Gill Damage or Fungus?

[LRose1990]

So Xochi has been doing very well; eating like crazy and growing like nuts. The first pic of him is from this weekend, while I was in the process of feeding him/her and he/she was being a goofball. However, the other day I switched out one of the two filter pads (not the carbon, the sponge; the fluval U2 has two sponges around the carbon, and I only swapped one out, as I didn't want to mess with the cycle too much) and the next day Xochi appeared to have segments of his gills turning white. My first thought was fungus, so I have been looking for images of fungus and consulting various veterinary sources. I have not done a water test yet--will be taking my water in for a test at the LFS after class today--but I wanted to get some opinions on whether or not this is gill damage or fungus. It doesn't appear fuzzy (at least not yet) but I'll be calling my herp vet later to ask, too.

His/her behavior is normal and Xochi is still eating well, active, pooping, etc.

The second pic is one of the gill segments.

 

[AxolotlChris]

Looks like the skin is just going slightly pale which can be from inactivity, though this reason i see given a lot but doubt it is the case. Fungus usually appears initially as a tiny white fluffy looking substance in and around the fimbriae.

Keep an eye on it, get your water tested.

Buy the API Freshwater Master Kit, its' easier to test yourself when needed and not rely on a fish store who may give incorrect results using poor test kits.
Welcome to API Fishcare: FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT

 

[Klakasharkie]

My albino has had the exact same problem-- it also led to a loss of gill filament. To this day, I have no idea what happened, and the affected gill stalks seem to permanently be a bit shorter than they once were. I fridged him for a few days thinking it was a nip from his tankmate, but he got over it shortly after and the filament grew back. It didn't look like fungus to me, and it doesn't look like fungus in your case, but I still have no idea what happened...

Bottom right was the main gill stalk affected:

And now:

I don't know if it's exactly the same as your problem

 

[LRose1990]

Just wanted to update and say Xochi is doing fine! It was apparently just gills going pale for no reason.