my fantail fish keeps floating on its back its trying to roll over its eating ok?

Question

it has some slight black markings which are new looking at it now its swiming around on its back

Answer 1

prob a swim bladder prob..

Answer 2

As the others have suggested- it would appear that your fish has a swimbladder problem. This happens when food is compacted in the tummy and generates infection which causes gas to be trapped in the swimbladder without release.

As you can imagine the fish would NORMALLY be able to empty it as it sinks and inflate it to rise. Your poor fishy cannot.

There is a chance that it did not happen BECAUSE of the feed you are giving it (them) but is just one of those things... Or the fish may be genuinely ill. Though then you would see other symptoms. My concern is your mention of the marks you have seen... Honestly? I'd be tempted to see a vet about that!

The common cause is food which is dry and absorbs water is more likely to swell once eaten and cause the blockage. Think of eating a breadbun/roll and swallowing it whole and it swelling to about the size of a dinner plate inside you. ;-)

That covers WHY and now on to treatment:

A vet will be able to x-ray your fish and tell you if that is indeed the case. Then you would be recommended to feed your fish weight-giving feed (there are foods which will weighten down a fish), avoiding dry food or flakes. I am not sure that trapping air by swallowing is as much of an issue as the bacteria growing in a trapped food matter but it COULD be as simple as that. Either way- avoid feeding flakes and floating foods in case it IS a bacterial infection caused by compaction and NOT just gulping too much air.

:-)

Then there is a recommendation which sounds weird but which is very good at curing this if at all possible: feeding a green pea (lightly crushed tinned or frozen) on a daily basis. This, apparently, can help decompact the blockage and help untrap that gas. Think of it as roughage in your own diet to help your gut maintain a healthy habit.

Finally- keep the green veg habit up, and/or look at getting weight-giving foods. Ask the local fishfood supplier. Oh- and it is not "contagious" so there is no need to quarantine the "ill" fish from the others UNLESS they are bullying "him".

Of course it is ALWAYS recommended to ask the advice of a qualified vet... Fishes have rights too! ;-)

Good luck!

Answer 3

swimbladder is a buoyancy problem so if you fish is having a hard time swimming around or floats sideways then its a good chance hes got some problems.

for swimbladder its best to remove them if they are with any other fish. other fish will nip at him while he is like this. for treatment if he is a healthy eater don't feed him for 3 days. you can try epsom salt baths -- just google epsom salt and swim bladder for directions. after 3 days put him on a roughage diet of chopped up green peas. if he isn't showing any progress after about 5 days you might want to consider antibiotics.

while you are treating him its a good idea to use aquarium salt in his water to reduce bacteria -- use about a tablespoon per 5 gallons and he should be good.

Answer 4

Your fish has swimbladder disease. You can buy salts to add to the tank water from any good aquarist shop. If you have more than one fish I would set up a small tank using water from your main tank and move the affected fish to it. Having it in a small "hospital" tank makes it easier and cheaper to treat and will stop the other fish nipping at it which would stress the affected fish and compact the problem. Hope this helps and it gets better soon.

Answer 5

It sounds like he swallowed air and has it in his stomach now - can be common - but usually cannot be helped. Sometimes it will go away on it's own, sometimes they died quickly - and sometimes they live like that for a few years.

One way to reduce the amount of air your goldfish swallows is:
1. If you feed him flakes, dip the flakes in the water with your fingers rather then sprinkling them on top.
2. If it is pellets - avoild getting floating ones.

Answer 6

Its sounds like a swim bladder problem,fantail's are well know for it,unfortunately theres not much you can do,sometimes they resolve on their own,but not often.

Answer 7

It has a problem with it's swimbladder.

This is difficult to treat.Take it to a vet experienced with fish.

Answer 8

Yeah. It could be there is something wrong with its swimming bladder. If it's a girl, she could be carrying eggs. If so, once she releases the eggs, she'll be back to normal.

Answer 9

Your fish probably has swim bladder disease or something.

Answer 10

http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/fantail/fantail.htm

Your fish may be sick, but here is a website to check out!! Hope it is ok.