Are these "regular" goldfish or some fancy variety like lionheads or ryukins? Have seen many of these types exhibit strange physical behavior. Anyways, I've never found bubble wands to be very desirable. The fine mist of bubbles they create can be irritating to the gills of some fish. They can also cause havoc with your filtration by forcing the bubbles into your filter intake. Without seeing your setup, I would say that 3 sides of bubble walls is too much. It could be creating a visible wall for the fish. I usually use just plain air line (no attachment on the ends) anchored with rock or gravel, in only 1 or 2 location in the tank. The bubbles are larger and should provide better circulation and aeration.

One more thing. You mentioned they hover at surface after you feed them. Do you notice this behavior ONLY after you feed them? Were they fed the night of the power outage when they looked to be swimmming normally?

They are just plain fantail goldfish. I'll stop today and get a smaller bubbler. In the evening I turn the light on and feed them. During the day the light is off and they seem to just hang around the bottom of the tank and "sleep". I asked someone at the pet store about the best way to feed, and how they do it. She showed me to wet my fingers in the tank, dip them in the food, and then swirl in tank, so the food sinks. I use the chips. Yes I had fed them the night of the outage. Oh, yea, and I only notice them swimming up top after I feed them. Not just immediately, but all through the evening.
Thanks for your input!
Lauri

Hmmm. First, I would change 2 things:

-Do not wet your fingers before putting them in the can of food. The moisture that will accumulate in the can will eventually spoil the food. You can simply grab the food dry, then swirl it around in the tank.

-How is the tank situated in your home? Is the room particularly dim? Is their regular "people traffic" near the tank or just during feeding and evening hours? You mentioned you only turn the light on at feeding time... perhaps if the light was on earlier than it is now (you can use a simple appliance timer), the fish may become more active earlier in the day. I would also try feeding them at random times during the day. Despite the popular myth, fish have good memories and will get used to only eating at a certain time. Mix it up and see what happens.

Hopefully we'll narrow it down! Let us know how the new bubbles affects them.

That is good to know about not wetting my fingers before hand. The tank is located in a fairly light room. Not a lot of traffic in our house, there is just us two. I got two little bubble....hmmm...don't know what they are called, stones I suppose. Just put them in yesterday morning and haven't really had a chance to see if there is a difference. I'll try the mixing of the feeding time too.
Thanks again, Lauri