midge Posted November 4, 2006 Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 A couple of my danios and a tetra have gill plates that look like they have shrunk . The gills dont look like they join to the body anymore and you can see the red underneath. The tetra only has it on one side so I know its not normal (im very new to tropical fish). Does anyone know why this has happened, any ideas to fix it or stop it happening again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 5, 2006 Report Share Posted November 5, 2006 They sound inflamed. Have you done water tests? Possibly ammonia burn or a gill infection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midge Posted November 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2006 I havent done any water tests. Do i get a kit from the lfs? Only had fish for a month so im on a learning curve. is there anything i can do if they are gill infections, and with the ammonia burn, do i solve that by doing water changes more often? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 5, 2006 Report Share Posted November 5, 2006 How long has the tank been set up then? What size is it and what fish, and how many, are in there? If the tank is only a month old it will be cycling and ammonia burns are a probability. How often are you doing water changes? These will help the ammonia levels. You can buy test kits from your lfs, or some do the tests for you for a small fee. You need to know pH, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 5, 2006 Report Share Posted November 5, 2006 It sounds like you may have an ammonia spike through not cycling the tank slowly enough. This can burn the gills on the fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midge Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Had the water tested and there was no result for ammonia. I took a fish in to the LFS and the lady said it was gill rollback. Ive serched the internet for info on it but i cant find anything about it (I dont know the proper name for it). I bought some furan for it enough for one dose (its a 250L tank). There are about 30 fish in it ranging in size from small danios to platys. the danios have it as well as one tetra. do I just do one dose for the whole tank? is there a cheaper way of buying this stuff? do the gills grow back and how did they get it? : ( owhhhh poor little fishes, and ive only had them a month..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 I am not familiar with gill rollback but if I remember correctly furan needs to be dosed twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 do you mean the gill coverings (operculum) are missing so the actual gill tissue is exposed? with dosing you add your inital dosage then 24 hours later add another dosage. so say your tank is 80L you use two capsules on day one then add another two 24 hours later. im not 100% what happens then as i dont have a pack on hand but it tells you what to do after that on the pack. lowering the tank water will reduce the amount of meds needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Do a partial water change (30%) before putting in the Furan2. The Furan2 might help any bacterial or fungul infection, and Melafix would help the tissue repair, however I'd say (best guess) the cause was an ammonia spike which may be appearing on the test as nitrite by now. Doing the partial water change will ensure good water conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.