# swimming upside down?



## fuzzrluvr2 (Oct 20, 2007)

I have a fish that only has one eye, and I've had him for a while now, but he started to swim upside down a couple of days ago. He just floats at the top of the water upside down now. I thought he'd be dead by now, but he's not.
What does this mean? I'm very worried.  He's the only fish that's doing this...  :?


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## vinoth1465 (Sep 28, 2007)

other members w/ more experience will definetly help you, but will need some questions answered. tank size? other tank buddies? water parameters? water ph?


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Welcome to Fishforum.com.:wave:

Aside from Vinoth's questions, what fish is it? What foods have you been feeding it? How long have you keep it? Avoid floating foods as much as possible. This is a disorder of the swim bladder where the fish loses its buoyancy causing swimming imbalance. Fast it for a few days and feed it green peas. Then stop feeding floating foods and start with sinking foods. You can soak floating foods before feeding to stop it from floating.


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## fuzzrluvr2 (Oct 20, 2007)

He's a fantail and he's all white. I'm not sure of the tank size, but there's a minnow, a coi, and about 3 goldfish in the tank with him.

Thanks for all your help!


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

fuzzrluvr2 said:


> He's a fantail and he's all white. I'm not sure of the tank size, but there's a minnow, a coi, and about 3 goldfish in the tank with him.
> 
> Thanks for all your help!


I would like to know the dimensions of your tank and filtration capacity. Use API liquid test kit to determine your water parameters. Just as a side note, kois are best left in a big pond, not aquaria. They grow to three feet at most.

What food do you give them?


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## fuzzrluvr2 (Oct 20, 2007)

I'm just keeping the koi for my dad until he gets a little bigger, then he's going into the pond. I feed them Omega One sinking pellets. The demensions for the tank are about 12 x 20.


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## mHeinitz57 (Jun 9, 2007)

is he eating at all right now? Try feeding him pea hearts as the fiber serves as a natural laxative. JUst take the shells off the peas and chop the inner part into bite sized pieces. It's not a bad idea to feed this to your round-bodied goldfish every now and then to prevent constipation. It doesn't really matter if the food is floating or sinking, if the fish eats the food while it is still dry, the food may expand in the digestive tract of the fish and cause blockage. If the fish won't eat, adding epsom salts to the water can also relieve constipation.

I had a feeling it was a fantail because round-bodied goldfish like that commonly get swim bladder disease for 2 reasons: 

1) their digestive tract is actually smushed up against the front of the abdomen making it easy for food to cause blockages.

2) they have an organ called a pnuemocystic duct which connects the swim bladder to the esophogus to allow for swim bladder regulation. If a blockage occurs in the digestive tract then it can easily affect the fish's ability to regulate bouyancy.

Swim bladder disease can also be caused by bacterial infections that thicken and/or harden the swim bladder walls, making it difficult for air to pass through the membrane and regulate bouyancy. Using a medicatedpellet food or adding an antibiotic to the water may also be needed. Unfortunately it is almost impossible visually to know if the problem is bacterial or just a simple constipation. You may consider treatment for constipation first since it is not stressful on the fish and if that isn't working move to an antibiotic. There are some cases where swim bladder disease is parasitic but I believe that is a lot more rare.


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## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

*Greg Bows down in awe of mHeinitz knowlage :shock: :demented:


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Another easy option is to feed the fish epsom salts. It doesn't take much, a few grains will usually do it, and adding a few more grains to the tank water will also help. Be sure it is *epsom salts *and not table or marine salts.

I find this to be much easier, much safer, and "scraps" won't pollute tank water.


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## mHeinitz57 (Jun 9, 2007)

mHeinitz57 said:


> If the fish won't eat, adding epsom salts to the water can also relieve constipation.


I've done this in hospital tanks before and it actually worked quite well. I've never heard of feeding a fish epsom salt though...that doesn't seem like it would be too healthy. Generally you would just add it to the hospital tank or in a seperate container as a "bath". Bettababy, can you elaborate on the "feeding epsom salt" part? Have you tried it before?


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Yes, I have used this method quite often in the past, it was standard treatment when I was working at the store. Feeding a few pieces of the salt will help resolve the issue faster. The epsom salt will help to dispell the air bubble(s) from the swim bladder faster if they are injested instead of just added to the water. I will have to recheck what exactly it is in the epsom salt that does the trick, but its effective, fast, and safe so long as it's only a few pieces that you feed and a small amount added to the water. Too much of a good thing is also no good.


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## fuzzrluvr2 (Oct 20, 2007)

thanks you guys for all your help,
but he died a couple of days ago  

thank you for tryin though.


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## mHeinitz57 (Jun 9, 2007)

aww i'm sorry to hear that :-( Take all of this into account though with your other goldfish. Soak your fish food before feeding them and occasionally feed some chopped up peas. Having worked in fish stores, goldfish get swim bladder disease more than any other fish it seems and its because of their unusual biology and feeding behaviors.


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## fuzzrluvr2 (Oct 20, 2007)

okay thank you. i'll start feeding them some peas sometimes.
thanks again.


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