floating fantail fish

Question
For the last few days our fantail fish has been floating upside down at the top of the tank, the equivalent to one wearing a lifejacket and trying to get to the bottom of the pool, is how fantail is acting. When you approach the tank it will turn over and swim around a bit but then seems to have the problems swimming to the bottom and when is quits swimming it floats to the top and turns upside down.  What is the problem?

Answer
Hi Kristi,

Sounds like swimbladder disease.  The best way to treat swimbladder is to withhold all foods for 3-4 days and then feed a fresh spinach leaf in bits or a fresh, thawed skinned pea in bits.  You may have to try the greens for a week or more.

In the future you can avoid swimbladder issues by making the greens a regular part of the goldfish's diet and pre-soaking any normally floating pellets or flakes and this will help reduce the air intake at feeding times.

If this doesn't work it could be something more serious and you should test your tank water to find out where you stand with ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

Good luck : ) April M.