Ammonia Level - 0 Nitrite Level? 0
Nitrate level? 20 Ph Level? no test
Tank size(How many Gals) 55 gallons running for 3 months
What kind of Filtration? Emperor 400
How often do you change the water and how much? Every week 30%
What kind of Water additives or conditioners? Amquel +
Any Medications add to the tank? How many fish in the tank and there size?2 goldfish, 1 pleco
Add any new fish to the tank? No
What do you feed your fish? Pro Gold and spirulina flakes
Any unusual findings on the fish? No unusual findings
Any unusual behavior? Can no longer swim around tank

Hi, My poor calico fantail no longer is able to swim around the tank. It all started about a week ago. He seemed to be spending more and more time at the bottom of the tank. He is only about a year old. He was in a ten gallon tank with one other fish for around six months then I moved to the 55 gallon tank. He is pooping just fine his fins are not clamped. He is eating although it is a little difficult for him to get the food. I've treated him for parasites and have been feeding him Medigold. He is just sunk at the bottom of the tank. He makes attempts to swim but cannot. has anyone out there had any success treating this type of Swim bladder disease? Any input would be appreciated.

Well, this could just be a temporary thing or permanent My own calico fantail has had a swimbladder problem for months now. Have you tried feeding your guy peas? If this is just a short term problem, they could clear it up. Just boil some and take the 'skin' off, your goldie should gobble them up! Good luck

Thanks so much. I will try the peas. He's been pooping but maybe not enough. I will see if this helps. It certainly can't hurt. It's so frustrating. I hope it's not permanent. He is such a great goldfish.

First off get him in your hospital tank. Second, salt it up. 1 tsp per gallon. Sea salt is good. Do that for 3 days.

Usually there are several factors that cause swim bladder: sudden temp drop, bacterial infections and genetic disorders. Primarily, incorrect feeding.

First thing to do is check your water. If you are not using salt, gradually add it to your tank. Fast the fish for 4 days. A hungry fish is better than a dead one. Fasting will help your fish to clean itself out. Normal function should return.After the fourth day, resume feeding with live or frozen brine shrimp. If the fish has not gotten better at this period, the disease is more than likely congenital. Unfortunally if it is congenital, there is no cure. So let's hope we can make him all better!

You may want to look in our food section so you may expand your variety of foods with your fish. They love fresh food too! And eggs. The fish section will give you plenty of ideas

Sorry to hear about your little Calico.May I ask what you used to treat for Parasites,and what made you decide it was Parasites that you needed to treat for? What type of Pleco do you have,and how big is he? HAve you seen any other signs/symptoms? Red streaks/flashing/spitting/pale or swelled gills,etc? qtmonki01,I must say that if you are going to tell people to salt ,then you're going to have to read the correct way to do this so you can explain in more detail. I also feel that 4 days is extreme for fasting. vivamax,did you try the fasting and feeding of peas? Did that help at all?

Hi,
I used jungle parasite clear. I had read somewhere that a fish that just sits at the bottom could have parasites. Frankly, I was at a complete loss as to what I could do for him. I have fed peas but I haven't fasted him yet because I started a round of medi-gold and need to feed for at least two weeks. As soon as that ends I plan to fast for a couple of days and then feed peas again. He seems to be feeling just fine but he can't swim around. He is making attempts and every day seems a little better. I have feeling it's going to be a slow road. The fish is in a hospital tank also. I feel so sad for him. He's a fish he should swim.

Any news on you fishie, Vivamax?

Hi, Thanks for asking about my poor fish Lumpy. He is pretty much the same. He doesn't make too many attempts to swim. I think his condition might be a permanent one. He just looks so sad in his bare bottom hospital tank all alone. He's not eating much either and occasionally scoots across the tank to switch sides. I just wish there was an easy solution for this poor fishes problem.