Gill Curl on Serrasalmus elongatus

[SerraKeeper]

Hi,
My Serrasalmus elongatus is about 7 years old, and has had gill curl for probably 3-4 years. It has had a couple injuries where it smashed into driftwood chasing feeders and got splinters in it's gill, and i have since removed these pieces. The main reason i'm writing is because it has recently started rubbing its gills on surfaces around the aquarium. Should i use a pest treamtent? or could the gill curling be causing discomfort?

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

*First gill curl is cause by poor water condition and lack of water circulation and the tank way too small for the fish itself.
*Yes, gill curl will cause uncomfy for the fish to breath (gill function).
*Your fish start rubbing it's gill on hard surfaces seem more like it getting ich (white spot) disease.
**Check your water condition and watch closely for white spot before doing any treatments.

 

[SerraKeeper]

Thank you,
I dont see any signs of ich, and am pretty familiar with that diesease. The fish is a single fish about 7" long in a 38 gallon tank that is 36.3" x 12.7" x 19.8" It gets plenty of exercise and doesnt seem to have a problem turning around in the tank. I also have a powerhead that circulates 118 gallon per hour and a Marineland C220 filter
I was curious if gill flukes could be the reason for the rubbing/scratching
I will take my water to be tested at the pet store here in the next day or two.
Thanks again

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

7 inches fish housing in a 38 gallons tank, you should get ready for flames replies from other folks.

 

[SerraKeeper]

hahaha, well, this is the internet, but if people wanna flame, I'll just respond that I'm gonna go let it loose in a local stream pond or river, I can troll with the best of them.
but this is a very agile fish that is not even an inch wide, and he usually only occupies one corner of the tank, but swims around all the time, in a friendly, non-threatened manner when i come near the tank. People can judge me all they want, but have no idea of the fishes true state.

But if that's the kind of place MFK is then i'll be sure to spread the word, maybe you've seen my videos on youtube, i have a large viewer base and plenty of friends in the industry.

 

[EcastL]

Like Yuki said gill curl is caused by one of two things poor water and/or lack of space. Get a bigger tank and test the water yourself?

 

[predatorkeeper87]

This won't be a flame but I will tell you that that tank is far too small. My elong is in a 125 by himself and he uses every single square inch of that tank. I bought him from RampageRR on here, who had him in a 75 and stated that he was excited to finally see the fish in a bigger tank as well. He came to him with very bad gill curl, but thrived in his care for 5 years and is now in mine at around a year with no issues.

Gill curl is caused as stated by water quality, if your elong developed the curl in your care it was indeed your water quality. Can it cause discomfort? Sure but mine does not rub on the driftwood or tank.

 

[SerraKeeper]

I've been looking into getting a new tank, but I wont be able to afford the one i want for a few months. without posting the direct link, the tank im looking at will be 20" H x 72" W x 24" D at the smallest and possibly larger depending on my finances.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

I've been looking into getting a new tank, but I wont be able to afford the one i want for a few months. without posting the direct link, the tank im looking at will be 20" H x 72" W x 24" D at the smallest and possibly larger depending on my finances.

I've been looking into getting a new tank, but I wont be able to afford the one i want for a few months. without posting the direct link, the tank im looking at will be 20" H x 72" W x 24" D at the smallest and possibly larger depending on my finances.

that'd be great for him.

 

[nzafi]

I will not harp the tank but will mention the water quality. Did you test your tank for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates? Over a period of time what do your nitrates sit at? For those that have to deal with smaller tanks, they tend to emphasize on more frequent cleaning of the tank to keep up pristine water conditions.

I would then also monitor for things like ich or worms, etc. Girl curl will make him more likely to develop other issues depending on how strong his immune system is.