shubunkin acting weird

[fishfan12]

hello,
i have a shubunkin calico goldfish. he/ she is doing the weirdest thing, by floating completely vertical. there is nothing else wrong. he/she can swim around normally. in the 14 gallon tank is also 2 hi-fi tetras, 2 red long finned tetras, 1 female platy, and 2 albino cory's. the tank temp is 78 degrees. does anyone have any ideas about what may be causing this?

 

[hacket]

Have you overfed him at all? Sounds like swimbladder to me. How big is the fish?

If you aren't aware, the 14 gallon is way to small, even if you had no other fish in it. That's also part of the problem. He's getting stressed Goldfish need at least 30 gallons.

If it's swim bladder, try getting him to eat a small piece of a pea (deshelled).

 

[fishfan12]

its not swim bladder. he can easily float away. and he's not getting pulled up like usually happens with swim bladder. he is also not stressed cause i've had him in there since january. he's about 3 inches so, not very big.

 

[jsoong]

What have you been feeding him? Goldfish on tropical flakes often get gut problems & it might account for the symptoms.

Buoyancy problems are more often gas in the gut or constipation rather than swim bladder disorder. In the early stages, they can swim normally, but cannot maintain proper attitude at rest. Feeding him some peas would be a good thing to try. <Right after you check the tank for ammonia & nitrites.>

Goldfish need veggies in their diet, and you should be feeding veggies even if the fish appears healthy. At any rate, peas are good for constipation, gas in gut, etc. Get some peas, blanch (or microwave in a bit of water) for 1/2 to 1 min, then shell & chop the peas up & feed to the fish. It might or might not help, but certainly won't hurt.

I would also agree that 14 gal is too small for shubunkins. They are fast moving fish & need room to swim. you should aim for at least a 3' tank (4 or 6 footers are even better) when the fish gets bigger.

 

[fishfan12]

i feed him pellets for gold fish and tropical fish. its like multi-food. i just feed him/her some peas and carrots. my tank water is perfect, i check it 2 times a week.

 

[jsoong]

If it is floating pellets, goldfish might get gas in the gut. You might try soaking the pellets in tank water before feeding.