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white gills

Cheryl2203

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Hi, Just wondering if anyone has any ideas why my axies' red fluffy gills are turning white and falling off???
I haven't changed anything with the tank recently and they were absolutely fine until about a week ago. At first I thought that one of them had just caught his gill on something but now its happening to my other axie and more bits are turning white! I also bought them an air pump thinking that there might be a lack of oxygen in the water but it hasn't done anything to help.
Would really appreciate some advice!
Thanks very much!
Cheryl
 

Cheryl2203

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Hi
I have a few pictures here but they don't really show what it looks like that well. It isn't fluffy or anything like a fungas, the fluffy bits are just changing colour to white and then falling off. Hope this helps anyway!
Thanks
Cheryl :confused:
 

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ali000

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Hi,
it's not a lack of oxygen, more like the other way round.

When their is a plentiful supply of dissolved oxygen in the water their gills don't have to work so hard and can often shrink.
 

gr33neyes

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Adding more air to the water via your air pump may cause their gills to shrink back as they don't need them to get the oxygen but I can't think that it would make them fall off.
Have you any idea of the condition of your water i.e ammonia, nitrites and nitrates?
 

Cheryl2203

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Had the water checked recently and everything was fine. Will do another check just to make sure.
I do a 20% water change every week so the water is always clean and fresh.
Any ideas as to how I can help them?
Thanks very much.
Cheryl
 

gr33neyes

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Well the only thing I can think is to pop them in the fridge and retest your tank water. Do you add anything to your tankwater when you are doing water changes?
I'm just wondering if there is an irritant in the water hence they are losing their gills.
 

Cheryl2203

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Great, thanks for the advice.
No don't add anything to the water. Will get it tested again and see how they go.
Thanks again for your help, will let you know how it goes.
Cheryl
 

Kaysie

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Cheryl, I had the same thing happen back in my beginning days. I think Ali's on the mark with there being adequate oxygen. The gills then atrophy as they're not needed, and kind of just wither and fall off.
 

Cheryl2203

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One of them had one gill which seemed to be falling off and when I noticed that I added the air pump. I'm thinking now that he may have just caught it on something as I've switched the air pump off for a few days and now they seem to be getting better.

Thanks alot for your advice.
Cheryl
 

SpringRiverRain

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Hello all, I'm having the same issue. All I have is an aerator in her tank & I keep it towards the top but still having white gills & seem to be shrinking... Should I put her in the fridge to let her recover for a few days?? Should I use a colored container? Aerator in fridge? This seems to be the most logical answer to this issue since it does not seem to be fungus... This had been the most helpful forum I've read for this issue, thank you for your knowledge, all!! Just had her about a month now, this is our first issue... & when/ if I take her out of the fridge should I take the aerator out of her main tank? Would she have enough oxygen without it??? She has a 15/20 gallon tank I believe. I'm TERRIBLE with measurement... Any advice is deeply appreciated!! Thank you in advanced, Kimberly.
 
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