Swim bladder disease

Swim bladder disease, also called swim bladder disorder or flipover, is a common ailment in aquarium fish. The swim bladder is an internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of a fish to control its buoyancy, and thus to stay at the current water depth without having to waste energy in swimming.^[1] A fish with swim bladder disorder can float nose down tail up, or can float to the top or sink to the bottom of the aquarium.^[2]

Swim bladder disease is a very common illness within aquarium fish that results in the bladder not functioning properly causing the fish to swim upside down. This disorder can be due to multiple factors such as physical abnormalities, environmental, mechanical, or in some cases due to fishes being inbred.^[3][4] This disorder is commonly known to be seen in goldfish and bettas. With this element being impaired, it will affect the way that they travel and balance themselves throughout the water which is important to how they keep afloat. In worse cases, this disease can result in fish death.