If you’re a goldfish keeper and you’ve had problems with swim bladder disease, this post if for you.
Back in March 2013, I’ve acquired 3 juvenile goldfish. Within a few days I noticed that they all had some degree of swim bladder disease. Two of them would float upside down at the top of the tank for a couple of hours after each feeding, and the third one only exhibited mild symptoms.
This was not my first encounter with the disease. I’ve had an adult Ryukin about 5 years ago that got to the point where he was permanently floating and not able to swim down from the top of the tank anymore. This led to sores on the part of his belly that was always exposed to air. I had 5 or 6 goldfish in the same tank with him and none of them experienced any bloating problems. I added this last bit to emphasize that they were all living in the same environment, eating the same foods, on the same feeding schedule. This points towards the fact that some fish are born with a predisposition to swim bladder disease.
Back to my three newer fishes… Upon noticing their infliction, I ran to the forever-helpful Google search and read everything I could on goldfish bloating and swim bladder problems. I found about 3 solutions that people were taking about, and tried all of them.
1. Green peas
I have tried this remedy previously with my adult Ryukin but there was no visible improvement. This was mostly because he refused to eat any of the peas and also because it was difficult feeding him in his belly-up position.
I hoped for some success with my three juveniles since their condition didn`t seem very advanced. It took a few days until they went anywhere near the peas. During this period I reduced the amount of regular food to entice them to eat the peas. Little by little I started to see some improvement. I would feed 2 meals of peas and one of their regular dry food. There would be little or no bloating after eating the peas, but they would be back to floating at the top after every fish food meal.
I figured they couldn’t live just on peas forever so I had to make a change in their staple food(at the time, I was feeding them goldfish flakes by Tetra Fin).
2. High quality fish food (or homemade)
In my research, i found some mixed opinions regarding homemade foods. Some people swear by them while others believe that a commercial food with balanced ingredients is a better choice. After reading a few recipes and suggestions on
forums, I decided to make my own recipe and used this post for guidance. A downside to making my own food was the difficulty in making small quantities. Plus storing green, smelly fish food in a shared fridge was not much appreciated by the rest of the people in my house.
Besides the homemade food, I also purchased a sinking pellet food that was recommended to me, called Saki-Hikari Fancy Goldfish. I usually soak the pellets prior to feeding so they expand before the fish eat then and not in their intestines. I would highly recommend this food, as I have seen great improvement in my fishes bloating issues.
3. Epsom salt
I should be honest and say I was initially reluctant to try this remedy. It popped up on several websites and forums, but there was no agreement as to the dose that should be used or how it should be administered. Some say to put a grain of salt in a pea and feed it to the affected fish, others that you should give them occasional baths in Epsom salt water, and others that you should add it to the tank. I chose to add 2 tablespoons of it to every 10 gallons of water, straight into my tank since all three goldfish affected.
Conclusion and Suggestions
Based on my positive results, I recommend the above-mentioned solutions concurrently, as this yielded positive results for me.
It is important to note that these are not cures for swim bladder disease. They are meant to simply keep it under control and stop it from manifesting.
A good tool in understanding and dealing with swim bladder disease is knowing how a goldfish stomach works. Check out this awesome post by Jennie.
Turtle Affairs 