I have a fan tail goldfish that is swimming upside down?

Question

I have several fan tail goldfish and three of them were having problems floating up to the surface tails first. I changed the water and two of them became well, but one of them is now floating upside down and having a hard time straightening out. What is causing this? If it's an illness is there a medicine for it? What can I do?

Answer 1

I'd have to agree with tiki, especially since a water change helped two of the fish. It may be that the one is just a little more sensitive than the others, or it may be that he has an additional infection. If he doesn't improve in a day or two, try treating with a broad spectrum antibiotic containing erythromycin. See these sites for more information:

http://www.fishdoc.net/faq/faq_details.php?faqId=37
http://www.fish-disease.net/diseases.htm

If the affected fish is still eating, try feeding him some cooked peas with the shell removed. Often a bladder problem can also be caused by gas from food in a fish's diet, so this may help him as well.

Answer 2

It probably has swim bladder. Get some medicine for him/her immediatly, you can pick it up at many pet stores or fish places. It is really important to get the little fishy treated a.s.a.p as swim bladder can be quite serious :( Good luck, I hope your little fishy gets better soon! :D EDIT - Maybe you should take some pictures or a video as well, to show to the vet or person in the store? I think that would be a good idea too, a a way of diagnosing the fish without causing him stress by transporting him.

Answer 3

It's a swim bladder problem. And judging by the fact the others were "fixed" when you did the water change, I would say it's most likely a water quality issue that caused it.

Not sure on your tank size, but usually it's recommended for goldies to have a minimum of 10-15 gallons per goldie. It's just almost impossible to keep the water quality good with anything less then that, plus they do grow quite large.

Start doing more frequent water changes, I usually recommend about 25% once a week, but if you're tank is too small, you'll need to do more then that. And if the tank is too small for all of them, consider upgrading to a larger tank or getting rid of some of them. Also be sure to keep the water quality good, ammonia and nitrite readings should be 0 ppm, and nitrates under 20 ppm.

Also once or twice a week, feed them a pea-just splite it open so they can get the insides. It's good to vary their diet, which can also cause swim bladder problems(from constipation).

Answer 4

This is a common problem whereby fish lose their equilibrium and are unable to maintain their position. This can result in the fish swimming awkwardly, laying upside-down either on the bottom or top of the water, or unable to maintain a horizontal position in the water. This is often attributed to swim-bladder problems and indeed this is the most common cause of loss of equilibrium. The swim-bladder is an air-filled sac laying just under the backbone at the top of the abdominal cavity. By inflating / deflating the swim-bladder, the fish can adjust its position in the water and maintain neutral buoyancy.

The swim-bladder can be affected by bacterial or viral diseases. In addition the swim-bladder may malfunction, leading to over or under inflation. Clearly anything which affects the proper functioning of the swim-bladder will also affect the fish's equilibrium.

However, before diagnosing all equilibrium problems as swim-bladder disease, we should be aware that there are other conditions which can cause buoyancy problems. Disease in other organs such as kidneys and intestines for example can also cause problems. This can happen if there is any swelling of the affected organs leading to either a change in organ density or pressure being put on the swim-bladder. This is often a problem with fancy goldfish whose abdominal cavity is tightly packed.

Treatment is a bit difficult, mainly because it is virtually impossible to diagnose the cause and secondly there are only a few conditions that will respond to treatment. It is always worth considering a course of antibiotic to be mixed with water (try FLAGYL or METROGYL) in case a bacterial infection is involved.

An attempt should be made to see whether the fish is defecating, in case the problem is being caused by an intestinal blockage. If this is suspected it is worth either trying to feed the fish a few frozen peas, which act as a laxative, or else try baths in Epsom salts (70g / litre for 5 minutes) which has the same effect.

If these treatments do not work, there is little else that can be done. There are a lot of reports of fish recovering from balance problems, so it is worth giving the fish some time.

http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/FAQ.htm#equillibrium

Answer 5

This is a problem with the swim bladder.
Fan tails are a birth defect. They can be born with other defects, swim bladder problems are common.

Unfortunately, there's nothing much you can do. It's a birth defect.
Some folks rig a sling for their fishies with a stablizer and a float. It keeps them right side up and not at the surface.

Answer 6

Sounds like "Swim Bladder"...

You could feed it crushed peas, it should clear it up.


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Answer 7

I think when you released them into the tank, you let them in too early and too fast. They now have air in their bodies, and this makes them float, due to bouyancy. I had a mini catfish like fish and it went belly up but it wasn't dead, so I poked it's stomach and some bubbles came out, then it was ok.
Try poking it a little, see what happens.

Answer 8

they have too much air in their bodies. that is usually a sign they are going to die. your best bet, call the vet.