Gas bubble disease symptoms
external symptoms
- gas bubbles in the eye
- Bulging eyes
- Small bubbles in body tissues, e.g. B. in the skin, on the fins and on the gills
Behave
- Unusual swimming behavior
internal symptoms
photos
Photos: Alberto Perez
The photos show fish and plants from an aquarium. While the bubbles on the plants can clearly only be gas bubbles, they could also be in the ichtyo on the fish. However, the «bumps» were clearly described by the owner as blisters. At high magnification, some bumps also look like blisters, while others look more like ichtyo grains. A clear clarification based on the photos is not possible. Perhaps both diseases were present.
The gas bubble disease could then possibly have been triggered by a strong over-fertilization with liquid fertilizer, i.e. by gas oversaturation with nitrogen. A water change with a sharp change in temperature was not carried out at the time in question, only smaller water changes.
causes
Gas bubble disease is caused by gas oversaturation in the water. When water is heated, it can hold less gas than before. In tap water, there is often gas supersaturation due to the air dissolved under pressure in the water pipe.
Both effects can lead to more gas in the aquarium water than it can absorb. In the aquarium, the excess gas then settles on the panes, plants, etc. as small gas bubbles.
Such bubbles also form in fish. Although they are tiny, they are big enough to literally foam up tissue parts or clog blood vessels. Oxygen plays only a minor role in this. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide are more common causes.
To avoid gas oversaturation, the following points must be observed:
- Existing gas supersaturations in the tap water must be compensated for before the water enters the aquarium. To do this, the water must come into contact with the air for as long and as intensively as possible. You let the water stand, aerate it in a bucket or bowl, or let it rain with a shower in a high arc into a bucket.
- the changing water should always have a similar temperature as the water in the aquarium. The water in the aquarium should not get colder or warmer by more than 2 to 3°C when you change the water. It is often recommended to do the water change with slightly colder water. If the water is too cold or already oversaturated with gas, massive problems can result.
Gas bubble disease is often only recognized when there is severe gas supersaturation. Smaller oversaturations are often not recognized. A few days after the water change, the aquarist wonders about diseases of the eyes, gills or swim bladder.
Completely unclear symptoms caused by damage to other organs are also possible. Such symptoms are caused by damage to the affected tissue that was or is cut off from supply by gas bubbles in the blood vessels.
Small gas bubbles can become visible in the skin and fins. The bubbles are 0.5 to 2 millimeters in size, or about the size of a pinhead. The blisters are not on the skin but in or under the skin. The blisters may be irregularly shaped. Roughly what the small air bubbles look like when self-adhesive foils for books or displays are not completely smoothed out and air pockets remain underneath.
When stroked over the bubbles, they crackle and burst easily.
Often only a few fish show the corresponding symptoms, while the other fish in the aquarium appear healthy. The diseased fish often have no chance of survival.
Relatively large spherical bubbles indicate sporozoan infestation and probably not gas bubble disease.
treatment suggestions
In the event of gas oversaturation, the fish should be given as much rest as possible. In addition, they are fed rich in vitamins. Water should only be changed again when the pop eyes or other symptoms have subsided.
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Further information