Re: Fish lying stationary on its side |
Subject: Re: Fish lying stationary on its side by Otter on 11/9/2009 10:42:15 My guess would be a swim bladder problem. If a fish can't maintain neutral buoyancy, it will either float to the surface or sink. Your fish sinks, and then it falls over on its side because comets, unlike fish that naturally have a small swim bladder, are not designed for benthic parking. If your fish always falls on the same side, then the upside probably has slightly higher buoyancy. When it swims, the fish keeps off the bottom using the power of its muscles. But because it's ill, it settles back to the bottom to rest again instead of treading water all day. Does this theory fit what you've seen? The usual advice for buoyancy problems is to fast the fish for a few days and then feed it peas. This is based on the assumption that the problem isn't actually the swim bladder, but the an obstruction in the GI tract. However, comets are a lot less likely to have this problem than fancy goldfish. And it sounds like your fish isn't eating anyway. I don't want to tell you how to treat your fish because it's not clear to me what's causing the problem, and an irrelevant treatment would just put more stress on your fish and perhaps interfere with its natural healing process. Nature is wise, hence if you've got no clue, it's best to let nature go on doing what it was doing. If I were you, I'd post on all the goldfish forums until I found someone who knew more about heavy comets. http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone ... ase-diagnosis-treatments/ Best of luck. |