Neon Tetra Struggling To Swim

[george4593]

as the title says...
I thought the tetra was dead as it was floating on its side so I went to scoop it out but it started swimming again, but was swimming downwards and was struggling keeping down.
 
tank had been setup a few months, full cycled
tank mates include 1.5" angelfish
corys
plecos
apistogramma cacatoides
 
planted tank with 25% water changes weekly (ro water)
fed on a wide range of food, live frozen flake...
nothing has been added to the tank for at least a month 
 
NO3 0.25
ammonia 0.20
NO2 0.0
PH 6.2 I use peat in the filtration
Chlorine 0.0
 
no odd things on the tetra and appears fine, just struggling swimming
I am going to do a water change tonight.
 
what is wrong with it?
thanks

 

[Sophie]

If your tank was fully cycled, it wouldn't have 0.20 of Ammonia. A fully cycled tank will have 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite and depending on how often you do water changes, any amount of Nitrate as this is what you dilute/remove when doing water changes.
 
Does sound similar to the symptoms of swim bladder.
 
Fish use the swim bladder to regulate buoyancy in the water, i.e. adjusting their relative weight to float without sinking or rising in the water. If the fish somehow gets an injury or disease to its swim bladder, regulating its buoyancy will be hard or impossible for the fish. A swim-bladder problem can therefore make the fish swim unnaturally and experience trouble keeping its buoyancy regulated. This can result in the fish laying on the bottom of the tank or floating on the surface. In less severe cases it can just seem like if the fish was drunk and having trouble keeping its balance. Swim bladder disease can be caused by a number of different causes but the most common causes are:
 
External factors: If the fish is subjected to external trauma it can affect their swim bladder. External trauma includes physical trauma such as being beaten by another fish, as well as rapid changes in the water parameters in their tank. A rapid temperature increase or decrease can as an example cause swim bladder disease.
 
Genetic factors: Some fish can be genetically predisposed to develop a deformed swim bladder when they grow older. This problem is usually a by product of line breeding by breeders trying to breed a certain trait in the fish such as long fins or certain colors. The predisposition is unwittingly being line breed along with the desired traits.
 
Cancer and TBC: Cancer and tuberculosis can cause swim bladder problems if they affect organs close to the swim bladder or the swim bladder itself.
 
Diet: Dietary problems such as poor nutrition can cause swim bladder disease as the fish don't get the nutrients they need. An improved diet can often help the fish recover, unless the problem has progressed too far. Poor diet can also lead to constipation which in turn can lead to swim bladder problem as the swelling of the abdomen prevent the swim bladder from working properly. 
 
Diseases: Swim bladder disease can be a by-product of a number of different bacterial and parasitical infections in the fish.
 
 
Source: http/www.aquaticcommunity.com/disease/swimbladder.php
 
 
Hope this helps.
I've heard there's no definitive way of treating swim bladder, but some people recommend feeding a shelled pea, some people say bloodworm helps.
 
This made me lol - http/www.wikihow.com/Fix-Swimbladder-Disease-in-Goldfish
 
Another member should be able to help with the possibility of more helpful remedies!
 
Exhausted my knowledge.