Beta fishy.....mental?

Question
My beta fish is floating at the top of the water on its side,yes i thought it was dead too, but it still swims on its side and can only swim on its side in circles. the shelf my fish bowl was sitting on also recenly fell, before he was like this and the poor fish was on the floor, and had fallen through quite a bit. i was wonder if you know what it could be.

Answer
Morgan:

Often things such as dropping a fish, pouring too much water in the tank too quickly (or on top of the fish), or bullying from other fish can cause the fish's swim bladder to burst or become damaged. From what I know, not much can be done about a swim bladder disease is to wait it out, not make the fish move around as much (it can cause them pain), and hope for the best. there is also a product around called Paragon II by Aquatroniccs that supposedly aids in treatment of swim bladder disease(s). Swim Bladder disease has symptoms such as abnormal swimming or inability to swim to the top or bottom of the tank. and loss of balance.

Also, if your fish spent a small amount of time on the floor, it could have brain damage from lack of oxygen.

Or, it could be a combination of both.

Thank you for submitting your question and if you have any further inquiries, please feel free to message me.