I've had Spot (a calico faintail) since the beginning of September, and he's basically been sick since I got him. He's was only about an inch when I got him....and he's probably double that now (from tip-to-tip), and he's relatively healthy...eats really well, fins aren't clamped. But his problems all began whrn I bought him, he came with ick, which I treated and got rid of. From then on though he's had bad breathing difficulties, and gasps at the surface and yawns a lot. He also flashes and scratches a lot. I've guessed the problem to be some sort of parasite...maybe flukes, but haven't had much success in treating him. Though his other 2 tank mates were sick for awhile, they do seem to be much better....they don't gasp anymore or flash....but the little one (Spot) is still not very well. Along with all these problems he's always had swimming problems. He sort of wiggles a lot while swimming, and seems to not have quite as much control over himself as he should. I've thought maybe the problem was due to the bottom two points of his tail fin, which seem to sort of fold/pinch inwards. But I've realized that the problem definitely appears to be worse then that. There are days when it's really obvious that his boyancy is way off....he sort of loses his balance, then floats to the surface butt up. I've seen him sort of do barrel rolls at times. I suspect he may have developped swimbladder problems because to all the time spent gasping at the surface....is this a possibility? Or could the parasite have brought on a secondary infection?
I find that he does better on days after I feed the fish peas...so I tend to do that fequently, maybe 3 times a week right now...it seems to help. I have also always soaked their food (which consists of Hikari pellets, tubifex and peas mainly)...and continue to do that now...but he still sometimes seems badly affected.
What do you guys think? Should I assume he has swim bladder disease? or something else related? Is there any treatment for this?
Thanks for the help!

Oh yeah, my info is: a 20 gallon tank, up and running since the end of summer...cycled for a few months now....3 fish, all under 2 and a half inches (tip-to-tip)...Aquaclear 150....8 inch airbar...I treat the water every water change, and do a 35% water change at least once a week, I used to to them much more often though....there is currently no meds or salt in the tank.

Hi bubblegoose,

I know this sounds odd, but is there any chance your rolling fish could be blind in one eye? This sounds exactly like the behaviour displayed by my own one-eyed fish, Patch, and others I've read about who are blind in one eye. They get disoriented when they lose sight of the light from above and do barrel rolls or somersaults until they can locate it again.

If not then yes, I'd suspect SBD. Have you tried fasting him for 1 day a week? This can work well in conjunction with regular peas. It i possible the parasites could have caused a secondary infection or internal damage; in this case you could try a course of medicated food like Medigold - this seems to work bst for internal infections. If however the swimbladder has been left damaged by his earlier troubles then there isn't a great deal you can do about it, except minimse the symptoms by peas and pre-soaking, as you have been doing.

Hope this helps

Hey EmmaJ, thanks for responding. I don't think the fish is blind in one eye, as both eyes look perfectly healthy, and he doesn't show any other signs. Plus, it seems more of a boyancy problem then anything else. I suppose I'll just stick to the peas every couple days, and I'll start fasting them for a day a week. Thanks for the help!