Unusual shabumkin behaviour

Question
It has been very hot in the last few days but it has not been the first hot summer Chloe has been in her tank - alone. Three years in fact. In the last three days, she has seemed disorientated, lying on her back, and though she still will move to feed, doesn't seem in control of her normal introductions - she doesn't seem to be able to swim belly down. I say she but have really know idea what gender Chole is - can you help?

Answer
Hi Dympna,
Swim bladder disease is where a fish doesnt have equalibrium balance and swims irregularly.  Does he tend to float at the top of the tank or stay at the bottom because he seems heavy and sinks back down fast? If so, this is also another positive symptom to conclude that it really is Swim bladder disease.  It can be due to a number of things.  It can be due to Cancer or TB of the bladder, constipation, poor nutrition, rapid temperature changes, or parasitic/bacterial infections.  Remove the heater if possible, you will not need one in the summer and all goldfish are cold-water fish and require temperatures 65F-72F.  

Since he is still eating, this is a great sign! What you must do is get frozen peas, thaw them out, and mush them into a paste or very small peices.  Feed this to Chloe.  9 times out of 10, peas cure constipation in all fish and constipation is the number 1 cause for swim bladder disease.  Peas is good to feed on a weekly basis anyway for vegetables.  

Bacterial infections that cause Swim BD is rare.  But if you believe it is not the constipation, then buy medicated antibacterial fish food.

To prevent it from happening, dont overfeed the fish, keep water quality at top notch conditions with regular water changes weekly, and keep a diversity of fish foods, fish need their veggies too :).

Hope all is well with your fish, those are my suggestions.
-Matt-