Black Moor has been sick for over a week!

Question
My black moor fish has been sick for a week and a half. He lies motionless at
the bottom of the tank or at the suface on his side. When he does try to swim,
all he does is fall over onto his side again.

I've moved him to a 'hospital tank' and I've researched what could be wrong
with him. It seems to be either constipation or swim bladder disorder. I have
not seen any faeces in the hospital tank so I think it might be the former. I've
been feeding him a few small pieces of cooked, shelled peas every day (he
eats one or two pieces) and changing half the water everyday. My question is,
how long should I keep this up? Is the fish in pain or suffering? And is my
diagnosis correct?  

Answer
Hi Susie;

It's probably swim bladder disorder aggravated by constipation. The good news is that fish affected with this problem don't seem to be in pain. They just can't swim properly. You are doing the right thing with the peas and the water changes. Withholding food for 3 or 4 days and then feeding peas is very helpful too. It's a matter of waiting to see how it goes and hopefully he will heal on his own. It can take several weeks or months. Sadly, some fish never do swim okay again, but just wait it out for him to heal. Here is a page about it that may help you more;

http://www.fishtanksandponds.info/care-maintenance/health/swimbladder.htm

There are other sites with suggestions out there too. Do a web search on "flipover disease" in goldfish and "swim bladder disorder" in goldfish and take a peek at what comes up there.

I hope he feels better soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins