Gill Curl on Serrasalmus elongatus

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Im assuming the majority of my problem is water quality, I have never really tested it, but i do 40% water changes weekly.

I have noticed small wormlike planeria in my aquarium, but my research has led me to believe they may not be parasitic.
 

This guy has YouTube followers as well...just saying...

As for the planeria worms, no they are not parasitic. However, they thrive on uneaten food which leads me to believe that you might be overfeeding. Overfeeding is a major cause of poor water quality.

I would suggest the larger tank, as you mentioned, and probably should cut back on feedings and do more, larger water changes.

Best of luck with this guy, hope he pulls through whatever it is that has him itching his gills.
 
The comment on planeria is accurate but does not need to be caused by over feeding. I have gotten it and it is because I had uneaten food in my tank that I did not see and therefore did not remove. If you have a once a week feeding routine only, I recommend you go through your tank decor, gravel, and filters to identify uneaten food or other gunk that has built up unnoticed.
 
my fish only eats live feeders, wont even look at anything that doesnt run from him, so theres no way im overfeeding, he eats any fish within a second of them hitting the water. i feed him 6 rosy minnows every day in two seperate feedings.
 
Couple things:
1) You are over feeding. I had a rhom I kept for 17 years. As he got bigger/older I shifting to feeding 2-3 times a week and would go 1-2 weeks some times without feeding. He would actually go 3-4 weeks without eating randomly.
2) You also should make sure he is actually eating everything. My rhom would just kill whatever came in the tank, so you might have fish remains somewhere.
3) Minnows are in the same family as goldfish I believe, which is the equivalent of eating mcdonalds every day not to mention the thiamine issue. Rarely have I heard of folks not being able to cover piranha to dead food especially some sort of filet. He is not taking the dead food because you feed him too much as is. If you dont feed him for 3-4 weeks and try filet, he will take it eventually.
 
I watch the fish eat, as i said it's instant, there arent ever any left overs. as mentioned, my tank is "small" and the circulation provided by the powerhead and filter would bring any fish remains to the filter intake. trust me, i've starved him to the point that his fins begin to recede and tried many different frozen foods, and also have red bellies and an iritans that eat non-live food. i keep my feeders in a different tank, so there are never any massive slaughters with dead fish sitting in the tank. also my elong has a beautiful colored red breast, better than any i have seen online, if it was very unhealthy or had a horrible diet, i wouldnt expect it to have such nice coloration.
 
Thanks everyone for all the advice. I'll start checking my water quality more frequently and invest in a larger tanks ASAP. I'll come seek you flamers if I have any more questions, but im gonna keep overfeeding my elongatus, it begs every time I'm near the feeder tank, and I cant say no.
 
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