Miracle goldfish revisited/swim bladder problem

Hey CBWMN, you could be talking about two different but highly similar problems. True swimbladder disease is usually genetic. The fish's swimbladder is inflated too much and causes the floating, turning upside down, and erratic swimming. The only solution for swimbladder disease is surgery. A good fish vet will either remove part of the swim bladder, implant inert stones into the belly of the fish for ballast, or attempt to draw some air out of the swimbladder itself. You can locate a fish vet in your area on this site: http://aquavetmed.info/index.cfm?PID=6 .
Another problem often mistaken for swimbladder disease is air in the gut. This is usually caused by feeding floating foods such as flakes. The fish gulps air into its stomach while feeding and cannot expel the air, so it begins to float and act as if it has swimbladder disease. The solution is to feed shelled peas. It's debatable why this works, but the best bet is that it "flushes" out the fish's system... ex-lax for goldfish. :) Fancy goldfish should regularly be fed shelled peas if they have had issues with air in the gut in the past.
Either way, try feeding mashed up shelled peas for a few days first and see if that solves the problem. If not, consider euthanizing the fish. He is so young that surgery just isn't an option. Euthanasia can be accomplished with an overdose of clove oil. You can usually find clove oil in drug stores and health food/vitamin stores.
 
I did see the original post. You can try mashed shelled peas first and see if that improves the problem. However, a fish that young almost certainly doesn't have air in the gut - it's probably a swimbladder issue.
I know it's difficult, but I think it's best for you to euthanize the fish. Since it's already showing genetic problems, even if you can solve this problem, it will likely have more issues later in life and might not even survive to adulthood.
Good luck either way. Keep us posted.
 
Whiel I too fear that it is a swim bladder issue, you should wait it out for a while. In my 15 years of keeping goldfish, I had 2 floaties who wouldn't go down. 1 I remember euthanizing, and the other ended up getting better to the point where it wasnt THAT bad. Sure it'd flip out occasionally, but it was like someone with a handicap. They learn to live with it and have normal lives.
 
I rescued a tiny goldfish with swam bladder from petsmart when i worked there. I found him fun. He'd swim just fine and when he seemed excited he'd go upside down and id play with him. He was very friendly and i hand fed him peas and whatever else. I dont have him anymore i gave him to a friend with a bigger tank but he is doing great
 
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