Fancy Gold swimming upside down?

Question
Have a fancy Gold Fish that just started swimming upside down today. In the advise info, it states to remove from tank and place in quaretine. Add 1 teaspoon salt per gallon and also feed thawed peas.

Any other suggestions?

Answer
Hi Linda;

Peeled cooked peas are good way to help him. Fast (don't feed) the fish for 3 days first. Sometimes that alone is enough to straighten things out. Also keep the tank water very clean. Nitrates (a natural final result of filtration) are a major contributor to all fish diseases. Frequent water changes are the only effective way to keep them low. Make a 25% water change at least once a week and vaccum the gravel every couple of weeks. If you already do that, great! Just want to be sure everything is as good as it can be.

Isolation isn't always necessary in flipover problems. It isn't contagious. If the other fish are harrassing the poor sick fish it is a good idea to do that though.

Epsom salts can help too because they are a laxative. When fish float upside down it is often from constipation that is causing inflammation in the swim bladder. The espom salts sometimes clear it up if you can get the fish to eat a grain or two of it with the food. It isn't regular salt, it's epsom salts that you buy for soaking your feet in. Totally different stuff.

Here is more info about the condition and suggested treatments;

http://www.petlibrary.com/goldfish/swim.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/4468/swmbldr.html
http://www.flippersandfins.net/goldfishfaq.htm#swimbladder
http://www.netpets.com/fish/reference/freshref/swimbldr.html

I hope he feels better soon......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins