FishChannel Forums / Freshwater Forums / A Place for Beginners / My fish is floating like a cork. / Latest Posts

RE: My fish is floating like a cork.

princessotfu — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:46:09 GMT

It makes his more reliable than most others, but you should still run the info past others as well to make sure it's correct. A lot of people that have been keeping goldfish "for X number of years" haven't changed the way they take care of them, even though info and techniques have been changing rapidly the last few years.

Some fish do gulp air or experience bloating when they eat certain foods. There are any number of explanations, and they vary from fish to fish. Some can't eat grains, presumably from the gassiness, some can't eat peas, some can't eat commercial foods. If you find a food that you believe causes your fish to float, stop feeding that food. Fish that float upside down for very long periods of time can actually start developing deformities in their internal organs and their pelvic fins, which can make the condition worsen or become permanent.

RE: My fish is floating like a cork.

GlitterGuppy2008 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:26:21 GMT

One more thing... it says here that Robert Mertlich has served as a Memeber of the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Goldfish Society of America. Does this make it OK to trust his book.... or have we already proven otherwise? Sorry, just giving you more and more questions, but I'm not experienced with fish. How big do fantails get?

RE: My fish is floating like a cork.

GlitterGuppy2008 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:21:36 GMT

Right! Answers to the questions.

I found the book around our house, and I got very, very interested in fancy goldfish. I want to breed them someday. The date of the book is 1987 by T.F.H. Publications Inc.. They also put a picture of a diseased fish on the cover. They said it had dropsy or fluid in the abdominal cavity. Don't ask me why they didn't get a better photo... there are plenty in the book. Oh, well. Random, but I really like black moors.

RE: My fish is floating like a cork.

GlitterGuppy2008 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:17:02 GMT

Ok. I guess one reason I thought I could trust that book is because the guy said he has been doing fish for 30 years... oh well. Once I had a betta fish named Cobalt, and the package of his tank said to "Keep the light on at all times". Ha. A few fish died before we found out that the light was cooking them.

RE: My fish is floating like a cork.

David Lass — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:39:49 GMT

I've never heard of that book or author either. What Hailey says is somewhat true, although since I have a new book on angelfish coming out soon I hope I'm on the good side of the generalizations. Actually, it is not that easy to get a fish book published nowadays. What was the date of the book you got the advice from, and where did you find the book?

RE: My fish is floating like a cork.

Hailey — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:50:54 GMT

I am not familiar with the book or the author, and he may be right that goldfish can eat some ants, so don't take my comment to be aimed specifically at him. Just keep in mind that not all authors know what they are talking about. You don't actually need to know anything to get published...you just have to be a good writer, a good self-promoter, and convince someone at a publishing house that you know your stuff. That makes books a somewhat risky source, unless you can trace back the citations in the book to more reliable sources (i.e. peer reviewed journals, etc), or the author has some life experience that would make him/her a reliable source. So just take what you read in them with a grain of salt and try to corroborate the facts with other sources.

RE: My fish is floating like a cork.

GlitterGuppy2008 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:33:46 GMT

Yes! He's alright. I woke up and came downstairs yesterday and he was absoloutely fine. He looks like he's getting a little spell of it today, but I've learned my lesson. My mom's advice

"No more ants."

I think it's a good idea. Where did the guy who wrote the book I read get the idea that goldfish can eat ants, then? Is this a resource I can trust still?

Thanks to everyone for their help!

RE: My fish is floating like a cork.

painthorse77 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:01:13 GMT

He will probably be fine. I have a fish that will do the same as yours does. After a few minutes to a couple of hours he will be back to his normal self. The fish probably took in too much air when eating.

RE: My fish is floating like a cork.

GlitterGuppy2008 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:53:21 GMT

Thanks so much for replying. The ants are not the stinging kind, I don't believe, and I don't know about the struggling... they are like, smaller than the fishs' eye. He did seem to take in a lot of air... I sincerely hope that he will be ok.

RE: My fish is floating like a cork.

Hailey — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:41:21 GMT

The ants weren't one of the kinds that can sting were they? I would be cautious feeding ants to fish unless you know they are a non-stinging variety. I honestly don't know about the floating, but I figured eating a stinging ant could be a issue. Did the fish start floating almost immediately after eating? Could be a swimbladder issue, either from gulping air (though goldfish do that a lot while eating and don't usually have a problem) or maybe from the ants fighting too much inside and rupturing something. I'm just throwing out guesses here...hopefully someone will be along shortly who can be more helpful.

My fish is floating like a cork.

GlitterGuppy2008 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:58:51 GMT

Hi. I'm new to fancy goldfish keeping, and I read the book 'Goldfish: a complete introduction' by Robert Mertlich, which I really enjoyed. I read that you can feed adult goldfsih ants. We have small ants that build nests near our house, and they don't get sprayed. I fed my goldfish two, and now he is floating like a cork, upside down! If he swallowed air I read that it should be self-correcting in a day or two, but at a youngish age it's usually genetic, and that it's not curable. Is this true? My fish has given up fighting to stay upright, and is upside down, just sitting there. If I tap the tank or suchlike he'll swim. Please help me with this. Will he die?