Satsuma, my female pearlscale, has gas bubble disease. She's in a tank with a female ranchu, Lester, who is absolutely fine with not a hint of a problem. She's been quite ill recently with what I thought was swimbladder problems and a bacterial infection - she's been floaty and was doing stringy white poo full of bubbles. I treated for this and the stringy poo stopped but the floating continued so I've been trying peas but to no avail. She's also been huffing and puffing a lot, I put this down to the effort of trying to swim while floaty.

This afternoon I saw she had developed gas bubbles on her body. I immediately turned off the heater, changed half the water with colder water and turned on the air bubbles in a bid to balance the gas in the water with the gas in her body. She's not improved but I don't know how long it would take to show a difference.

I'm now worried that the bubbles have already come out inside her body and gills and is the real reason for the floatyness and huffing and puffing. I've seen it before in Iggy, a male pearlscale I got free from the lfs as he was a 'sinker'. His sinking got better but he also developed GBD. The first time it went away but I don't know why, the second time he got it it wouldn't go and eventually we had to euthanise him as he stopped eating. I think he had other problems too. I've also seen it in fry (Satsuma was the mum). For such a rare disease it seems to like my fish a lot.

I've seen on a seahorse forum (I know, she's not a seahorse ) that it can be caused by a bacterial infection where the bacteria give off gases which accumulate in the fish. I've treated for a bacterial infection though so I'm not sure this is the cause. But if it's the gas in the water why is Lester ok?

She's still eating ok but I have to hand feed her. She's lying on her side at the top of the tank still breathing quite heavily. Lester comes to see her now and then to see how she is. I can't bear the thought of her going the same way as Iggy.

Has anyone got any bright ideas? I've searched the net - it tells you what GBD is and what causes it but not much help on how to get rid of it. I'm just doing what frederick_more suggested last time which is to cool the water and increase aeration to try and balance her gases and the gas in the water.

Cant help you any more than you have already done sorry suey as I have never had to deal with it

I just don't know what to say in terms of treatment other than what you're trying. If she was a diver with the bends you'd be sending her down deep and keeping her there - not practical with a floating goldfish in a home aquarium!
How do you think your tank water get supersaturated with dissolved gases? I know we're on a different water supply from yours, but at this time of year the water from our kitchen cold tap (mains) isn't so very cold. I have read about problems with the intake to filter pump but I didn't really understand that.
Going to look in my books just in case.

Our tap water is pretty cold and does seem to come out at quite a pressure

I 'phoned the fish vet Howard found a while ago - he had heard of GBD but couldn't understand why one fish was affected but not the other and felt swimbladder problems were most likely the cause of her floating

She's no better, I gave her some pea at lunchtime which she scoffed with relish but she's still on her side with little bubbles all over her.

I'm wondering about fixing up some sort of basket to put her in the main tank where the water is hopefully ok gas-wise and see if that makes a difference.

How long would dissolved gases be a continuing problem for in tank I wonder - surely they come out quite quickly once the water is warmer - wish there was more information about this.
These isnt any fish equivalent of chicken pox is there?? as that's waht it also sounds like ...

Have consulted one of my books, don't suppose this will tell you anything you don't know except the finger test is a handy tip for future. Here is info:

Gas Bubble Disease (Tropical Fishlopaedia - Bailey & Burgess)

Gas bubble disease results from gas (usually nitrogen) supersaturation of the aquarium water and is analogous to the ‘bends in human divers.
Signs: Lethargy, usually with no other signs of disease; microscopical examination of the gills may reveal small bubbles on the gill filaments. If there are gas bubbles on the glass and other surfaces in the aquarium and the fish appear unwell, then suspect gas bubble disease. In acute cases the fish may have bubbles adhering to their external surfaces. Death may ensue, and sub-lethal exposure can result in brain damage. In the case of breeding and rearing aquaria, affected eggs and fry may become buoyant, and fry yolk-sacs visibly distended with gas.
Cause: Gas (chiefly nitrogen) supersaturation of the water, usually occurring when cold gas-rich, water is heated quickly - as the temperature rises, its capacity for carrying gases decreases, leading to supersaturation and the formation of bubbles (the same phenomenon can be seen in saucepans of cold water put on to heat).
Gas supersaturation commonly occurs where freshly-drawn (and hence likely to be gas-rich) cold water has been used to fill a newly set up aquarium and rapidly heated to operating temperature; or if cold, or rapidly warmed, water is used to refill after a large partial change. Fish exposed to such conditions breathe in the excess concentrations of gas which may subsequently come out of solution in the blood and cause gas embolism (the obstruction of blood vessels by gas bubbles).
It is possible, but unlikely, that the use of high-turnover powerheads, with venturis, in too small an aquarium might also cause gas supersaturation. Sensible use of appropriate equipment will avoid any chance of this.
Prevention: Freshly-drawn cold water should be warmed and aerated (to drive off excess gases) before being used for water changes. Fish should not be placed in a newly set up aquarium until it is biologically mature, buy which time excess gases will have dissipated naturally.
Treatment: Move the fish to another, problem-free aquarium; otherwise drive off the excess gas by aerating vigorously or otherwise agitating the water.
Comment: Specialised (and expensive) equipment is needed to measure nitrogen levels in water, but the ‘finger test’ can be used to test for gas supersaturation: if numerous bubbles form on a dry finger immersed in the aquarium for about a minute, there may be a supersaturation problem. This test can also be used for checking recently-drawn water before it is added to the aquarium

Great info Cathie - thanks We just tried the finger test and not a single bubble appeared. We were worried about catching her before as we thought the bubbles might pop and cause problems but with your info it really sounded like we were wrong about the GBD. Plus I've not seen any bubbles on the surfaces of the tank, plants or filter.

Mr S has just got hold of her and given her a thorough examination - the bubbles are full of fluid! Some of them disappeared when touched, the membrane was so thin but one is left under the 'fin pit' of her pectoral fin. She's a bit lethargic but she mustered the energy to bite his hand If it is GBD the skin is meant to feel crispy apparently but she just feels her usual slimy self.

We're now wondering if it some sort of osmo-regulation problem. We found another forum last night where someone else had a pearlscale with bubbles - the osmo-regulation thing was suggested there as, like Satsuma, the fish lived with another who was not affected.

Going to try a series of Epsom salt baths over the next few days to see if that helps her shed any excess fluid.

Thanks again for the info