[tommo]

Here's a topic to get you going... "gas bubble eye".

As I understand it, anthias are prone to this affliction (it's not an infection/disease is it, tho I guess it could get an infection as a result?) I've had it in a squampini and one of my bartletts. Both have gotten over it with no intervention and no lasting effects.

I also understood that it was caused by bascially bringing them up from deeper water causing a pressure difference but would have expected it to show itself fairly quickly after capture in the wild, but both fish had been in my system for several months before signs of it. I'd also assumed that it was a one-time-only thing, that once this gas had been, for a better word, "purged" that it wouldn't (couldn't?) happen again.

However, the bartlett which had it recently has started to show a swollen eye once again, probably about 3 weeks after it cleared up and it's the same eye, tho it doesn't look like it's going to get so big as before but we'll have to wait and see.

He does behave a little differently to all the other bartletts, spending nearly all of his time sat on the sand at the front corner of the tank, only swimming around to get some food really, and then back behind the rocks at lights out. He seems quite capable of swimming so I don't think he has anything wrong that would affect this, eats happily and appears to be in otherwise good health. He is not picked on by the others, in fact, he tends to get involved in fewer squabbles since he is more out of the way.

Cheers

Chris.

[dave14]

funnily enough my dispars have had this twice, not sure if it was the same fish though, both times it has cleared up on it's own and didn't seem to bother the fish

[tommo]

Hey,

Gas bubble has two causes. Rarely the one you describe with a pressure difference but also the more common over saturation of water with atmospheric or introduced gases.

Oversaturation can occur as a result of several causes and usually in the marine aquarium stems from air being forced into the water under high pressure from a tiny leak which causes a venturi of micro bubbles and then passes through a high pressure pump impellor, or by massive amounts of free microbubbles entering high pressure pumps. It is much more common in larger shop systems with improper degassing facilities (essentially a trickle tower to cause a larger surface area) than it is in home aquaria. Symptoms are sometimes slightly delayed in my experience. Nitrogen gas is considered to be the problem, as most fish can tolerate massively oxygen oversaturated (200% plus) conditions with no ill effects

Typically Excess gas causes bubbles of nitrogen to form in the blood. this then passes around the body and can be deposited in blood vessels in concentrated areas. One will also usually see fine bubbles in the fins of afflicted animals.

Of course the eye could swell as a result of infection with gas secreting bacteria and is more likely to become infected under such pressure Be aware of this if you notice cloudiness or cottony growth.

Squirrel fish - Holocentridae and Basses/basslets- Serranidae seem extremely prone to this problem, but other fish are susceptible, tending to have far less dramatic symptoms. There are a couple of ways to deal with gas bubbles as long as the problem gas source is isolated and dealt with in itself by either degassing or removing air sources. I have previously lightly and carefully syringed and disinfected (with iodine tincture) the area on larger fish wich alleviated the problem well but i do not recommend this. Fish can be taken to deep water if you have the facilities, most however simply fix themselves, often very rapidly once the source of saturation is determined and has gone.

If your Bartletts eye is a little swollen, don't immediately assume it is gas that is the cause. If the fish is being harassed by anything, or has darted and panicked or tried to jump, impact can also cause swelling (as it can in humans) and fish are particularly prone to swelling behind the eyes Just see how it develops!

HTH

Tom