Goldfish with Swimblatter problem

Question
We have a goldfish in a bowl. He is usually active  but recently I have noticed that he is swimming or resting sideways, sometimes upside down, and he has trouble swimming to the bottom of the bowl. He has no trouble eating. He is the only fish in there with lots of space, and he belongs to my sister so she cleans it every 2-3 weeks. I assume that it is some problem with his swim bladder.  Is there anything we can do?

Answer
Monica,

  The first problem is the fish is in a bowl. Unless the bowl is at least 20 gallons, it is too small. In such a small bowl, water changes need to be done daily with goldfish. Since they don't have a stomach, everything they eat comes right back out as waste also known as ammonia. The number one reason a fish gets swim bladder is bad water quality along with over feeding. The first thing to do is put the fish in an aquarium no less than 20 gallons, with a very good filter. Follow the directions below on feeding a pea to your fish. If after you do this your fish is not better let me know.


Feeding frozen pea:

  Remove the sick fish and put them in your hospital tank. Fast them for 2 days, on the 3rd day take a frozen pea and put it in hot water. This thaws it out and cooks it. Remove the shell from the pea and throw it away. DO NOT feed the shell to your fish, they cannot digest it. Cut the inside of the pea in small pieces and feed them to your fish. Fast them again for another 2 days. If they are still showing signs of swim bladder repeat the process.