Gill infection?

Hi Everyone,

My black axie half gills has a sort of infection on his gills that I am a bit worried about.
I recently changed filters around, taking out my box filter and replacing it with a small power filter. This caused a bit of a water quality problem I think and Ive returned my old box filter to the tank and it is clearing up but the water is still quite cloudy. Ive been thinking about buying some ammonia and nitrate kits when I have time. My other axie Bronzski is quite ok however his gills have shrunk a bit hoever there is no fluff. Ive been thinking that it may have been caused by the flow and stress from the power filter, though I did have a spray bar however it caused a slight current.

Anyway I would like to hear peoples opinion on what it may be. The black axie ate some beef heart and a worm however I think he regurgiated the meat so Ill leave them from feeding for a while so the water can clear up, and in the meantime I am doing small water changes to improve its quality. I am not an expert on aquarium cycling like some people however i have kept axies for long periods before and most of the trouble happened during hot weather whcih we are definelty not expereincing now it winter

Sorry about the pic quality i will try and get some better pics of him when the light in the room gets a bit brighter.

Cheers,
Peter :happy:

His gills look a bit 'raggedy' but I'm not sure if there is any infection there, I see no sign of fungus.

You could take a sample of the tank water to your local aquarium shop, they might test it for you. I would urge you to get a testing kit as soon as you can, as you know good water quality is important for your axies.

I would carry on with 20% water changes daily, in case it's a water quality issue and until you can get some accurate water readings.

If you're concerned about Half Gills then you can always fridge him until you are sure about your water quality.

Hi Kerry,

Thanks for the quick reply I have some more pics here so you can see better Ive been trying to get a good angle and a view of the infection.
He has been gulping alot like around every 5 minutes or less, he always gulps more that Bronzski, this is due to his damaged gills I think. I gave him beef heart yester day and a worm, the heart he regurgiated for some unknow reason and he was floating alot at night.
He was also sitting at the water surface so he needs O2 I think. I will try in a day or two to feed him again as I want to keep the water quite clean at the moment. At the moment he is at the bottom. I am happy that he still has an appetite and will continue to give small feeds of worms every 2 days.

I would skip the beef heart and just give him the worms. His gills don't look good do they?

I would recommend fridging, perhaps you can stave off any further problems, like fungus.

Don't attempt any salt baths though, there is as yet no sign of fungus.

When he's in the fridge offer him small pieces of earthworm every day after you do the water change.

Three weeks is the recommended recovery time from infection or illness. If your axie is a good weight before he goes in the fridge, going without food for that long shouldn't be a problem for him.

Obviously you will be monitoring him closely in the fridge, let us know if there's any change.