Goldfish on his side

[Stephen Ruiz]

Help!

I have one bubble eye (black moor like) goldfish about 3" long body that has
had what I thought was a swim bladder issue.

I quarantined him in a 10gal bare bottom tank 4 months ago. The filter is a
sponge filter powered by an air pump. I have added salt and water
conditioner to the water and change it about every 3-4 days. The tank is
full of hornwort and java moss that I keep there temporarily. I use a
heater to keep the water about 73 F.

He stays on the bottom on his side all the time. When I make the food sink
he actively swims to the food but only seems to use his side fins to move.
He processes food fine and seems to have a good appetite. The food I am
using is pond pellets and I feed him three pellets twice a day. The pellets
are soaked while floating and then when saturated they sink to the bottom of
the tank.

What does any think I can do to get this fish swimming correctly again?

[Elaine T]

Stephen Ruiz wrote:
> Help!
>
> I have one bubble eye (black moor like) goldfish about 3" long body that has
> had what I thought was a swim bladder issue.
>
> I quarantined him in a 10gal bare bottom tank 4 months ago. The filter is a
> sponge filter powered by an air pump. I have added salt and water
> conditioner to the water and change it about every 3-4 days. The tank is
> full of hornwort and java moss that I keep there temporarily. I use a
> heater to keep the water about 73 F.
>
> He stays on the bottom on his side all the time. When I make the food sink
> he actively swims to the food but only seems to use his side fins to move.
> He processes food fine and seems to have a good appetite. The food I am
> using is pond pellets and I feed him three pellets twice a day. The pellets
> are soaked while floating and then when saturated they sink to the bottom of
> the tank.
>
> What does any think I can do to get this fish swimming correctly again?
>
>
Sure sounds like a swim bladder problem. Even saturated pellets may be
too heavy for him. Have you considered a gelatin-based food with some
spinach and/or peas? You could also try a course of antibiotic food
since he's in quarantine. Jungle makes one, or there are plenty of
recipes on the web.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[sophie]

Elaine T said this:
> Stephen Ruiz wrote:
>> Help!
>>
>> I have one bubble eye (black moor like) goldfish about 3" long body that
>> has
>> had what I thought was a swim bladder issue.
>>
>> I quarantined him in a 10gal bare bottom tank 4 months ago. The filter is a
>> sponge filter powered by an air pump. I have added salt and water
>> conditioner to the water and change it about every 3-4 days. The tank is
>> full of hornwort and java moss that I keep there temporarily. I use a
>> heater to keep the water about 73 F.
>>
>> He stays on the bottom on his side all the time. When I make the food sink
>> he actively swims to the food but only seems to use his side fins to move.
>> He processes food fine and seems to have a good appetite. The food I am
>> using is pond pellets and I feed him three pellets twice a day. The
>> pellets
>> are soaked while floating and then when saturated they sink to the bottom
>> of
>> the tank.
>>
>> What does any think I can do to get this fish swimming correctly again?
>>
>>
> Sure sounds like a swim bladder problem. Even saturated pellets may be
> too heavy for him. Have you considered a gelatin-based food with some
> spinach and/or peas? You could also try a course of antibiotic food
> since he's in quarantine. Jungle makes one, or there are plenty of
> recipes on the web.
>

I'd add that if you've been feeding him this much, he's well-fed enough to
stand a week-long fast. peas first (popped out of their skins and squashed)
then a fast. ime fancy goldfsih do very badly on a pellet/flake diet if
they're prone to swimbladder problems. after the week cut the feeding back to
twice a day and feed a nice varied diet of peas, bloodworm, chopped cooked
prawns (if you're in the US these are called shrimp I think) daphnia etc etc.
fast him for a day a week and if you can encourage algae to grow in your tank
he'll love it! ;-)

see if this helps. hope it does...
--
sophie

[Secret Squiddle]

"Stephen Ruiz" > wrote in message
...
> Help!
>
> I have one bubble eye (black moor like) goldfish about 3" long body that
> has had what I thought was a swim bladder issue.
>
> I quarantined him in a 10gal bare bottom tank 4 months ago. The filter is
> a sponge filter powered by an air pump. I have added salt and water
> conditioner to the water and change it about every 3-4 days. The tank is
> full of hornwort and java moss that I keep there temporarily. I use a
> heater to keep the water about 73 F.
>
> He stays on the bottom on his side all the time. When I make the food sink
> he actively swims to the food but only seems to use his side fins to move.
> He processes food fine and seems to have a good appetite. The food I am
> using is pond pellets and I feed him three pellets twice a day. The
> pellets are soaked while floating and then when saturated they sink to the
> bottom of the tank.
>
> What does any think I can do to get this fish swimming correctly again?

Pellets should never be fed to fancy goldfish. Their distorted bodies can't
take it. Try feeding nothing but clean bloodworm (small quantities), and
keeping him in shallow water. Hopefully his swimbladder will improve over
time.

**SS**

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Secret Squiddle wrote:
>
> Pellets should never be fed to fancy goldfish. Their distorted bodies can't
> take it. Try feeding nothing but clean bloodworm (small quantities), and
> keeping him in shallow water. Hopefully his swimbladder will improve over
> time.
>
> **SS**

Pellets are fine as long as they don't have air - for pellets that do soak
them before feeding.