# Yikes! Goldie with swimbladder?!



## SimplyXt (Mar 27, 2016)

So my brother's gf got a goldfish today and I suspect it has swimbladder - swimming upside down and struggling to get to the bottom. It's in a bowl (I know, I know, but I at least managed to convince them to get a MUCH larger bowl and a filter + air pump with a promise that they will upgrade the tank as he gets larger).

For now, can they give him a pea??

They prepped the bowl and added prime, nothing else. He's been in his bowl for about 3 hours.


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## SimplyXt (Mar 27, 2016)

Here is the little guy (gal?)


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## SimplyXt (Mar 27, 2016)

Whew! Gave him a pea (he ate half of it) and he started pooping - he is swimming a bit better now. Instructed them to fast him for a day or so and then make sure they feed him in moderation


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## mjfromga (Nov 19, 2015)

He won't last long in that bowl. He needs a 20 gallon tank ideally but any upgrade with a filter is better than a bowl. Green beans worked better for my rock eating constipated fish.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah goldies should be fed pea's almost daily to keep themselves regular. Fancies need to have a higher temp than the regulars due to their deformed form. The higher temp means their metabolism goes quicker which means food is used up quicker which helps prevent digestive issues and swim bladder issues. Goldies don't actually have stomachs (or they're extremely tiny) and so their food literally goes right through them and should be fed 2-3 times a day, 4 even is good for them. Various vegetables and sinking foods. Goldies should not feed at the top of the tank; flakes are bad for them because they end up taking in too much air which can also cause digestive and swim bladder issues.

And yeah, bigger tank is always better for the little ones! As you can imagine, they poop a lot by having no stomachs and needing feed multiple times a day! Hopefully your brother can get the tank asap. Even baby and juvie goldfish produce way too much waste. He's going to have to do daily water changes of nearly 100% if he wants that to stay alive!

Sexes won't be able to be seen until they are much older around a year of age roughly. Then coldwater changes (small but frequent) will help stimulate breeding mode and the males will show off their turbacles which are little pimples on their gill plates. Females don't have these!


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## mjfromga (Nov 19, 2015)

Peas don't need to be fed daily, or even at all usually. Repashy Soilent Green gel food should be their staple,along with a sinking pellet. Floaty, swim bladder issue prone fish should have pellets soaked before feeding or should be fed only soft foods like veggies and gel foods. Absolutely don't feed your fish 3-4 times a day. Adult goldfish need one feeding a day, only what they can consume in about 60-90 seconds. Baby and juvenile goldfish can be fed twice a day. Fancies do not need higher temps, but all fish are more active and seem happier in warmer water. Not all males have breeding tubercles, and females on occasion do get them, though it is rare. If you see tubercles, it's safe to assume the fish is male. The fish in the bowl looks very bloated, so he certainly can benefit from an internal cleanse. None of my fancies have needed peas/green beans except the fish that ate gravel and got it stuck. A staple diet of a good gel food prevents diet based floatiness which accounts for most floatiness. Congenital floatiness is rare and will not respond to dietary changes.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I'm sorry but I do have to disagree on the feeding. We have both raised goldfish fancies and regulars, I'm also in contact regularly with champion breeders and keepers. Goldie's should indeed have access to some sort of veggie matter daily at least to keep themselves clean. I agree that Repashy's Soilent Green is fantastic but they should be fed multiple times a day. Babies actually need quite a bit of protein as well for about the first year of their life. Then, after that the protein should be slowed and primarily be fed vegetable matter.

The baby only looks fat because it's a Ryukin, that's a fairly typical size and roundness for them. We typically keep Ryukin/Pearlscale mixes as well as a couple true Pearl's and a Veil. Pearl's are always the fattest but Ryukin's can follow closely sometimes unless they're mixed with commons or have a better body shape in their genetics. It's all a gamble really.

Fancies do inexplicitly better at temps of around 74-78 F due to their digestive system. The swim bladder presses against digestive tracts which cause digestive disorders and constipation; by increasing their metabolism, the food is broken down quicker and more efficiently which means it can pass through the digestive tract usually safer. It's not a guarantee but it does indeed help. Commons/comets can be kept at much colder rangers as per the norm.


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## mjfromga (Nov 19, 2015)

Okay. We can just disagree there. I still wouldn't advise feeding this fish nearly that much just because he's in a bowl and you really don't want to feed a lot when there's no filtration. Also, he doesn't look like a Ryukin to me. He looks more like a baby Oranda or maybe a fantail. Even baby and juvenile Ryukins have very distinctive shapes such as the fish pictured (though colors can vary). His face and snout look Oranda to me, but it's kinda hard to tell admittedly. Ryukins only get horrendously fat when they are overfed. Show Ryukins are almost ALWAYS overfed and thus look bulbous. Its really not ideal at all health wise.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

That's fine. I also wasn't suggesting this goldie to be fed in the bowl that often so I apologize as it seemed to have come out that way.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Just a note to the OP: Tell them to look up Solid Gold on YouTube. She has lots of great tourials and tons of fish; Ryukins, Telescopes, etc.


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## SimplyXt (Mar 27, 2016)

Thanks for everyone's responses. I think the goldfish is getting a larger tank this weekend. In any case, it's still swimming upside down. They didn't feed him until Thursday and then only a couple of pellets. He started swimming upside down almost immediately after that. Not sure what to do now? It's horrendous seeing him struggle to right himself.


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## mjfromga (Nov 19, 2015)

SimplyXt said:


> Thanks for everyone's responses. I think the goldfish is getting a larger tank this weekend. In any case, it's still swimming upside down. They didn't feed him until Thursday and then only a couple of pellets. He started swimming upside down almost immediately after that. Not sure what to do now? It's horrendous seeing him struggle to right himself.


Yeah. He sounds like a chronic swim bladder prone guy. Usually not much you can do. No pellets, they're dry and they often contain wheat and other things that may make him float. Try some blanched spinach or something. Try Repashy Soilent green, too. Poor man. If his issues don't seem to go away, a shallow storage tub will make life easier for him.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

I don't know how, but i've seen people create little harnesses for their goldies, which cause hem to float. ((Upright))

Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbpdvVjnv5w


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## SimplyXt (Mar 27, 2016)

ThatFishThough said:


> I don't know how, but i've seen people create little harnesses for their goldies, which cause hem to float. ((Upright))
> 
> Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbpdvVjnv5w



That is AWESOME.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

I know!


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