Forward Gills

AnalogHedgehog

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Hello everyone,

I have 4 juvenile (ranging from 5-7 inches) axies in my 55 gallon tank. My golden and my leucistic seem to be holding their gills forward a lot, but I am unsure why. They are both eating regularly and going to the bathroom. Here are the stats for my tank:

0ppm ammonia
0ppm nitrite
10ppm nitrate
Temp 68 degrees F (living in Texas, that's the best I can currently get without buying a chiller, I have 5 small fans going on it)
Low flow - I use a Eheim 250 canister filter with a spray bar facing the glass. There is a slight flow on the very top of one part of the tank, but the rest of the tank is pretty still)
Diet - frozen bloodworms supplemented with live blackworms as a treat. They are still too small for earthworms.

The water is pretty hard in my area, but I read that they tend to like harder water. Could that be it? I can always add some RO water if I need to.

zin4n6.jpg
 
Last edited:
From what I've read/been advised that if they are stressed the gills will actually be covering their eyes.

Your pic looks like that may just be how they hold their gills every now and then, or for their entire life.

I'm sure someone more experienced with chime in, but I personally don't think your axxies look stressed.
 
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    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
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