No feathers at top of gills?

[leanne]

Hey! I noticed the other day that my axie has got a very small area of one of his gill branches which is lacking the feathery bits. To begin with it was white, butt now it's gone a pinker colour (he's a white leucistic). Does anyone know if this is a disease/fungus/parasite/injury/something wrong or whether it nothing to worry about?

Please help, he's been healthy till now!

 

[shaun]

The same thing has happened to mine. The gills are red because of the heat of the Summer, so more blood flows through them ('cause they're cold-blooded). Has your axie been hanging about near the top of the tank and/or gulping air to help it to cool down? If so, that may be the cause of the shrinking. My advice is to just keep the water cool.

 

[joan]

Shaun, gulping air won't help them cool down. Unless you have a chiller or a heater, the water is the same temperature as the air. In fact, when the weather is warmer, the water holds less dissolved oxygen, so the gills will be bigger/fluffier, not shrink.

Leanne, a picture would be helpful. Does it look like an injury? Is it fuzzy? Gills are pretty variable throughout the day, depending on actions and temperature.