Fancy Fan tail goldfish

Question
I have a fancy fan tail goldfish in an outdoor pond of about 500 gallons. I've had the fish for 5 years. The last couple of years the fish has swam irratically, sometimes upside down. The last 3 months it floats belly up on the surface and only rarely manages to submerge. It's like it has an air pocket in it's belly. Is there anything I can do to help this fish?

Answer
Hi Steve,

Sorry for the slow response, I have had a few issues with a few of my tanks this week.

It sounds as if your goldfish is currently suffering from a condition known as Swimbladder disorder.

Your fish has an organ called a swimbladder which is filled with gas. This organ allows the fish to maintain it's equilibrium in the water so that it does not sink or float. Things like rapid temperature changes and constipation can cause the bladder to malfunction and then the fish loses its balance. Due to line breeding the swimbladder in fancy goldfish has broken down so that it now no longer consists of two roughly equal sections. This means that fancy varieties are particularly susceptible to Swimbladder disorders.

There is no definite cure for Swimbladder, however there are some tricks that you can pull to make him a bit more comfortable.

Move the fish to an indoor Aquarium, keep the tank temperature at at least 16C/ 61F and drop the water level to around 5". Hopefully he will be able to reach his food and then submerge. Fancy Goldfish are prone to bacterial attack when kept at any temperature under 13C/55F.

Goldfish also lack a stomach, so constipation can be a huge problem. Feed him quality foods such as Daphnia (water fleas) and chopped Earthworm these can help by improving the digestive tract.

You could also try give him a 3% salt-bath, this has been proven to relieve the symptoms of Swimbladder.

He'll never fully recover and he's now a pond veteran but he won't necessarily die.

Good Luck!

Tom

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