Swim bladder disease may also be refereed to as "spinning disease" and "flip-over disease". Unfortunately, this disease is a common issue in many domestic aquariums and can not be cured using conventional medicines. This disease is probably the most extreme disease that a tropical fish can get covered on this website.
Occurrence: High. Deadly? Yes. Contagious? Yes. Treatment Available? Yes/No. Fish Assist Problem Code: 5 (Serious)
Signs/Diagnosis:
Physical
Swimming in small, erratic circles
Floating on water surface belly-up
Loss of color in fins
Fins have a red hue
Swollen belly
Behavioral
Swimming in small erratic circles
Erratic swimming
Actions:
When you have successfully diagnosed that a fish in your aquarium has swim bladder disease, the first thing you must do is remove the infected fish from the aquarium as this disease is highly contagious and will quickly spread from fish to fish. Once the infected fish is in a separate containment unit, there are four things that you can do:
Let the fish slowly die (can be between 1 day to 6 months)
Feed the fish "green pea" as this counteracts the constipation
Humanly euthanize the fish
Perform surgery and remove part of the infect bladder
Causes:
A variety of internal organ failures within the fish, most of which are outside your control
Bacterial/parasitic infection in the bladder
A physical injury (ie. hitting something in the aquarium hard)
Birth defect
Prevention:
Like all diseases, maintain good water quality
Avoid overfeeding
Stop feeding your fish frozen foods, instead, let it thaw out before feeding
Ensure that the water temperature is approx. 76 degrees Fahrenheit