I sometimes see my pearlscale goldfish floating with its bottom up, especially when it's not really doing anything. I don't know if all pearlscale do this, seeing as I've only had one, but it bothers me because sometimes it doen't have enough strength to swim the right way so it just floats there...

There's lots of reasons why fish get floaty or tipsy. We need to know more about your water changing schedule, what you feed the fish and your water test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrates and pH. Could you try and answer as many of the Qs as you know/can from the white box above so we can get a picture of your tank set up. We will be able to help much better then.

sounds like swimbladder disease,or constipation but we would need to know more about the water like Trinket said. If it is swimbladder or constipation all that you have to do is pretty much keep an eye on your fish and feed it green vegatables or peas for about 3 days.

good luck!

How do I test the water, exactly? =/

EDIT: (it's not letting me edit my posts, for some reason)
How do I test the water, for the ones that I've missed?

Ph Level, (If possible,KH and GH and chloramines)?
7.6 pH

Brand of test-kit used? (strips or drops?)
Strips

[*]Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running?
10 gallons and I've had it for about 2 years

[*]What is the name and size of the filter/s?
Aqua-Tech
EZ-Change Filter Cartridge
for Aqua-Tech 5-15 Filters

[*]How often do you change the water and how much?
Every two months. Completely.

[*]How many fish in the tank and their size?
1 inch
2 inch
3 inch
4 inch

4 fish in all

[*]What kind of water additives or conditioners?
Aqua Safe Water Conditioner

[*]Any medications added to the tank?
no

[*]Add any new fish to the tank?
no

[*]What do you feed your fish?
TetraFin Goldfish flakes, Nutrafin Max Goldfish Color Enhancing Pellets, (used to use Wardley Algae Discs for my now dead algae eater)

[*]Any unusual findings on the fish such as
"grains of salt",
bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus?
Not that I can see

[*]Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating,ect..?
Other than floating upside down, no.

Well you probably won't like what I'm going to tell you but I can guarantee it is the root of your probs. A 10 gallon may be all-right to house 4 tiny fish for the first few months but over time it becomes a death trap for bacteria. It is very difficult to keep water good and bacteria levels at a safe level in so small a space with 4 growing fish. Pearlscales with their tight packed bodies are especially sensitive to water quality. Your fish have outgrown their home

Is it possible to re-house 2 or 3 of the fish in another tank or rubbermaid? Ideally each fish needs 10 gallons of their own to grow and thrive and stay healthy. If you keep fish in less water volume, over time the toxins build up and the water becomes thick with bacteria. In a cycled tank like this, (4 fish in a 10 gallon) feeding once a day, you would need to be doing 50% water changes minimum DAILY to keep the water safe.

I'm afraid there are no readily available test kits for bacteria build up but your nitrate levels are a fairly good indication of how much at risk you are. Your LFS will test your tank water for you if you take a sample. Get them to write down the exact numbers. Strip tests are not accurate. Better still, invest if you can in a master drop test kit and post back with your levels of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. These results will tell you so much and help you monitor your water until such time as you can set up a larger tank or tanks for your fish.

Do you think, though, that putting my fish in seperate tanks (or getting a bigger tank) will fix my pearlscale's problem? None of the other fish are showing any signs of difficulty, but, like you sai, it might be because pearlscale are more sensitive to a change in water quality.

I can't be 100% sure. But I think that you can -if not cure him - certainly hugely improve his quality of life with better water alone and so you should start with that approach.

You say you do a full water change every 2 months? How about starting to do those water changes more often ? You could do a full w/c now/today and then commit to a 50% water change every second day minimum until you can get a bigger tank

Your nitrates must be sky high with only one change every 2 months in an overstocked tank and nitrates are known to cause flipover.
The only way to reduce nitrates is changing out water.

Okay, I'll try that, thank you! I'll let you all know what happens

How are things with your pearlie, Davonsage? Any improvements?