking order get all the food and the lowest ranking weak fish are often forced to stay small. The best thing you can do is make sure everyone gets their fair share of food. Sometimes runt fish can catch up with the others, but its always debatable.

I really hope this helps!
Best of luck and Happy fishkeeping!
Karen~