is a floating fish a doomed fish?

[jay02483]

i found my flame angel today breathing heavily at the top of my tank. he tries to swim down but ends up floating back to the top on his side. he is breathing heavily. he is doomed? should i end his misery? (all other fish in tank is doing fine, corals are fine, parameters that i thought would cause it salinity-1.026, temp 80.1, ammonia-0 nitirite-0 nitrates is hovering around 10 maybe alittle lower, i have a hard time with salifert kits and getting the exact value from the color.)

[homer1475]

Sounds like possible swim bladder disease(Not 100% sure but I think their bladder gets full of air preventing them from swimming properly) Not sure if there is a cure or not, never had it other then in a FW angel which died hours later. Might want to post something in the fish disease section.

I copied this from WIKI:

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]
Causes

Fancy goldfish are among the fish most commonly affected by this disorder. The disease may be caused by intestinal parasites or by constipation induced by high nitrate levels from over feeding.[2]
Remedies

A remedy, which can work within hours, perhaps by countering constipation, is to feed green pea to affected fish. Fish surgeons can also adjust the buoyancy of the fish by placing a stone in the swim bladder or performing a partial removal of the bladder.[2]