# Swim bladder? I need advice.



## tomkitten'ssissy (Sep 28, 2009)

I've had my goldfish for 8 days (Eddie). I bought him from a pet shop in town. 
Eddie was originally in a 4 litre bowl. 3 days later, I moved him to a 10 litre tank.

I could be being paranoid, but I am a bit worried about it. 
For the past few days, the goldfish has been near the top of his tank at an angle, but He isn't gasping for air.
He is swimming around, but only either when he feels like it or when someone is near his tank. I know they do sleep, but I don't know if they sleep in that position.

I was wondering if Eddie had has the onset of swim bladder or whether there is something else or If i am indeed being paranoid and he is okay.

He is eating when food is dropped in. I am feeding him Flakes in the morning, and food (not flakes or pellets) at luchtime and in the evening.
Which is my next question.
How much food do i put in the tank (a pinch of food or five-six flakes). I can't say how much he eats in five minutes because he doesn't eat it all in one go (plus i've never heard of the 5min rule before).

I'm worried that I'm not doing things right and I just wanted some advice. Also can flakes really give a fish swim bladder?

We had a fish with swim bladder quite a few years ago, that's what i want to get it sorted. 
This is what Eddie is like (in the position that I have said.)










Thank you for any help


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Hi 

It looks like Eddie is a common goldfish, which I'm afraid means some bad news for you. He should grow to around a foot in length, and therefore needs a heck of a lot of room in order for him to stay healthy. Personally I wouldn't recommend keeping a fish like Eddie in anything less than a pond, though he could still live quite happily in perhaps a 4-6 foot long tank.

Its hard to tell much from a photo, but I don't think there is a swimbladder problem. More likely he is in that position because the surface of the water is where gas exchange takes place and there will be more oxygen there for him. He doesn't look too happy in the photo, and that's probably because in such a small tank it is likely that you're having problems with water quality. 

Best thing you can do for him is either get him a much bigger tank asap, or return him to the shop you bought him from.


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## tomkitten'ssissy (Sep 28, 2009)

4-6 foot tank? crikey. that's like half the size of our house. (well not far off).

I must admit, that he doesn't look happy either. Weirdly enough, he seemed quite contented in a four litre bowl on my desk.

Thank you for your help magpie


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

I know, it's a bit of a shock isn't it!? 

I adopted a couple of goldfish and a 21 litre tank from my brother after he was given them for christmas by a friend. Then I discovered how big they get! Bought a 200 litre tank and now, 3 years later, the comet (bit like yours but with a longer tail) is over 9 inches and has gone to my mates pond, and the two fancy goldfish are around 6 inches each. And still growing!


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## tomkitten'ssissy (Sep 28, 2009)

I can honestly say, we've kept goldfish in the past, and none of them grew that big. 

We've never had an aquarium with a filter. (Well we did, but the fish did about a month after being in there. he was about 8 years old.) Our past ones have been in plastic tanks without the filters or other aquarium stuff (only a bit of gravel and oxygenating weed) and they lived for years... how times change


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Goldfish are meant to get big though, and they should live 20+ years (oldest on record was around 40 years old I believe). If they don't it's because they've been stunted by poor living conditions, which drastically reduces their lifespan and makes them very susceptible to illness. 

I have a friend who calls my goldies 'mutant fish' because she's never seen goldfish that big before and she thinks they're weird! 
If anything though, they're a little small for their age, probably because they started out in a tiny tank. It's just that the popular belief is that goldfish are small fish that live in bowls and only live for a few years at most.


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