My goldfish keeps floating to the top of the tank. He struggles to swim down but within seconds has floated straight back up again and just sits still at top of water. Whats wrong?

The peas solution worked great!!!! My fish looked really bad last night and just couldn't stay down in the tank so I cooked up some frozen peas until they were quite soft. Then I squeezed the skin off one and put it on the end of a pin so it wouldn't sink to the bottom (the first one did and the fish couldn't stay down long enough to eat it). He ate the one off the pin and in about an hour he had a large, umm, poo, and then he could swim everywhere and looked less puffy. This morning he was back to his old self and swimming everywhere. Please cook some peas before you write off your fish!!!

Sounds exactly like swim bladder infection. In many cases your fish will die.

Usually this infection occurs due to lack of salt in the water or poor water quality. Even though goldfish are freshwater fish, they need the addition of 1/4 cup salt per 10 gallons of water. I would do a partial water change of about 1/4 of the water today. Wait a day and do it again. Add half of the salt with this partial water change, and the rest in the next partial water change tomorrow.

The only other hope you have is to find a veterinarian or pet shop who would be willing to administer tetracycline injections. Most will not do this. Adding antibiotics to the water will NOT WORK. Don't let anyone sell you antibiotics to add to the water.

Unfortunately, your goldfish may live for quite some time with this condition. If left untreated, it is a slow death. If you don't plan to pursue the tetracycline injections, and you don't see results within 30 says of the partial water changes and the addition of salt, it would be best to put the fish out of it's misery.

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If the water quality is extremely poor, you will need to continue to do more partial water changes after the first two. But I would space those out about 3 to 4 days. You don't want to put the fish in shock also. And don't forget that with each partial water change, you will need to replenish the salt accordingly.

One common complaint I used to hear at the pet store was, "My fish was fine a couple of days ago." Even though it may appear that way, the water quality is gradually declining if you have not done partial water changes once a month. Additionally, if the tank is evaporating, and all you are doing is topping it off with fresh water, this is not considered freshening the water. The water will evaporate pure, leaving behind all minerals and trace elements. Thus leading to a hardening of the water. This is also why sometimes, you may add a "new fish" to a tank that appears to be fine, and the new fish will die. The current fish have been slowly acclimating to the declining water quality.

My goldfish has had this for almost a year. It's a swim bladder problem. I stopped feeding him daily goldfish flakes, and changed to a daily diet of peas or lettuce, and frozen bloodworms (once a week.) He is doing fine, and I don't believe it is as dire a situation as the previous posts suggest. Try this new diet for awhile and see what happens. Watch the water, and don't over-feed, especially not with the worms. Good luck!

i have a fish that goes through this every year.....i feed him peas. u need to cook them and remove the skins. this year though, he's getting it more often. but it is only one goldfish out of the bunch. i also read to quit feeding them dried food, that it swells in their stomachs. better to soak the dried food first, to allow it to swell OUTSIDE of their stomachs, then feed them the mushy stuff. hope your fish survived!

Yes, it's usually not a good sign for a fish to struggle to stay submerged. Good luck, and I'll say I'm sorry if you lose your little pet.

I would say he is dying. His swim bladder is not funtioning correctly. Sorry.

I had the same problem with one of my goldfish (SBD). I hand fed him a pea and changed 1/4th of the tank water with fresh, neutralised water with a small dusting of epsom salts. 10 hours later (overnight) he seems perfectly normal, with no obvious buoyancy defects!!! Thanks all who helped!!

sounds like swim bladder disorder, try feeding him peas. Also more info here on how to treat/prevent it: http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/Swim%20Bladder%20Disorder.html

I took the advice regarding the peas. My fish that had the problem, literally seemed better right away... At the same time, my other bigger fish decided to suck up an entire pea! I am so stupid, I put whole peas in their, (minus the skin) thinking my fish would nibble on it. He looked like he was freaking out. I had to have my husband hold him down while I put a toothpick in his mouth to pull it out (I do realize how this sounds and how crazy we must have looked)but we got it out, poor little guy... PLEASE MASH THE PEAS FIRST!! I hope he survives the trauma.

We got some goldfish for our 2 year olds room, had one do the same thing. Never saw it before with other goldfish we've had. After doing some on-line research we tried the "pea thing". Gave them frozen cooked peas with out the hulls. I put about 4-5 in the tank with our 3 fancy goldfish. Only one had the problem. I did this in place of a feeding. The next morning everyone was doing good. From what i read the peas act as a laxative. The problem is from what I find out constipation or swim bladder or a combination of both. The peas work, don't count our fish dead before you try it!!
Later, tasmith

I'm sorry, he's going to die.All of our fish did that before they died on us.

well, it might be time for youe fish to..pass away. My fish did that for about a week and a half before he died. My fish also had a cyst of some type. Does he have an abnormaly large..bump?

i have just aquired 5 new little fishes (thanks to my son)

We have a new tank, have put "normal" water in, but its already merky, after a day...do i go and buy a water pump?

I dont like the things, but feel terrible, they all seem to be gasping for air!?

OMG mine did that as well! seriously, it lived like it for weeks and weeks, then went back quite normal again, but having said that if it is flat on the top of the water it is probably about to die :-( sorry! :-(
but, u know, mine did seem like it was gonna die for like ages, so hopefully yours is also a strong little dude!

I've just cooked up some peas to feed to my sick fish...but he dosen't seem very interested! My other fish keeps eating the peas before the sick one gets a chance! He is floating to the top (Bottom first) then trying to swim back down. Help I really love my fish!

gas?

This sounds daft but gently squeeze him and see if any air comes out he may have trapped wind (i saw this on animal planet)

tell him to take of the life preserver. He's a fish. He can swim without it. Nah just kidding.. my daughters fish did that for over a year, it really bugged the other fish, he was like a bouy always bouncing into everyone.

I fed my goldfish frozen peas and within an hour he was back at the bottom of the tank where he likes to be

cook some chips to go with those peas, he is on his way out! but really , have just fed my fish the peas so fingers crossed.

Okay, after enough peas to the fish solutions, I tried it. And it worked. I isolated the fish in a plastic container so I could monitor if he ate it (the pea on the toothpick didn't work for me or the fish). As he lay on his side dreaming of food, he struggled to the bottom and while I was out, ate all the mashed pea he could. Suspect he was immensely hungry since fighting for food while drifting sideways is not an advantage. Within several hours the water in the container was murkey, feces streamers present and the goldfish was spending a lot of time on the bottom of the container. I transferred him to the tank before I went to bed and took the advice to submerge the dried food so it didn't drift on the surface, he took his share and is clearly swimming properly now. I have not added lettuce to the tank, but intend to do a small piece later in the week. Swim Bladder corrected...thanks!

I had this with my fish.When he feeds or goes to the top of the tank he is taking in too much air causing his body to turn upside down.also this indicates a bladder problem peole say you can get treatment but my vet says they either get over it or die soon.

I have had an aqua cube for 3years with two gold fish,
Now ,i have had one death 6 months ago but replaced him.
But now my two fish seem to be gasping at the surface and appear to be very buoyant,and a bit "skitty"
I have a spray bar producing plenty of bubbles (they seem to like that) and have been changing(25%) and treating the water every 3 days. but there has been no change at all.
Any Ideas ? Or are they doomed to the great white god telephone ?

It sounds to me as if your fish's swim bladder has burst. If that is the case, there is really nothing you can do. Just keep it comfortable.

Sorry to hear about it and to be the bearer of bad news!
:( Suzanne

Prepare for a burial by sea. (flushing)

ever seen finding nemo when nemo gets stuck in a tube do u have 1? it might be that.

i know on large fish you can stab them with a needle assuming you know where the air bladder is and it will release the built gas... i seriously doubt this is safe in smaller fish

I'm having the same problem and have been asking around. One site suggested feeding the fish frozen green peas. Don't know how well it will work, but it's worth a shot.

Sounds like he is having trouble with his "swim bladder"..he will pass away shortly..sorry to hear about your fish..this is happened to me many times

yes, try the peas! It actually does work most of the time. ;) Just squeeze the inside of the pea into the tank (not the skins) and hopefully he'll recover soon.

Good luck!

so basically, my fish are constipated ='( and really uncomfortable..because my only 2 fish keep struggling to swim downward. and i do feed them dry pellets which probably isn't good for them and caused they're stomachs to look so puffy. so i just fed them the peas. hopefully by morning they'll feel better

Most likely a swim bladder infection. It can alter their natural buoyancy. It would be a good idea to do more frequent water changes (not 100% at a time; too much stress) Good luck an I hope that Goldy gets better. ;)

Enough oxygen in the water?

He might be "toast".

hey
dont assume your fishs life is over yet, it does sound like it has swim bladder as im guessing you already know but there are many causes, and it may be just a simple answer for this, try the peas, it is normally that simple, i have seen this work many times, but also follow what goes with it, avoid the dry foods if you do feed them dry foods then soak them first, it will moisten them and make them sink, this will stop the fish coming up to the surface grabbing mouthfuls of air with their food which is also a cause of your fish swimming this way. whilst your fish is floating with part its body out of the water it may get dry skin this is harder to solve and may result in losing your fish, try putting something in the water under the top level so your fish isnt exposed, or drop a plastic cup or bowl in the water that your fish may swim into to stop from floating up whilst you solve this problem without causing more, dont use chemicals they often dont work and i have seen them kill tank cycles, dont try piercing your fish with needles, do partial water changes, make them more regular for a week or so but make sure you treat the water still,this can also be a cause as bad water can cause infections. then you will need to find a new solution, but this is a good start, dont give up on your fish, there are always people out there to help you there are so many sites on here that give simple advice that any one can do,dont flush your fish down the toilet it is full of chemicals and will only cause your fish misery, and it may survive for a while in agony
good luck and i hope your fish survive

i think its dying