If you remember, Bubbles is my beautiful white oranda with gas bubble disease in both eyes. She has gone through all treatment suggestions from our knowledgeable moderators and members. She was immediately quarantined when we came home. It took me a few days to see the corneal edema because I had to be looking straight down over her to see it because the bubbles are so clear. She has been treated with a strong antibiotic (apparently not what you should do first). We have raised her salinity to .3% and she was treated with Prazi for 10 consecutive days. After the Prazi treatment the salinity has been constantly maintained at .3%.
She is in a 30 gallon container with a Penguin 100 Marineland Biowheel filter. The temperature is kept at 72° and their is a large airstone to help surface agitation. Both should help to expel any nitrogen or excess gas.
I check her water everyday since a small tank can have quick changes in parameter. Her parameters are kept as follows; pH 8.2, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 5. Unfortunately my tap water contains nitrates, and salinity is .3% She eats a variety of foods including a Jump Start and spirulina pellets because so far she won't eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Her appetite is good and she acts perfectly healthy.
She was purchased the first of February and we believe came home with the condition. The tank we purchased her from, was right at eye level. If you directly look in the eyes from the side, they look perfectly normal.
I have been studying gas bubble disease for the last week after being bedridden after a surgery. This is what I found: The bubbles can be caused by excess nitrogen or oxygen in the blood. It can be caused by a few things like adding cold water rapidly to your tank or during a large water change. Cold water is cable a much larger amount of excess gas in the water. A plumbed tank can develop a pinhole which allows pressurized water into the tank that may cause this condition. It can be caused in reef fish by raising them to the surface much to quickly, which essentially causes the bends in humans. Amazingly, it can be caused by the pressure changes during air shipment.
Severe acute GBD will cause death. This happens when small bubbles join together in the blood stream and travel to organs or the brain.
It is treatable if it is not severe. The best treatment is to place the fish in deep water, 16 feet until the bubbles have dissolved. When the fish is cured it can be brought very slowly back to the surface. This method is used by fisheries. I obviously do not have a 16' pool available. Since she has only a very mild case of GBD m, given a great deal of time and given quality conditions, the body should very, very slowly reabasorb the gases and as long as the corneas do not bust, leaving them open to infection or blindness she should remain healthy and eventually her eyes will be totally normal again.
Please forgive me if any of my information is inaccurate, as I obtained it from many sources.
What I am wondering, is if I should gradually decrease the salinity in her quarantine tank over a couple of weeks and then acclimate her to the 120 gallon tank. It is not the traditional 120. The length is shorter, wider, and deeper. Transferring her to the 120 would give her the opportunity to go to the bottom where there is much more pressure that she will never experience in a 30 gallon tub filled 3/4 with water. It also has 4 large pond aerators and I could easily add 2 more as I bought the biggest inside aerator that I could find. This creates wonderful agitation of the surface water, and hence the release of excess gas. The temperature in the 120 gallon is 72°. Water parameters are exactly the same as her tub. I have a Flugal FX5 on the tank with biomedia that is only rinsed in tank water. My only dilemma is if it is safe for her to be around the decorations in the tank? I don't want her eyes to pop before the gas bubbles disperse. She has a small ornament in her tub that I move every week to stimulate her interest. It has caused no problems.
I have also noticed that there is always at least one fish in every tank that is more adventurous than the others. My fish would not eat any fresh foods until my large Lionhead Oranda tried broccoli for the first time. Once he had tried it and liked it, they all slowly try it too. Now I can put almost any fresh vegetables or fruits in the tank and they will devour them. I think that maybe if Bubbles was in the big tank she might try some too?
Any, sorry for the long post but I would like some feedback about whether I should chance acclimating and moving her to the new tank. I will try my hardest tomorrow to try to get pictures of her eyes.
Sent from my HTC first using Aquarium Advice mobile app
She is in a 30 gallon container with a Penguin 100 Marineland Biowheel filter. The temperature is kept at 72° and their is a large airstone to help surface agitation. Both should help to expel any nitrogen or excess gas.
I check her water everyday since a small tank can have quick changes in parameter. Her parameters are kept as follows; pH 8.2, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 5. Unfortunately my tap water contains nitrates, and salinity is .3% She eats a variety of foods including a Jump Start and spirulina pellets because so far she won't eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Her appetite is good and she acts perfectly healthy.
She was purchased the first of February and we believe came home with the condition. The tank we purchased her from, was right at eye level. If you directly look in the eyes from the side, they look perfectly normal.
I have been studying gas bubble disease for the last week after being bedridden after a surgery. This is what I found: The bubbles can be caused by excess nitrogen or oxygen in the blood. It can be caused by a few things like adding cold water rapidly to your tank or during a large water change. Cold water is cable a much larger amount of excess gas in the water. A plumbed tank can develop a pinhole which allows pressurized water into the tank that may cause this condition. It can be caused in reef fish by raising them to the surface much to quickly, which essentially causes the bends in humans. Amazingly, it can be caused by the pressure changes during air shipment.
Severe acute GBD will cause death. This happens when small bubbles join together in the blood stream and travel to organs or the brain.
It is treatable if it is not severe. The best treatment is to place the fish in deep water, 16 feet until the bubbles have dissolved. When the fish is cured it can be brought very slowly back to the surface. This method is used by fisheries. I obviously do not have a 16' pool available. Since she has only a very mild case of GBD m, given a great deal of time and given quality conditions, the body should very, very slowly reabasorb the gases and as long as the corneas do not bust, leaving them open to infection or blindness she should remain healthy and eventually her eyes will be totally normal again.
Please forgive me if any of my information is inaccurate, as I obtained it from many sources.
What I am wondering, is if I should gradually decrease the salinity in her quarantine tank over a couple of weeks and then acclimate her to the 120 gallon tank. It is not the traditional 120. The length is shorter, wider, and deeper. Transferring her to the 120 would give her the opportunity to go to the bottom where there is much more pressure that she will never experience in a 30 gallon tub filled 3/4 with water. It also has 4 large pond aerators and I could easily add 2 more as I bought the biggest inside aerator that I could find. This creates wonderful agitation of the surface water, and hence the release of excess gas. The temperature in the 120 gallon is 72°. Water parameters are exactly the same as her tub. I have a Flugal FX5 on the tank with biomedia that is only rinsed in tank water. My only dilemma is if it is safe for her to be around the decorations in the tank? I don't want her eyes to pop before the gas bubbles disperse. She has a small ornament in her tub that I move every week to stimulate her interest. It has caused no problems.
I have also noticed that there is always at least one fish in every tank that is more adventurous than the others. My fish would not eat any fresh foods until my large Lionhead Oranda tried broccoli for the first time. Once he had tried it and liked it, they all slowly try it too. Now I can put almost any fresh vegetables or fruits in the tank and they will devour them. I think that maybe if Bubbles was in the big tank she might try some too?
Any, sorry for the long post but I would like some feedback about whether I should chance acclimating and moving her to the new tank. I will try my hardest tomorrow to try to get pictures of her eyes.
Sent from my HTC first using Aquarium Advice mobile app
