PlanetCatfish.com

This is my second juvinile Lima Shovelnose in the past 3 weeks, the first died.

They come into my LFS quite skinny, and I got this one thursday, and he has yet to eat, whihc I know it can take up to 5 days to adapt and feel comfortable to begin eating.

My biggets problem is I can seem to shake this gas bubble imbalance in its tank water. It's been there for going on 3 weeks. I've done 4 water changes and kept an airpump running stead, and it will not go away! I don't want another to pass.

Any suggestions?
Should I move him to another tank until I feel the imbalance has been cured?

I'm not sure what you mean by 'gas bubble imbalance,' could you describe what it is you're seeing? In any case if you think you have a water quality problem you should test for nitrite, ammonia and pH. If you don't have the test kits yourself, most aquatics shops will do it for you.

Additionally, only healthy fish should be purchased & if they look a bit skinny they may not be acclimatised properly or there may be another problem, like internal parasites.

Most shops should demonstrate a fish feeding to customers who have concerns, but Chrysichthys is absolutely right: good quality water is paramount

Gas imbalanc ein the water I think is more N2, the bubbles can attach to fish, and be absorbed nd caus eblisters or kill them, especially fast on scaleless fish.
I mived him, he's yet to eat, but he's abit more active in the new, temporary tank.

It's unlikely that you have a problem caused by super-saturation unless you've placed the fish in a newly filled tank.

There is (nearly) no way to produce this phenomena without using high pressure - either pressurized gas or pressurized water. If your fish has been in the tank for a few weeks and you haven't completely emptied the tank and filled it again directly from the tap (via hose or similar).

I suggest you follow the hints of Chrysichthys and check your water quality to see if there's anything untowards there. It's a MUCH more likely scenario than "gas bubble disease".

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Mats