goldfish wont stop gasping

Question
Hi Chris,
my goldfish wont stop gasping for air, most of the time he stays at the bottom of the tank, but mouth keeps opening wide and closing really fast, sometimes he makes jerky moves and while mouth hangs open he swims frantically to the surface of water and gasps for air...then comes back down to the bottom again.
it's so stressing. he looks like he's in a great deal of pain.
water condition is perfect, he's about a size of a golf ball, in a 5 gal tank. no lighting, he's blind anyway (i rescued him). i put some gravel inside for the bacteria to grow.
I know the tank isnt too small cuz he's living alone.
he hasnt been eating for 3 days.
any suggestions, quick cure preferably.
thank you

Answer
Hi lke;

Poor little guy. It sounds like a swim bladder disorder. Some fish affected by it can't swim up like yours, but some float uncontrollably on top. It seems to be most common in bettas and goldfish and is usually related to diet. Here are web pages with info about it along with treatment options;

http://www.petplace.com/fish/when-your-fish-can-t-swim/page1.aspx
http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/31/338/
http://www.goldfishconnection.com/articles/details.php?articleId=83&parentId=8
http://www.netpets.com/fish/reference/freshref/swimbldr.html

I hope he feels better soon.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins