My youngest axie, Spike, has a problem with his gills. One of the gill "stalks" has been damaged and is hanging by a thread, and the other two "stalks" seem to be pushed flat against his body (gills in left of picture). I don't know what could have caused this, however he does live with two other axies, though they've never been aggressive to each other. My questions are, is there any other cause to this type of injury other than trauma, and what might I need to be doing to help him recover? Or is it just a matter of waiting for him to heal?
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Gill issues :(
- Thread starter tlow
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charleybambino
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The white growth looks like fungus........try removing it with tweezers or cotton buds. If this fails read up here on treatment. I guess either the water parameters are out, or they are nipping each other.
allied123
Member
I think I see the white spot that you're talking about but it looks like it might just be the lighting? If you can you should test the water parameters and maybe try and take clearer pictures, I don't think I'm seeing the problem that you're describing sorry. If the gill stalks are just bent with no real sign of injury and they don't unbend, then that might just be how they are, one of my guys has gills that just kind of curl over on themselves I assume because they're too heavy
In the first picture of my wild type the gill stalk is broken in half and dangling by a thread. It has since fallen off and only about half of the one gill is remaining.
In the second picture my leucistic has a cottony white growth on one of his gill stalks.
I last checked the water parameters on Sunday, and they were all normal. I plan to do a water change tonight and fridge the leucy.
Could the gill issues on all three be caused by the same gill-eating ailment, or did all three just happen to have these gill issues all at once?
In the second picture my leucistic has a cottony white growth on one of his gill stalks.
I last checked the water parameters on Sunday, and they were all normal. I plan to do a water change tonight and fridge the leucy.
Could the gill issues on all three be caused by the same gill-eating ailment, or did all three just happen to have these gill issues all at once?
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allied123
Member
Well I definitely would not jump to fridging (no offense but I don't know why everyone immediately throws them in the fridge it's very stressful and usually unnecessary) those pictures with circling definitely helped thank you 
I think the broken stalk could have been an accidental bite from the lucy and then it just broke and fell off, it'll probably grow back with no further intervention. The cottony looking bit on the lucy is a little more concerning as it could be fungus, you could try wiping it very gently with a q-tip or your finger but fungus is usually from poor water quality or too high temperature. You should definitely still check your water parameters still and check and make sure the temperature isn't too high.
Definitely keep us updated and I'm sure someone will help if you have further concerns!
I think the broken stalk could have been an accidental bite from the lucy and then it just broke and fell off, it'll probably grow back with no further intervention. The cottony looking bit on the lucy is a little more concerning as it could be fungus, you could try wiping it very gently with a q-tip or your finger but fungus is usually from poor water quality or too high temperature. You should definitely still check your water parameters still and check and make sure the temperature isn't too high.Definitely keep us updated and I'm sure someone will help if you have further concerns!
The two wilds are still in their tank, the temp is 19-20 Celsius and water tested yesterday was normal-I did a 30% water change anyways.
I attempted to gently pull the fungus off the leucy but it's almost as if the fungus has eaten through his gill? He's not in the fridge at the moment, but he is in a tub in the wine cellar as it is a few degrees cooler in there (18 degrees). Should I start giving him salt baths as well?
I attempted to gently pull the fungus off the leucy but it's almost as if the fungus has eaten through his gill? He's not in the fridge at the moment, but he is in a tub in the wine cellar as it is a few degrees cooler in there (18 degrees). Should I start giving him salt baths as well?