he keeps trying to float to the bottom but his tail end floats up like hes got a bunch of air in his bottom. could this be gas? or is it dying?? its just a regular goldfish.... help we hate to see our fish like this!
2007-05-06 14:29:02 · 12 answers · asked by katekate888 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
You are right, he does have air in his bottom. Your fish either has a swimbladder disfunction due to infection or is constipated. Yep, constipated. Goldfish are prone to this problem. Fancy goldfish more so than regular body types but it can happen to most any fish. I would suggest not feeding him for a day and then trying to feed him a hulled english pea or some other high fiber vegetable. It may take 2-3 tries be fore he eats it, but he will eventually eat the pea. he fiber will "get things moving" so to speak. If that doesn't work he probably has a swim bladder infection which to be honest is quite difficult to treat successfully. You can treat with a good antibiotic like Furanace or Furan-2 but even with proper treatment the odds that your fish would recover is less than 50%
We'll hope it's just constipated and has gas.
Best of luck
MM
2007-05-06 14:41:12 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like the beginning of swim bladder disease. Goldfish are very susceptible to it. There are 2 causes: constipation and bacterial infection.
In your case, it is probably bacterial. The minimum tank size to keep a goldfish is 10 gallons. The reason for this is the amount of waste your fish puts into the water. Goldfish are heavy waste creators: 1) they're messy eaters and any remaining food rots causing ammonia 2) they produce ammonia through their waste (urine and feces) as well as simply trying to "exhale" through their gills. In a bowl, there is no mechanical, biological OR chemical filtration. The fish is mainly sitting in its own waste.
A goldfish can grow 8 inches or so but can't if you've put it in a bowl stunting its growth. This causes deformities of the internal organs. Between poor water quality and cramping, the fish becomes stressed and prone to infection. Goldfish can live 20 - 30 yrs if kept properly.
I would advise you putting him into a 10 gallon tank with a decent filter (not undergravel). Give him the thawed shelled peas ( a couple at a time) Ideally, you should be feeding this about twice a week to get some vegetation into him and to help as a laxative. Feed sinking pellets so he doesn't gulp at the air and swallow more air.
Why do they get constipated? Two main reasons: overfeeding and not enough roughage. A goldfish doesn't have a stomach..just a digestive tract. You shouldn't feed it more than 1 1/2 x the size of its eye. Otherwise blockages can occur. Goldfish need some vegetable matter as well to "push things along".
2007-05-06 14:56:11 · answer #2 · answered by Barb R 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your fish most likely has a swimbladder disease OR irritation. Remove from his current tank/bowl into a smaller container. No gravel, sand, or plants, as this will stress him out even more. Keep him in this isolation for about 30 hrs or longer. 1/10 of his water should be used with the rest being pure or treated tap water. If it is anything like what my gold fish got, it should pass in 12 to 72 hours. Don't feed him until he's better. Also, dont use sand at the bottom of his tank/bowl, because it can cause this. Do a 100% water change and rinse off any plants/decor. He will get better.
2007-05-06 17:42:12 · answer #3 · answered by nikki g 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
take the gold fish out of the tank
put it in a medium size bowl for like 30
2007-05-06 14:35:56 · answer #4 · answered by hotness48 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take him own of a bowl and put him in a real tank of at least 10 gallons, put in proper filtration.
Then feed him dethawed, frozen, deshelled peas to clear out his digestive tract. ONLY peas.
IIf it doesn't clear up in a few days it may be a bacterial infection in his swim bladder. Use an antibacterial that will fight gram-positive bacteria such as Maracyn.
2007-05-06 14:35:53 · answer #5 · answered by Annetheana 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
well if there any bubbles above the top of the fish bowl you should clean out the old water and replace new clean health water for the fish . cause maybe he doesnt no air to breath or he just not feeling well. maybe you should take to the vet or the pet market to see what the vet say about it .
2007-05-06 14:39:00 · answer #6 · answered by statecalifornia2009 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sounds like "Swim Bladder".
Try feeding him crushed peas for awhile, probably will clear up.
Ps. Goldfish really shouldn't be in bowl. AT LEAST 10 gallons...
2007-05-06 14:37:46 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your fish may be suffering from an air pocket in its blood stream, the air pocket expands the longer it is in the water. You should take your fish out for a couple seconds to replace its blood stream with oxygen.
Dont worry itll be okay
2007-05-06 14:34:29 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is a swim bladder problem
Here is a VERY informative link
2007-05-06 14:35:38 · answer #9 · answered by tui 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like your fish is sick and possibly dying. If it starts to rotate towards its side it is indeed dying and you should remove from tank asap so as to not contaminate the water.
2007-05-06 14:33:18 · answer #10 · answered by smile_girl 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋