This one Fish in my Aquarium is acting weird.

Question

So, he sinks to the bottom all the time, he's alive though.

I think his swim bladder got messed up.

and fyi: a swim bladder is something that a fish has that helps them stay at the altitude it wants in the tank, or bowl, or whatever it's in.

Answer 1

LOL.  If you have to explain to them what a swim bladder is, they probably shouldn't be answering your question... ;^]  Are you seeing any swelling in the fish's abdomen?  This could be a sign of constipation, which commonly compresses the swim bladder, leading to issues with bouyancy control.  Feeding it a split pea would be a good start.  If the scales are pineconed away from the body ( http://flippersandfins.net/Images/Dropsy... ), there is a good chance it's dropsy, which is excess fluid in the body cavity.  This can also affect the swim bladder, but you can, in many cases, reduce the swelling by adding 1/4 teaspoon of epsom salt per 10 gallons.  To actually treat it, your best bet would be a strong, skin absorbed medication like kanamycin (Kanaplex), minocycline (Maracyn 2), neomycin (Gel Tek), isonaizid, though the latter is very difficult to get a hold of.

Answer 2

i once had a fish who had his swim bladder messed up.

he floated to the top and flipped upside down constantly!

and no, he wasnt dead.

poor thing struggled to swim to the bottom!

so i dont really think yours has that problem....

Answer 3

he may be really sick,improve aeration and and do a water change.