Need Expert Advice

[Greg]

Hi,

A friend of mine found out yesterday that I am quickly turning into an aquariumgeek, and it just happens that he now has a problem which he called me about.

I have not seen his office tank for a long time, so I'm trying to piece it together.  Somewhere in the 50-90 g range with some large sharks, pleco and "goldfish".  None of the office staff have any idea about fish or aquariums.

The problem;  The "Goldfish" have something that looks like air- bubbles all over them, and the rest of the fish seem "stupid".  The "stupid" part I figure is because they decided to change the water last week, as in ALL the water.  They lost a large pleco and large sharks.  I figure the Ammonia is making them "stupid" and perhaps changing 30% of the water would get the Ammonia down until the water balances itself out.

It's the "bubbles" that I wonder about.  Are these likely air bubbles, or could they be some form of bacteria or disease. I don't think he would mistake Ick for bubbles.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks, Greg

[Marc]

Hi Greg,

First, I hope you've educated him about the "wisdom" of changing all of the water.

The goldfish may be suffering from "Gas Bubble Disease".  You can read about that here:
http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/koi/koimiscell.htm
http://www.thekrib.com/Diseases/gas-bubble.html
http://www.algone.com/fish_diseases.htm#GasBubbleDisease
I don't think there's much to do about it except wait and hope for the best.

Buying a test kit and measuring the ammonia levels before doing any more water changes would be a good idea.  If they didn't clean the filter there probably isn't any ammonia but if they completely cleaned the aquarium filter than there probably is.  30% water changes every couple of days will help keep the ammonia down but probably it won't be enough to save all of the fish.  

At this point doing nothing at all is probably best.  Let the tank settle down and stabilize should be the goal.  Unless the levels of ammonia are high in which case you're stuck.  You want to stabilize the tank but unless you do water changes the ammonia will kill the fish.

The reason the fish are acting "dumb" may not be ammonia.  It may be due to the stress of adjusting to the new water conditions.  The water's pH probably changed drastically with the water change.

Marc

[maitre007]

Yeah write to your MP to push the Senators to sign the Bill C-22(b) bill to ammend the criminal code for animal cruelty.  

He was negligent in changing ALL the water and at the very least he should pay the equivalent of a speeding ticket.  That aquarium 101.

[Greg]

Thanks,

M007, I'll leave the political reform up to you...

In the meantime, thanks for sharing your knowledge Marc.

With information and luck, he should be able to survive the problem.

Thanks,
Greg

[artw]

excuse me but you can safely change 99% of the water in your aquarium if you do it right.

[Marc]

Art,

I agree but it's very difficult to do it right.  

Especially that the water coming of the tap doesn't usually have a stable pH.  You'd have to put it in a large container.  Stir up it for some 24 hours until the pH is stable.

Then adjust the pH to match the tank pH and make sure that's stable.

hen heat it up to match the tank temperature.

After which a 99% water change should be fairly safe.

Did I miss anything?

Marc

[Marc]

P.S.  Don't forget that since the tank in question hasn't had a water change for quite a while it's pH is probably quite low... low 6's to low 5's.  Possibly even lower with the soft water we have in Ottawa.