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hi,
i have one particular goldfish(oranda) in my tank which likes to sleep upside down among the plants. It's the biggest in my tank and tends to sometimes also sleep during the day time when the lights are on.
However, he is really active when he is not sleeping! eg feeding time.
so is there anything wrong with him?

Could be, some orandas are shortened in the midbody, and that often leads to deformity, compression of the internal organs and weight balancing issues as the swim bladder struggles to cope with the odd weight distribution of the fish, and lack of internal space required for proper inflation. Dwarfing issues from fish kept in smaller tanks can also compound the problem. How long has this been going on for?

Check your not overfeeding and that the fish has enough oxygen so that he doesnt become easily exhausted.

Sleeping among plants is not unusual in itself, but the upside down bit is a bit of a worry

hi,
thanks for the reply.
i've noticed that orandas seem to have problems with their swim bladders/ balance.
this particular fish has been doing it in the past couple of months, but other wise hasnt affected him. he doesnt float up or sink, he just sits there upside down, but when something startles him or theres food in the tank hes fine... strange...
i have another oranda which also has a swimbladder prob, i presume, though its an off and on thing for her, i suspect it may have to do with her gulping air as it tends to happen after feeding. anyway, i manage her problem by putting her in a fry net clamped to the bottom of the tank so that she does not float up and expose her belly to the air, because in previous experiences this has led to pathogenic growths. the good thing is she eventually recovers in a day or so when i do this!

Yeah, I have an old rainbowfish with some dodgy bladder issues on and off, just holding them in a container of water just under the surface, so that they cant break the surface does seem to give them a chance to recover. Luckily I have a livebearer seperator that while utterly useless for its supposed function does a great job of keeping fish with bladder issues the right way up, and just under the surface, it also protects them from attacks and persecution fromother fish. Could be a big tip for people who lose fish from swim bladder failure.