Which description best describes gas bubble disease in fish?

Which description best describes gas bubble disease in fish?

• A. Gases leave the body and go into the environment.
• B. Gases leave the body and go into another fish.
• C. Gases release toxins into the body that cause muscle spasms.
• D. Gases go into the body and create bubbles in the blood and tissue.

Answer: (D)

Gas bubble disease happens when dissolved gases in the fish’s body come out of solution and form gas bubbles. This tends to occur when water is supersaturated with gases or when there’s a rapid change in pressure, causing gases to come out of solution inside the fish. The bubbles then form in the blood and in tissues, which can obstruct vessels and damage organs. That is why the description stating that gases enter the body and create bubbles in the blood and tissue best captures what happens. The other ideas describe gases leaving the body or toxins causing symptoms, which do not describe the internal bubble formation that characterizes this condition.

Gas bubble disease happens when dissolved gases in the fish’s body come out of solution and form gas bubbles. This tends to occur when water is supersaturated with gases or when there’s a rapid change in pressure, causing gases to come out of solution inside the fish. The bubbles then form in the blood and in tissues, which can obstruct vessels and damage organs. That is why the description stating that gases enter the body and create bubbles in the blood and tissue best captures what happens.

The other ideas describe gases leaving the body or toxins causing symptoms, which do not describe the internal bubble formation that characterizes this condition.