A good question. Gatsby was wearing a swimming suit because he had been swimming. I know you asked for symbolic reasons, but the symbolic is always anchored in the practical/literal. Remember that swimming pools were much less common at that time, and having a private pool—and the time to swim in it—were signs of great wealth. So, the first reason is a display of his wealth. The second is to show that even wealth doesn't provide protection. Like the stories he wrapped around his true identity, the wealth he owned could be penetrated and he was as vulnerable as anyone. A related third reason is the vulnerability of near-nakedness. A possible fourth is coming full circle: remember that he started his fortune on the water. A fifth is irony: remember that he had been planning to drain the pool because autumn was coming.
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