Hi Remi – how’s the water? Did you test for ammonia and nitrite? Did you add any new fish to the aquarium recently without quarantining first? It’s hard to really determine the cause of the problem without more information. Since your goldfish is clearly not constipated, my best guess would be either a bacterial or parasitic infection.

If you didn’t add any new fish or plants in the last couple months (and there’s no clear outward signs of parasites), it might be bacterial. Of course, some parasites are not clearly visible (gill flukes and internal parasites like tapeworms, for example). Does your goldfish look very thin (thinner than usual)? That could be a sign of an internal parasite infection (transparent white fecal waste can also indicate internal parasites) – a medication containing praziquantel is really effective for this (and extremely gentle on your fish). I’ve had great results with PraziPro (and if your goldfish does have tapeworm, you can usually see the dead parasites leave the body on the second day after treatment).

Something like gill flukes can be a little bit harder to treat – mostly because the medication won’t affect the eggs flukes leave. So, after you thought your aquarium was “successfully” treated for flukes, any leftover eggs can hatch and cause another fluke outbreak. If you noticed your goldfish scratching on objects before he got sick and started floating on his side, there’s a good chance your goldfish may have flukes if there’s no other symptoms of external parasites. I’d use something like Paraguard, which can be a gentler alternative to some formalin-based medications. It also treats some bacterial and fungal infections (and if your goldfish does in fact have external parasites, he could very well get secondary bacterial or fungal infections on the wounds the parasites leave behind).

But don’t just pick up any medication hoping it will make your goldfish feel better without knowing exactly what disease your goldfish is suffering from. There’s a chance your goldfish may not have parasites at all and instead may have a bacterial infection. Or, if there’s high levels of ammonia in the tank, your goldfish could be suffering from ammonia poisoning (or nitrite poisoning if there are high nitrites). That’s why I suggest to test the water first before you buy anything. If either ammonia or nitrite are above 0ppm, you’ll want to change 30-50% of the water daily until levels go back to 0. You can read more about water testing in my guide here.

Your goldfish will have a better chance of recovery in healthy, clean water!

My fish has had SBD for a week. He’s floating on his side near the surface. His mouth and gills are below the surface and they are constantly opening and closing, almost as if he’s lacking in oxygen. He also won’t eat – I’ve tried feeding him both peas and normal fish food and he just spits them back out. I’m really worried, do you have any suggestions?

Thanks, Freddy! I’ve been going through some things in life, so responses have been a bit slow lately. I am working on a few more articles, so hopefully I can get a routine schedule going! Thank you so much for all of your support and wonderful replies. 🙂

I am really impressed with the replies you give! I thought you gave up on the site and then boom you are replying a lot and very thoughtful and thorough replies at that. It is nice to see!

I’m so happy your goldfish are feeling better, Rita!

Carrots and broccoli are a good source of fiber too, though those veggies may not have quite as much fiber as fresh peas! And if you’re interesting in providing a bit more variety on a weekly basis, you can also try feeding romaine lettuce, cauliflower, cucumber, zucchini – even chopped fruit every now and then like grapes and orange slices. But be careful with fruit! You’ll want to feed these once or twice a month as a special treat, since they have high sugar content.

That’s great, Freddy! Many people don’t realize that the skin on vegetables can be a choking hazard for goldfish, so they skip that vital step. Glad you’re taking every precaution! And as you mentioned, peeling off the skin first makes cutting fresh peas much easier. 🙂

That’s a great feeding method you got there – letting your goldfish eat the peas from your fingers. I’m sure that’s a good way to build a bond with your fish too, once they get used to swimming so close to your hand. You have to be careful not to get any soap or grease residue from your skin into the aquarium though.

But that’s an interesting find! I love watching goldfish behavior – they’re always so fascinating, the things they get up to!

Oh no! So sorry to hear about your fish, Betty! Hopefully by now your goldfish are no longer sick.

If not, how are your water conditions? Sometimes it can be tough to figure out what’s wrong, so it’s best to cover all the bases. If you haven’t done so already, you’ll want to test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate to begin with. Testing pH will also be good too, since sometimes pH can crash – and that’s never good for a healthy goldfish.

If you need help with water testing, you can take a look at my water parameter guide here.

Also, are there any visual symptoms or odd behavior (besides the obvious sitting on the bottom)? Sometimes goldfish disease symptoms can be hard to find, especially if they’re microscopic parasites! If you have a magnifying glass handy, that can definitely help. But if not, just observe what’s visible from the naked eye.

I’m hoping your goldfish get better soon!

That’s awesome, Rose! Glad the peas helped. I’m sure your goldfish will enjoy the sinking pellets too! Fancies are really susceptible to buoyancy problems, so it’s good to play it safe with sinking foods and weekly veggies in the diet. You might even want to soak the pellets in a cup of warm water for a few seconds before feeding, so the pellets don’t expand in your goldfish’s intestines. 🙂

Hi Neeraj,

Green peas and bananas should be perfectly fine for your other tropical fish. While I don’t keep gouramis or mollies myself, I found several forums where people who do have fed both species of fish fresh fruits and vegetables with no problems.

You will want to go easy on the fruit though, since fruit does contain a lot of sugar. I’d recommend feeding chopped fruit once or twice per month as a special treat. I like to feed my goldfish fruit on birthdays (whatever day I first introduced them to my tank) or special holidays.

Veggies, on the other hand, are great to feed on a weekly basis – especially fancy goldfish with constipation issues!

Hi Kim,

Happy to hear feeding goldfish peas has been working for you! Though, it’s never good if your goldfish is dependent on peas alone to remain upright!

What do you usually feed your goldfish? If you’re routinely feeding dry foods like pellets or flakes (I recommend sinking pellets over flakes for fancy varieties with swim bladder problems), it might help to soak the pellets in water for 5 – 10 seconds. Otherwise, the pellets could expand in the intestines and cause blockages that might be contributing to the buoyancy problems.

Try that and see if it helps. The swim bladder issue could also be caused by problems in the water. Have you tested the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate recently? Make sure ammonia and nitrite stay at 0ppm (parts per million), and keep nitrate below 40ppm. If any of these water parameters are high, performing several water changes over the next few days might help fix the problem. You can read more about water testing here if you need help.

Stress from the environment can cause all kinds of goldfish issues, and your goldfish will be on a faster road to recovery when they’re not so stressed out.