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they were not clear, more milky colored and they popped and worst of all i think it may be infected, can i use salt and melafix? today he dident greet me or eat, im a little worried, will the salt hurt the craw?, it doesnt look like those pics u posted, but it was in the about same spot.

1) no sorry i cant take a picture, but i think i may be getting a digi soon, like jan, but i cant be sure

2) yea, the eye popped out slightly before the bubble formed

3) the tank is in my basement, and my dad hooked up a hose for me, but the water is freezing when it comes out, so i put him in a bucket, and bring him upstairs because it is warmer than the basement, but after i drain out all the water, i fill it up, turn the filter on, to introduce it to warmer air, after about an hour i turn the heater on (i wait that long to let the heater aclimate) after the heater has the water the same temp as the bucket, i put red back, turned out the lights, and leave him alone for a few hours.
the whole water change takes about 6 hours, i dont do them often, so i can spair oscar the stress, but i do minor water changes about once a month or maybe twice.

4)hmm, i'll check to see what the current temp is....its around 30F and its about 3:45PM im in newyork

5)i dont have anything to test with

he has no raised scales, and is otherwise healthy, he has not had feeders for quite a while either, the temp never fluctuates, the filter works great, so any ideas?

I've got some questions for you.

1) Can you post a pic? If you try to take a pic, use flash and take the pic at a slight angle to the glass so the reflection beams in the other direction.

2) Are these bubbles in the lower lip area of the eye (like what would be an eyelid), or is it in the eye itself? If in the eye itself, is it a clear bubble?

3) When you do water changes, explain how you do them right down to how you get the incoming water the same temp. Do you take it straight from the tap, like with a python? Do you heat the water? Or, do you let it sit in a container overnight or longer before adding to the tank. Do you use water from a deep well?

4) How cold is it outdoors by you right now (what part of US are you in)?

5) Post parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, temp and pH).

I know some of these questions may seem strange, but I'm looking to see if there is a possibility of gas bubble disease. One of the areas the air bubbles show up is in the eyes. It can be in the eyes or above them.

See these pics and in addition, check for raised scales any place on the body:

http://zfin.org/zf_info/stckctr/dis_man/Disease_images/GasBubbleDis4.jpg

http://lrf.org/TMDLss2/tmdl2slides/TMDL03.gif

Gas bubble disease is the result of oxygen supersaturation in the water. Microscopic bubbles (not the tiny ones you can barely see, but those not visible to the naked eye) are in abundance in the water column. These bubbles work their way into the bloodstream via the gills and accumulate in areas in the body - eyes, skin, fins, base of fins, and unfortunately, in internal organs.

It can be brought on by water that is very cold heating up quickly, or not being allowed to equilibriate with the atmosphere of your home (such as adding water straight from the tap during cold months), even if it is the correct temp using a little hot water. Taking water from a deep well can be oversaturated. It can also be brought on by a malfunctioning filter that has a crack in the intake or any thing else that allows air to be sucked up into the pump so inspect your filter parts very carefully.

If you suspect this may be the case, then dim the tank, dose it with melafix to prevent infection of popping blisters (and don't pop them). Keep the fish stress free as sudden moves can move the bubbles to or within vital organs resulting in death. The air will eventually be reabsorbed. Do water changes with water that has sat in a container at least overnight with a bubbler, or longer. You can use a rubbermaid bin and a cheap water pump with tubing to refill your tank.

Melafix will not hurt your inverts from what I have read and it should not irritate the wounds. It is important to use an antiseptic to keep it from infecting as there are many pathogens in even the cleanest of tanks.

Here is a melafix article and it covers inverts: http://www.aquariumguys.com/melafix8oz.html
Last edited by Cory_Di at 29-Nov-2004 10:24

Last edited by Cory_Di at 29-Nov-2004 10:25