Why does my goldfish float upside down at the top of her tank?
by Aquaboy on Friday, May 28th, 2010 | 5 Comments
My one-and-a-half year old goldfish floats upside down for most of the day at the top of her tank. It seems that the only time it leaves the surface of the water is to retrieve food at the bottom of the tank, and even that takes a lot of effort for her to do, as it’s clear she struggles to swim deeper into the water. My dad reckons that it’s something called “swim-bladder” but he’s only guessing, and he hasn’t had any experience with fish before so I don’t quite know whether he’s right. She also seems quite bloated, and everyone who has seen her as commented on how enormous she is; it’s like she’s full of air. Does anyone know what the problem is? Thanks in advance 
Yes, sounds like swim bladder.
Try feeding her one or two defrosted, deshelled frozen peas. Then cease feeding for a couple days.
Hopefully, this will get her back in good working order…
lol.
Yes, your dad is right. Your fish does have swim bladder disorder. This can be caused by a few things, but mainly it’s a result of overfeeding/constipation/bloating, injury or a bacterial infection.
If your fish is bloated/constipated/overfed, you’ll need to cook a couple of peas and then cut them up into little pieces if needed. Try and get her to eat them. Once she’s eaten them, you should then fast her until she looks better.
If she was injured, either by another fish or by smacking into the glass, it could be a little harder to treat her. All you can do is maintain immaculate water quality and hope for the best.
If you think your fish is infected with a bacterial infection, you’ll need to test your water parameters. Add a little bit of aquarium salt in the event of a parasitical outbreak, it’d be a good idea to raise the temperature, but I’m guessing you don’t have a heater since you’re keeping a goldfish! Only use medication as a last resort as it can tamper with your water chemistry and kill off the bacteria in your tank.
I’m guessing that your goldfish is just bloated. From now on, make sure to pre-soak all of her food before adding it into the tank. If she goes up to the top during feeding time to peck at the food floating along, she’ll swallow air bubbles which will then lead to swim bladder disorder.
Good luck!
Sarah is right.
look out for her scales sticking out, sort of like a pine cone. If this happens then she has dropsy, where her internal organs are failing, unfortunately there’s no cure. I lost a fish to this once it’s awful but I hope she gets better. Make sure you’ve got an air stone with air pumping through into the water as it may simply be dirty water and all the ammonia’s damaging her. Perhaps a water change will help too. Good luck!!
how can i tell if my shubunkin goldfish is male or female i want a visual image but i cant find one please email me a visual image so i know and is it healthy for my fish to be alone all of the time?