Swim Bladder Disorder in Fancy Goldfish
For the experienced goldfish keeper, this might be a thing you have heard of before. The floaty upside down fish or the fish who refused to swim to the surface. Some believe there is no alignment or management to the disease, some believe that euthanasia is the only option.
Depending on the type of disorder, I want to bring light and show that swim bladder disorder is manageable. There is no cure but it is manageable.
I have only been keeping goldfish since 2019, I have had not one but two goldfish go through swim bladder disorder. My first experienced ended in euthanasia of the goldfish. My second experience, my goldfish Mumu, is doing well and going strong with Positive Buoyancy Disorder. We have been through a lot together within the past year of water changes, vet visits, food changes and tank adjustment changes.
I want to make this blog to help others the best I can about this disorder, because I know it’s tough to handle and it can be stressful, but management is key. This can also be helpful to new goldfish keepers.
Now what is swim bladder disorder? So many get confused on how to define it, but here is a simple way to think of it:
It is a syndrome that warns or shows signs of a disease in process or a disease that is coming.
Different variables can predict the disorder. It is important to understand those predictions before figuring out a treatment plan and how the disorder started to begin with. Swim bladder issues doesn't just appear out of nowhere.
These different constitutes can bring on or worsen swim bladder disorder:
1) Genetics 2) Environment 3) Water parameters 4) Whether the fish was brought or bred 5) Nutrition 6) Background Health History
This is just one step to developing a game plan; you can ask yourself these questions from the constitutes:
1) If possible, are the genetics of my goldfish healthy, did the breeder (or store) buy healthy goldfish? Was the goldfish grown in an environment where there was no sickness, or was the breeding the issue to cause poor immune systems? Did the breeder(s) pass good traits within the goldfish so that sickness will not be present?
2) What exactly was the environment like that the goldfish was raised in or came from? Was there any overcrowding or enough space per volume for fish?
3) Is the water quality up to par or are there swings in variables?
4) Depending on where the goldfish came from, was any other fish showing signs of sickness?
5) What does the fish eat? What is the history of the diet of the fish?
6) If possible, was the goldfish ever sick and was any treatments used, natural or medicinal?
You may be wondering, why should I wonder about this? Well that’s because most of the time, there is something else going on in the fish that is causing the swim bladder to act out, not the swim bladder itself that is at fault. Hence why this is called a disorder not a disease.
There are two different types of swim disorders that are present in goldfish:
Positive Buoyancy and Negative Buoyancy
FYI: I am NOT going to mention the “goldfish wheelchair” as a solution to dealing with buoyancy issues. The wheelchair is ONLY A TEMPORARY SOLUTION NOT A PERMINANT FIX. It is only used to see if the fish can correct its equilibrium by itself before intervention can happen. If the goldfish is kept in the wheelchair for to long, the fish can develop a bacterial infection from skin irritation.
Positive buoyancy disorder (for those who don’t know) is when the fish is floating at the top of the surface of the water. This fish is shown to have a very swollen abdomen, severe curvature of the spin, and skin lesions on the spine. The fish has difficulty with locomotion, can act very lethargic, have a sunken face and is faced with the front of the body downwards while the back is up. The fish can also be displaying this while being upside down.
(PICTURES ARE NOT MINE!!!)
There are different reasons why positive buoyancy could be happening to the goldfish:
1) The fish could lack a chamber ( some goldfish depending on genetics and breeding are only born with only one bladder) 2) the fish has experienced trauma that is causing the bladder to swell 3) the fish has a parasitic infection that is causing the bladder to swell 4) the fish could have cancer 5) the fish could have polycystic kidneys, causing hyperinflation of the swim bladder 6) the fish could be experiencing gastroenteritis, over inflation of the swim bladder from improper water quality, unhealthy or not appropriate food, or physical stress from shipping or fighting. 7) the fish’s bladder could be displaced, from a tumor, mass or cancer that is shifting the posterior chamber out of alignment. 8) The intestines could be compressed to cause no equilibrium in the swim bladder
Goldfish have not one, but two bladders, called the posterior chamber(caudal) and anterior chamber(cranial), respectfully. They have an esophagus that connects to the bladder, to inhale/exhale air to inflate/deflate the bladder. Anything else that goes into the bladder that is not air, can be an consult to swim bladder issues. A small piece of skin from the kidneys connects both the swim bladders together. If the kidneys get damaged or diseased, the swim bladder could become inflamed.
Before reaching for the medicine cabinet, there are ways to handle positive buoyancy. If all else fails, see if you can seek veterinary care or if you don’t have a vet, only use medicine if you know the issue needs to be solved with medicine.
Here are some ways to maintain the positive buoyancy while improving the quality of life. This can also be used to rule out other possibilities of causation:
1) Optimal water quality is a must. Keep the environment as neutral as possible. Not to alkaline but not acidic either. To much shifts in water parameters can increase the chance of disease to cause complications in the swim bladder. High nitrate readings and a very alkaline pH causes inflammation.
2)Lessen the amount of protein in the diet. Goldfish are only meant to have a certain percentage of protein depending on age. For goldfish who are having swim bladder issues, the less protein, the better.
NO FLAKES OR FLOATING FOODS!!! Goldfish are not designed to eat these foods because they are Physostomous fish.
3) Maintain a stable water temperature; to low can slow down the digestive system, which can stress the bladder, to high needs more oxygen consumption.
4) Epsom salt and peas. These two ONLY WORK if you know the disorder is caused from an intestinal issue. Epsom salt is a muscle relaxer and saline laxative, while peas gives a small ( not a lot) of fiber to pass stool. If you want to fast your fish, make sure that’s done BEFORE feeding peas.
5) If all else fails, seek veterinary care to ask for an radiograph/x-ray, ultra sound or blood work.
6) Medicine should only be used if the cause is parasitic, bacterial or fungal.
If the goldfish is upside down while showing positive buoyancy, the most likely causing is a parasitic, fungal or bacteria infection, nitrate issue or kidney issue, IF there isn’t an intestinal blockage.
Negative buoyancy disorder is when the goldfish is at the bottom of the tank and is unable to obtain neutral and positive buoyancy. The goldfish could be displaying the same symptoms as positive buoyancy with the only difference being the fish is at the bottom of the tank with skin lesions on its stomach. The fish could be upside down in this position as well.
(PICTURES ARE NOT MINE!!)
There are only two causes of negative buoyancy:
1) A ruptured bladder or.... 2) A bladder filled with fluid
Negative buoyancy disorder unfortunately doesn't have a lot of options to manage nor a lot of options on how to treat it. The best and recommended choice is to take the fish to the vet, to preform a pneumocentesis. A vet can also be used to see if a bladder has ruptured. Antibiotics can be used after its a confirmed case of infection.
Why an aquatic veterinarian can be helpful:
If you have access to a vet, examinations and water testing can be done to come up with a treatment plan. In the case of swim bladder issues, radiographs or x-rays are mostly used.
These can indicate:
1) If there are any gastrointestinal problems 2) if there is a ruptured or missing swim bladder 3) if a mass, tumor or cancer is present 4) if the disorder is secondary to the inflation of the swim bladder 5) if there are any signs of bacterial, parasitic or fungal infections. !!!6) Euthanasia should be discussed with a vet. If you honestly see in the goldfish of it not being able to live with the disorder or quality of life is questioned, this might be the only option.
All of this might sound overwhelming, depressing, or stressful, but, just remember, management of the symptoms and reading in between the lines can make the difference.
Disclaimer: I am not a specialist, veterinarian, nor professional. Just a goldfish keeper who loves everything goldfish and research.
