Sword Tail With Swim Bladder?

If it is simply overeating, then fasting will sort it. Keeping her in the fry tank so she can't get at the food is a good way to do that  However, fasting the whole tank is not a bad thing to do. You'll find a lot of fishkeepers don't feed their fish at all on one day a week, sometimes two days.

You could also try feeding peas to the fish. Cooked peas as you would eat, but pop the insides out of the skin and chop/mash them till the bits are small enough for the fish to eat. It is a fish laxative and flushes them out. Apparently, daphnia does the same, either live or frozen.


Keep an eye on the swordtail just in case. The symptoms can also be caused by internal infections. If it is just overeating and the stomach pressing on the swim bladder, it should clear up in a few days. But don't leave her in the fry tank too long if she perks up as being confined is stressful to a healthy fish.

Aw she died  I went out for lunch and bought some stress coat for her and when I came back she had managed to get in top of the fake lily pads I had put in the fry tank to keep her under water. Poor thing. This is a very steep learning curve for me .

I'm beginning to think that these fish had been neglected and that it is now starting to take its toll. We don't know how many fish died in this tank when the previous owner had it. That could be why he sold up.