View Full Version : Gill curl starting.
classic-chassis
07-09-2009, 8:26 PM
Over the past week my RTGs soft membrane on its gills has started to flare outward.
Having searched I am presuming it's the start of gill curl.
the water is clean Ammonia 0, Nitrite below 0.3 PH is rather high at 7.5 but I've since treated the water to lower it.
I do 50% water changes are done every 2 weeks, which I'm going to change to 30% every week.
I have changed the direction of the inlet to try and create more current and next Wednesday I'm going to get an additional power head.
My arowana sits on the bottom a lot (it's done this for the last 6 months at least.), and its appetite has not been good for the last few months.
I am presuming its lethargically is the cause of the curl.
apart for the above is there anything else i can do to reverse the problem.
It's still very slight but its gills are defiantly starting to flare out.
Thanks in advance.
Steve_89
07-09-2009, 11:28 PM
If it was me I would be performing the gill curl operation asap. It is best to catch gill curl in its early stage before the hard part of the gill begins to curl.
It will also heal much nicer if you perform the surgery now.
Increase the water changes...I would crank it to 50% per week and get as much oxygen into the water as possible.
classic-chassis
07-09-2009, 11:50 PM
I missed that part, i've also got air going in the tank, a sump wet and dry and air going into the sump. I don't think i could put anymore air in the water if i tried.
I don't want to be too hasty with performing surgery, it's only slightly flared and it's only been in the last few days the membrane has started to flare.
There was also a sharp drop in temperature over the past week for a few days and then just a suddenly the temperature has go back up to normal.
Maybe this might have brought it on.
haynboy8
07-10-2009, 12:19 AM
i had the same problem about a month ago. moved the aro into a bigger tank, added a big air wand, power head, and setup my new ehiem pro 2 filter.
the biggest thing that helped is the power head and the bigger tank(cleaner water).
i suggest getting a cheap 20 dollar power head and mount it where he usually swims. mine was about 4 inches below the water line.
his gill curl has gotten much much better. it aint perfect, but it beats cutting him up. just one tiny spot on his membrane where its not quite right.
classic-chassis
07-10-2009, 12:54 AM
^ that's what i'm thinking, It's not real bad and at the moment you've got to be looking for it. It's in a big tank already, 60 inches by 30 so it's defiantly not that.
I will get a power head in there on Wednesday.
Does salt help?
ctoychik
07-10-2009, 4:23 AM
Sorry to hear about potential gill curl - yikes. I recon you can add salt. It is supposed to be a tonic. If it helps, i use salt regularly in my glass aquariums.
I reverse gill curl in its early stages by doing daily water changes and adding more filtration... I added an established XP3 to a 150g where a 9" lived and the curl was reversed within a few days
GL, and catch it before it gets irreversible!
My first gill curl prob that i got was on a RTG and i did cut it off, but my last was on my new SR and i did just change water often and add one power head and after 1 month he was back to normal and he had serius gillcurl think he got it from the bad water in during shipping here from asia. But hes happy and u cant tell he had it by looking at him now.
classic-chassis
07-10-2009, 7:55 PM
the only thing i did differently was to clean my tank in the morning rather than the afternoon last week. The new water is aged and treated outside my house for a couple of days before.
As i said earlier there has been a cold spell, the new water may have been too cold due to it being the morning and not having time to warm up sufficiently.
at the moment it's only the soft membrane which is flared, hopefully it won't get worse in between now and Wednesday.
If i can afford it i might get a canister as well as a power head.
xdragonxb0i
07-11-2009, 3:14 AM
any pictures? i would like to see the begging stages of gill curl
Knowdafish
07-11-2009, 3:27 AM
What size Aro and in what size tank? What do you keep him with?
classic-chassis
07-11-2009, 8:34 PM
It is about 20 inches long and now starting to get taller and fill out, it's about 2 years old i think. As i wrote before the tank foot print is 60 inches by 30 inches, the hight of the tank is 26 inches and the fish does swim on all levels.
In the tank with it are 6 clown loaches. They're about 4 inches long.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g52/nattieboy/fish0609004.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g52/nattieboy/fish0609002.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g52/nattieboy/fish0609001.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g52/nattieboy/fish0609006.jpg
From the side it's difficult to see the problem, but from the front you can see the membrane sticking out.
If it were your own fish you'd spot it without fail.
classic-chassis
07-12-2009, 5:39 AM
Some more pictures in which you are able to see the membrane flared out more clearly.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g52/nattieboy/fish0609001-1.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g52/nattieboy/fish0609002-1.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g52/nattieboy/fish0609003.jpg
I've just been to the local aquarium market and bought a power head. I've also just done a water change and added some catappa leaves.
You may find this hard to believe but the flare is less after 15 min with the power head in the tank, my normally lazy fish is unable to sit on the bottom and is swimming in the current. You wouldn't think there was anything wrong with its gill plate.
I will keep this tread updated over the next few days. If you even suspect you fishes have gill curl starting you must act quickly and it's easy to stop.
classic-chassis
07-13-2009, 8:31 AM
Update on yesterday. The membrane has flared out as it was before but i'll stick with it for a while before i resort to cutting.
haynboy8
07-13-2009, 6:32 PM
Before
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/8594/dsc02797u.jpg
here's a pic of mine after about 2 weeks trying to correct it.
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs161.snc1/6012_580065896326_19507408_34059046_4517722_n.jpg
now a month later only the bottom part near his fin is a little kinked now. it really doesnt bother me though.
classic-chassis
07-13-2009, 7:09 PM
That's encouraging, thanks!
I<3fish
07-14-2009, 4:23 AM
Before
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/8594/dsc02797u.jpg
here's a pic of mine after about 2 weeks trying to correct it.
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs161.snc1/6012_580065896326_19507408_34059046_4517722_n.jpg
now a month later only the bottom part near his fin is a little kinked now. it really doesnt bother me though.
Poor fish, doesn't look like gill curl is/was its only problem. Nose is all bashed up (Probably from being in small tank, had fin rot by the looks of it. Do some more waterchanges and get a bigger tank.
haynboy8
07-14-2009, 4:21 PM
Poor fish, doesn't look like gill curl is/was its only problem. Nose is all bashed up (Probably from being in small tank, had fin rot by the looks of it. Do some more waterchanges and get a bigger tank.
uh the reason why it got all bashed up is cause i moved it to a bigger tank. he got loose and fell behind the old tank/stand. :chillpill: