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I have a small water tank with few fish at home. There are small stones for decoration, and for several weeks now, I noticed that every time I'm around, the fish go down to the stones and bump into them on purpose, and it results in some noise.

They didn't do it from the beginning (bought them in August 2019), just maybe 6-8 weeks. (Literally)

They do it now consistently, so I can't help wondering: is it their way to draw attention? I walk to them when they do it to check what they do then they swim up towards me.

To make it more clear, here is the fish tank with the small stones:

image of the fish tank

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    I agree with the answer - the bowl is too small, please consider getting a larger tank
    – user6796
    Mar 23, 2020 at 21:53
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    a personal anecdote: a few of my goldfish used to pick up pebbles in their mouth and then "spit" it against the aquarium walls. it freaked me out the first few times until i figured the culprits! goldies can be needy! they will always come up and beg for food, even if they have been fed recently. DONOT overfeed goldfish, no matter how much they beg for it, it will make them sick.
    – fraglord
    Mar 24, 2020 at 14:27
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    @fraglord most problems one get in a fish tank is related to over feeding so a good rule is to feed only 2-3 times a week and only what the fish can eat in a couple of minutes.
    – trond hansen
    Mar 24, 2020 at 22:03

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Goldfish do not make noise to get attention but they will come to the surface of the water when you walk up to the tank. Goldfish and other fish will learn that when you come it means food is on its way.

Goldfish are bottom feeders so they will move pebbles and small rocks to find food.

The tank you have is too small for keeping goldfish, please read this https://thegoldfishtank.com/goldfish-care/tank/do-goldfish-need-a-big-tank/

For one goldfish you need a 100 liter tank and for each additional goldfish you need 50 liters of water, so if you want to keep 3 goldfish you need a 200 liters tank and there is no upper limit for tank size, so bigger is better.

You will need to have filtration in your tank to process the waste they make, goldfish are seen as dirty fish as they produce more waste than other fish.

Goldfish being coldwater fish should ideally be kept in a garden pond.

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    "Goldfish beeing cold water fish should ideally be kept in a garden pond." That certainly depends on the geographic location. Here, in Texas, a garden pond, and even the top four feet of large lakes can get up to 90F for long stretches of time. I always call summer the sweater and coat season because people keep it so cold inside often 70F or lower. When I go out to stores, offices, restaurants, etc. I always take a jacket because I know I will get cold.
    – Ron Maupin
    Mar 24, 2020 at 12:54
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    @RonMaupin i mention a garden pond more because of the size of the environment and less because of the temparature.
    – trond hansen
    Mar 24, 2020 at 16:05
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My goldfish pops the water with his lips on the surface when he is hungry (every other hour), he wakes me up sometimes, sometimes he even manages to squirt the water.

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  • Exactly like my case. How often you feed the fish? I feed them twice a day, morning and night, with a tiny grain of goldfish food. Since I have two, sometimes one eat both grains. :/
    – Shadow The GPT Wizard
    Jun 7, 2020 at 6:47
  • normally three times a day which i know is too much, he eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner with me (pretty sad) but i think he should eat when i eat. he is quite fat and i know its not good but oh well he is enjoying life
    – Ab Bennett
    Jun 8, 2020 at 0:19
  • Well, I'm afraid you'll have to replace him soon enough, but maybe better have a happy fish for short amount of time than sad fish for long amount of time. ;)
    – Shadow The GPT Wizard
    Jun 8, 2020 at 5:44

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