Bristlenose - the jury is out!

Everything I read points to gas bubble disease for the bristlenose catfish, but it seems that a lot of the experts haven't heard of it and sometimes don't have any clue on the symptoms.

I visited a couple more aquatics shops today. One did sort of agree, but said the pump would not be at fault (maybe because I'd mentioned that I'd bought the tank and gear from them - not as a threat, just so that they might help me!). He suggested lancing the bubbles - but that wouldn't help the stomach, which is the main concern.

Over the road, they suggested the catfish had been eating pebbles or was simply fat or had kidney failure or an extremely fast growing tumour (which has now stopped growing...).

Discounted the pebbles - it's perfectly round, not lumpy.

Discounted dropsy (also hinted at) - no scales sticking out.

Discounted kidney failure and tumour - they admitted overnight was too rapid!

So nothing they suggested helped. So I'm continuing along the gas bubble disease route - it is described as highly unusual! Treatment is to stop the bubbles being created and get rid of what's there. Although the first shop did agree that an airstone would help, there were still a few small bubbles floating around the tank, so I disconnected that. One view I read today said that no air supplies are needed at all - just the movement of the filter is enough - especially with all my plants.

I've not removed the venturi nozzle - just the air inlet. Maybe I should, just to make sure it's not affecting the water. I'll pop up and do that once I'ce finished this entry.

I've measure his swelling! He's 6cm long and now 21mm wide and 15mm tall - with about half that height being the swelling below his stomach. He was hiding again today and has been moving about more. Some sites report that it can take a few days to start to recover - we'll just have to see. Off to remove that venturi completely now, just in case it's doing something it shouldn't.