If your goldfish is doing the backstroke and struggling to correct itself, it has a swim bladder problem. The swim bladder, or air bladder, is the buoyancy device that helps a fish stay level and at the depth it wants to be: if it becomes over-inflated, the fish will swim either head up or down, which they obviously find quite distressing.

What to do?

• Drop the level of the water so that it’s just covering your goldfish (5 cm above), so that it’s less of a struggle for the fish to control its buoyancy. Leave the water at that level until your fish seems stable (could be a day or two), and then gradually raise the level of water, keeping a close watch on your fish’s stability over the next few days.
• Skip feeding your fish for one day. When you feed from the surface, fish tend to take in too much air while eating. Try wetting the flakes to get the food to sink.
• Feed your goldfish a shelled pea or two (slightly cooked) as this often helps resolve constipation, which could be the cause.
• Check the quality of the tank water.

Words: Fairlady magazine
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