Fish dying?

Question
Hi Brittany,

My officemate "Sushi" is about 16 months old. At least that's how long I've had him. Don't know how long he lived at the pet store.

Anyway, for the last three days he is hanging vertically (nose up, tail down) on the side of the bowl, right at the curve. It's as if he is using the curvature to hold him under water! I can't get him to eat either. Occocasinally he'll fly around the bowl a couple of times and this morning he starting some jumping behavior. He is dying? In pain? What do I do?

Answer
Hello Susan,
You didn't give me much detail - as far as what kind of fish it is, how large is the tank, how often and how much do you feed, what is your cleaning schedule like, water temp, etc.
I can only give guesses with such vague information. However, what you are describing sounds similar to SBD (Swim Bladder Disease) which is normally caused by overfeeding. I will assume you have a betta in a bowl, and that you have been or just started feeding him too much. Fast him for 48 hours, then cut back on feeding after that. 3-4 pellets a day is more than enough.
Also, for more betta care instructions, please type "betta care" into any search engine (such as Google) and read up on how to take better care of your little guy. It's always a good idea to research something (like getting a pet) before trying to take it on.