Belly Up

I recently had to say ‘goodbye’ to my dear goldfish ‘Goopy’ after a long and surely uncomfortable battle with ‘Flip-over’ disease. Unfortunately this is not the first goldfish I have owned that has suffered this fate, but I thought it was time to draw the line and investigate this goldfish disease! Flip-over disease is actually a symptom of one or more goldfish diseases that affect buoyancy. In other words, if your fish is unable to swim up right, floats the top of the tank, or sinks to the bottom it probably has flip-over disease. If your little buddy is suffering from this symptom, it could indicate a problem with its swim bladder, intestinal tract, organs situated near to the swim bladder, tumours in the abdomen or as a result of failure of the mechanism that controls gas pressure in the swim bladder. A bad diet and/or poor water quality may also result in flip-over disease. If it is as a result of poor diet or water quality it is quite easy to treat, however if the problem is internal there is little one can do for the goldfish. It should be noted though, that surgery is an option. Don’t think my Vet will take me too seriously though.