Long Gills?

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VinnyMacC

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are long gills genetic or based on water quality?, available oxygen, ect...

I know axos can respire a few different ways, the question is will making the environment favorable to a certain form of respiration contribute to change.
*example; less oxygen in the water means axos cant get it from the water thru the gills nor skin ...so they inturn must "glup" more air..sideeffect gills are used less and energy is diverted else where?*

these guys seem to have an incredible ability to adapt/roll with the punches, not just sticking it out...but imbedded in their genes.
 
It's mostly genetic - some axies just have big fluffy gills, some don't.

But there are environmental factors too:
Injury such as nipping may mean gills never grow back the same, and sometimes they end up with branched gills.
Illness such as fungus can cause damage to gills.
Poor water quality can cause 'burning' of the gills where the filaments fall off and gills shorten.
There is some debate on this, but some people think using an airstone can cause shortening of the gills - the theory being if oxygen in the water is plentiful their gills only need to be small to use it.

Axies with small gills do not necessarily gulp air more than those with bigger gills, each axie is different and will figure it out for themself.
 
It's mostly genetic. I have two axies in one tank; one with extremely long gils and the other one has pretty short ones. Though if the gills are eaten by another axie, they might grow back a little shorter. I think the amount and length of the filaments depend on the oxygen level though; less oxygen -> longer filaments.
 
Thanks for the fast reply:happy: another question within this same general topic...is using one form of respiration favored over the other?

i guess gulping air means oxygen is low in the water so they must find in at the surface?

flicking gills means oxygen can be utilized from the water ?
 
Flicking gills is the same as you breathing!

Some axies like surfacing, some don't, some like swimming in a bubble stream from an airstone, some like to float near the surface.

It is very unlikely that oxygen will be an issue in a tank - for any method of respiration - so whatever your axie does in terms of surfacing or bubble surfing it does it for fun.
 
It's not all genetic. I have three juvies that have doubled the length of their gills in the 3 months I've had them. I talk occasionally with the breeder, and the siblings he has have much smaller gills comparatively. My 3 are in a 20gal deep, so there is probably lower O2 at the bottom. But the only difference is environmental, they are all from the same egg clutch. First pic is my wild when I got him, second is him now. Third is a current pic of one of its siblings.
 

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