Goldfish will often times swim upside down. They do not do this by choice, they are having problems with their swim bladder. If you want to help out your fish you will want to first try to fast your fish for at least three days. This is to help the digestive track start moving. One reason that your fish could be swimming upside down is because the fish is constipated. As soon as you see the fish is pooping again, you will notice the fish is a lot better. That means that your fish was constipated and the pressure was against the swim bladder which was causing the fish to be off balance.
If your fish is still swimming upside down you will want to fill up a 10 gallon tank to place the goldfish in. You will then want to add enough water from the regular tank to be about 1 inch above the fishes dorsal or top fin. This is to relieve the swim bladder. A fish swims by using the swim bladder and if it’s having a problem you need to help it out. This way the fish will not have such as hard time swimming around. If the fish is still upside down in the water you will want to purchase freshwater aquarium salt from the pet store. You will need to add the salt to the water.
Adding salt to the water will kill off any parasites. It will also help to remove air and water from the swim bladder. At this time you should try to feed your fish a variety of frozen foods. This will help to pass any food out of the digestive track. If your fish is still constipated, this will cure your problem. The frozen food such as brine shrimp, will help pass everything out of the digestive track. This food will sink to the bottom and be easy for the goldfish to get at when the water is so low.
One way to avoid this problem is to make sure that you feed your goldfish food that sinks. The goldfish will get swim bladder problems from eating fish flakes off of the top of the water. The fish is sucking in too much air which will cause the fish to float upside down in the tank. Make sure to feed the goldfish pellet food, frozen food or place the fish flakes in the filter flow so that they shoot down into the bottom of the fish tank. Never feed your goldfish at the top of the tank because this will create a lot of problems.
Leave your fish in the tank until the fish is better. Slowly by slowly add water and more salt. Keep feeding the fish frozen food. Eventually your fish will be able to swim normally. After you have the tank full again and the fish is fine you will then add the fish back to the regular tank. Make sure that when you feed the fish you place the food in the filter flow or use food which sinks right away.
