How well do you know your goldfish?

Question

This is a little trivia question, I already know the answer, but I will award 10 points to the person who gives me the best answer without internet research....

QUESTION:
What causes pet gold fish to go belly up in their tanks, are they dead? if not, How do you fix the problem?

Im looking for some physiological explanations here............. good luck!

Answer 1

Here's my standard answer-

they're probably having swimbladder issues.Goldfish are genetically prone to swimbladder problems because their bodies are so compacted.

If you feed flakes then they are gulping air at the surface and the air throws off their bouyancy. If you feed flakes you need to hold them below the surface of the water and let them sink.

If you feed sinking pellets then they prevent your fish from gulping air at the surface. The pellets themselves are full of air though. If you feed pellets you need to soak them in water for two minutes before feeding.

Another diet problem is that your fish food is high in protein. Goldfish should eat a lot of vegetation. They become constipated on such high protein diets. You should supplement their diet 3 days a week with shelled peas. You can also put a lettuce clip with romaine but they will prefer the peas.

It really hepls to starve your fish for 3 days before you change the diet. This will clear out the digestive system. It sounds like your problems aren't that bad though, it may not be neccesary.

I have an extremely sensitive Fantail who is a varocious eater. After eating he is always a little floaty but it passes after the pressure from his stomach relieves his swim bladder.

If the change in diet doesn't help he may have a minor bacterial infection. They sell medicated food that helps.

Answer 2

Could be several reasons.
1) The Ph in the tank is either too high or too low.
2) Overfeeding
3) the swim bladder might have burst
$) shock from being put in the tank

Answer 3

cksloan has it.

To elaborate, the organ is called the swim bladder. It's a gas-filled organ which the fish uses to control its buoyancy. When the fish is alive, muscles compress the bladder, making it more dense. When the fish dies, the muscles relax, and the swim bladder expands to its maximum size, and the poor fish is less dense than water and therefore floats.

Answer 4

In Fancy Goldfish ? They have swim bladder disease, it causes them to not be able to swim upright or to swim to the bottom
It's not really a disease per say, it's caused because the goldfish
organs have been displaced and all kinds of things can upset their systems I've seen a few recover

Answer 5

Gas. Essentially, a swim bladder problem. If the food they eat disagrees with them, they produce excess gas in their swim bladder, which throws off their bouancy. It can be corrected by feeding them shelled peas. They'll have a good sized stool with bubbles in it, and usually be ok after that.

Answer 6

My sister hada petgoldfish.. Pepper... passed away last year... so during the course of its 2year life, I think I did enuff goldfish research to never have to go to another site. (sob!! :'( Family still miss him so much)
K.. goldfish are especially prone overfeeding and swallowing too much air which gets into their stomachs n then float up to the top.
give your goldfish crushed frozed peas or lettuce to help, and dont feed them regular food tht day. Also, DONT ovefeed your goldfish.

Answer 7

Don't they have an organ that helps them swim and if it bursts ot something then it goes belly up?

Answer 8

That's an awful lot to ask about a stupid goldfish.

Answer 9

Don't know never had one