Deteriorating gills :(

[melissuhh]

Yesterday I noticed a small black spot on Little Dudes gills, today I found him looking like this.
Water parameters are all normal, and he's had ammonia burn once before so I know it's not that. The water temp has been somewhat high recently, around 26° C and i've been working on bringing it down. I've also had a really bad algae and diatom problem lately.
Other than that I have no clue what it could be.
I've got him in the fridge now though.


Should I give him a salt bath?
Could heat be the cause?
Or maybe fungal?

Please help!!!!

 

[auntiejude]

Looks fungal to me - I'd go with a salt bath. Or maybe methylene blue.

And you really need to work on your tank - I'd say a combination of heat and poor water quality have caused this. I have fungus issues in summer, but for such a quick deterioration there has to be something else wrong too.