Air Bubble on Pearlscale gold fish mout

Question
I have a 10 gallon tank and it has been established for about a year.  I have a hang on filter with a bio wheel and it cartridges are changed regularly,  but the biowheel is never messed with. I have one Pearlscale and a Oranda 2 kihuli loaches, 1 snail and 2 algae eaters.  I just checked them ammonia reading today and it read at .25 but the tank is crystal clear (lowest its ever been) and their water is changed regularly.

My question is that today I checked my fish and my pearl scale had a bubble on his lip.  I called around to see what it was and they said it was an air bubble.  What can I do about it.  I was told to pop it but I am afraid that I will stress him out and he will get ick.  Is there any alternatives or will it just go away by its self.

My aunt also told me it could be because of changing up their food.  Because I threw in a weekend feeder.

Thanks for your time April.

Answer
Hi Dustin,

We have a lot of issues here unfortunately.  An established, healthy tank NEVER has ANY ammonia or nitrites present, ever.  Ammonia is toxic to fish and will cause stress, illness and finally death.  Water can 'look' crystal clear and test fatally toxic.  You should always have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 5-20 ppm nitrates.  The reason you cannot get it to go away is because you are massively overstocked in your 10 gallon tank.  All the maintenance in the world will not help when you are overstocked and your pearlscale unfortunately is probably the first of many illnesses to come if this isn't corrected asap.

You need two separate tanks, one that is at least 50 gallons for your tropical fish and one that is at least 30 gallons for your coldwater fish.  Some people believe cramming fish that get larger into smaller tanks will stunt their growth and they will only grow to the size of the tank.  Simply not so.  While the outside will stop growing because there is nowhere to go, the inside continues to grow until the organs know the fish has not reached full sized capacity, thy continue to grow until they fail because they squeeze in on top of each other.  Your goldfish produce a massive bioload and all fancies require a 20 gallon tank for one and 10 gallons for each additional with a double filtration unit.  So your pearlscale and oranda need a 30 gallon tank with a 60 gallon filter.  Anything else cannot handle the bioload (as you are seeing with the incessant ammonia and bubble lip illness).  Goldfish also should only be with other fancy goldfish and NEVER with plecos.  Plecos will narl off the slime coat of a goldfish leaving them open to bacteria and parasite illnesses.  Plus, goldfish thrive at temps of 64-70 F, something the tropical fish that you have will not appreciate.

I would upgrade your goldies asap to the appropriate tank and filtration.  Use half of the gravel and half of the old water and half of your old filter media to instantly cycle the tank.  I guarantee you that you will have zero water quality problems in the appropriate sized tank and as long as you maintain it every 2-3 weeks (25% water change, good gravel vacuum, no over-feeding) your goldies will live 20+ years.  

I would keep the 10 gallon running and treat the pearlscale only in it.  What does the bubble look like, is it inflated like air?  Is it white, does it look cottony or hairy?  It's sort of difficult for me to diagnose the fish without seeing the lump or having more information about it.  It is likely a bacterial infection.  I would not pop it, I would treat him with Maracyn & Maracyn II.  These are broad spectrum anti-bacterial anti-biotics and they will kill both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterium.  I would not feed the fish the whole time you treat him and I would change out 25% of the water daily while treating.  If it's hariy that's different.  So is stringy.  Any other signs or symptoms?  It would also be helpful to know your nitrite and nitrate readings?  Some diseases are caused simply from these readings.

For your tropical fish you really need a 50+ gallon tank and a stable temp of 78F.  Black kuhlii loaches can get large and especially need the warmer, consistent temps.  See here:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+885+1072&pcatid=1072

Your plecos would also appreciate the warmer temps.  I don't know what species they are, but you should check, because some common plecos get to be 24+ inches in length.  If this is the case I would think hard about re-homing them unless you are prepared to have a 100+ gallon aquarium.  

Snails can do okay in warm or cool temps but I find they live about 6 months in cooler temps and seem to do better in 74-78F temps and can live about 1-2 years that way.

Also, nix the weekend feeders.  Those things are so bad for your fish.  They are mostly filler and the fish tear them apart the minute you put them in the water leaving them bloated and stressed.  Fish can go months before they will starve so if you are away for a few days they can go without eating.  This is actually advisable for goldfish who should be purged every now and again and then given fresh pea guts and spinach leaves.  It helps them from getting swimbladder disease.

Good luck : ) April M.