Small gas bubbles on fins

[Lennie]

Hey there,

Hope you guys are doing well.

Today, I've noticed some really tiny gas bubbles on one of my fish's fins, and only fins nowhere else on the body or eyes. No other fish seems to have such gas bubbles forming anywhere on them in the tank. I've started using Neo's belowmentioned Air diffuser last friday to increase oxygen content, as the only filter I have in this 33g tank is AC50. I am suspecting this might be the reason of potential high gas dissolvement and causing gas bubble disease potentially?

The tank has 0 ammonia/ammonium, 0 nitrite and below 10 nitrate. 6 gh, 16 kh. 8.0 ph. Heavily planted. 25C. No water change since last week or temp change.

I've tried taking pics the best I can, but I'm not sure to what extend they look like bubbles in the pics. In real life, they just look like real tiny bubbles you see around in the tank released from the CO2 diffusers. They don't look anything like ich or epystylist, just gas bubbles really, at least to me. The light reflects on them make them look white-ish.

Any help is appreciated for potential diagnose and treatment.

I've turned the air diffuser off for now just in case.

This is the air diffuser I've been using since last friday as a replacement of airstone:

http://www.aquario.co.kr/neoDiffuser/indexAir.php

Should I stop using it, or just use it during night time maybe? Can it be the reason why I'm having this issue as it has micro bubbles compared to an airstone? Heavy plant content worrys me about oxygen content in the water during night time because the tank is a 50cm cube and does not have a that big surface agitation. So I wanna make sure I have good amount of oxygen in the tank.

 

 

@Colu, @Odd Duck, some help would be appreciated guys.

@knee Have you seen anything similar when you have been using co2 diffuser as airstone?

Thanks in advance.

Edited February 28, 2023 by Lennie

[Lennie]

Update: Maybe it helps to diagnose, it seems like the bubbles have disappeared after keeping the diffuser off for an hour or so.

[knee]

I didn’t notice it with the air stone but it does happen sometimes with the co2 bubbles because the fish like swimming in it. Doesn’t bother them at all. 

[Lennie]

On 2/28/2023 at 7:13 PM, knee said:

I didn’t notice it with the air stone but it does happen sometimes with the co2 bubbles because the fish like swimming in it. Doesn’t bother them at all. 

I made him move a couple times but no bubbles were gone when he swam away, until the diffuser is off. It looked like they were stuck on the fins instead

[Colu]

Doesn't look like  gas bubble disease is usually caused by  supersaturation of oxygen most tanks running a filter and air stone will have between 8-9.5ppm of oxygen that not enough to cause gas bubble disease it's more than likely trapped air bubbles on the fins from were he has swim thought the air stone i have seen it in Bettas or longer fined fish before they can stick to the fins for hours even if the fish moves I would turn your air pump back on I do think it's anything to worry about @Lennie

[Lennie]

Many thanks @Colu 

Turning the air stone back on again then. It being an air "diffuser" worried me a lil. Thought maybe it gives way too much oxygen and I can't measure it.

[Colu]

On 2/28/2023 at 5:07 PM, Lennie said:

Many thanks @Colu 

Turning the air stone back on again then. It being an air "diffuser" worried me a lil. Thought maybe it gives way too much oxygen and I can't measure it.

Typically when filter and air stone get the desloved oxygen to 9.5ppm adding another air stone has very little affective on the levels of desloved oxygen whether your using a diffuser or a sponge filter with out an air stone it shouldn't be able to get the  levels of desloved oxygen to the point that harmful to your fish 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Colu

[Lennie]

On 2/28/2023 at 8:14 PM, Colu said:

Typically when filter and air stone get the desloved oxygen to 9.5ppm adding another air stone has very little affective on the levels of desloved oxygen whether your using a diffuser or a sponge filter with out an air stone it shouldn't be able to get levels of desloved oxygen to the point that harmful to your fish 

It is relieving to know!

[Colu]

On 2/28/2023 at 5:19 PM, Lennie said:

It is relieving to know!

It can be stressful better to are on the side of caution if you think anything wrong with your fish

[Odd Duck]

Tiny air bubbles just clinging to the surface of the fish are not a worry at all unless they are clinging to an excessive mucus layer/slime coat because of an illness in the fish triggering excess mucus production.  That could be a sign of an issue with the fish, but not a sign of gas bubble disease.

It would be nearly impossible in an unpressurized aquarium to get the dissolved oxygen to the level where the fish got gas bubbles inside their tissues where they could cause harm.  That’s something that happens under pressure, or when going from high pressure to lower pressure quickly, not at standard atmosphere.

If the “bubbles” are persistent in the same place all the time they likely aren’t bubbles and are far more likely to be Epistylus or Ich.

[Lennie]

On 2/28/2023 at 8:55 PM, Odd Duck said:

If the “bubbles” are persistent in the same place all the time they likely aren’t bubbles and are far more likely to be Epistylus or Ich.

They were all gone after an hour after turning the air diffuser off! I plugged it back now after Colu said it is probably not related. So it is on again

Many thanks for the explanations