Terry Brown, age 12, of O'Neill, Neb., for the question:

Why does my goldfish try to breathe air?

Your poor little pot has a message for you. He is not feeling at all well and chances are it is because his water is not just right for him. He needs fresh clean water at least twice a weak because this is whore he gets his oxygen.

There is a way to provide water .for him which does not have to be changed. You set up the floor of his glass home like a little underwater garden plant water weeds‑and add a few water snails. The water weeds give off oxygen into the water. They also use up the carbon dioxide which the goldfish breathes out. The snails eat up the filmy green algae which tend to cloud the water of the fish bowl, This way there is a give and take between the plant and animal kingdom, which is exactly how Mother Nature runs things in the wild.