Upside down fish
Question:
We have a small goldfish that is having trouble keeping itself upright in our small pond. It’s almost funny until he/she (?) tries to eat and can’t stop from turning upside down when trying to suck up a piece of the food. I can’t help feeling that he/she must be awfully hungry, but this fish is really “fat” relative to its length. Most of the time, he/she just lays on the bottom as if asleep! Any idea what’s happening?
Answer:
It sounds like your fish has “Dropsy”. This fish disease is generally caused by problems with water quality. Testing the water for nitrite and lowering that levels to 0 should prevent any of your other pond fish from getting the same disease.
A partial water change of 1/3 to 1/2 the pond water is generally needed (may have to be repeated several times over a few days). Stop all feeding of the pond fish until levels return to normal. Add a good beneficial bacteria product to jump start the nitrification cycle of your pond.
Fish with Dropsy can, unfortunately, not usually be saved.