fish problems

Question
I have had the same fish for about 4yrs and have had no problems with him and I care for well. When I came home from work today. I noticed that my fish was laying on its side, on the bottom of the tank. What is wrong with him? Is my fish dying? or can I fix what is going on? Its a goldfish and my tank is a 5 gal tank. I change my water on the reg and feed regularly. Please help me

Answer
Hi Christina;

It could be a water quality issue or a swim bladder problem.  Have the water tested for the levels of ammonia, nitrite, pH and nitrate. If ammonia or nitrite are anything other than 'zero', it needs a 25% water change every day until those toxins go down and stay down. PH should be anywhere from 6.8 to 8.0. Nitrate is okay at up to 40 ppm but under that is better. Goldfish are very messy fish that actually need at least ten gallons per fish in order to live out their potential lifespan of 10 or more years. Waste toxins will slowly cause him harm over time in such a small space. A 25% water change must be done at least once a week to keep all types of fish healthy and be able to fight disease.

If he is breathing hard and trying to swim but just can't get up from the bottom, it's his swim bladder. Some fish with a swim bladder issue will float on top instead. Here is a web page about it;

http://www.netpets.com/fish/reference/freshref/swimbldr.html

I hope he feels better soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins