I purchased a pretty little gold severum today after I returned my jack dempsey. This severum is healthy, active, and eating within an hour of acclimation. I noticed that it has a defect on one of its gills. The gill has an indentation below the eye and the edges of the plate stick out a bit. The defect has caused its mouth to look a little funny. Is this a common defect or likely the result of an injury as a younger fish. It is about 2.5 to 3 inches right now.
Gold Severum Gill Plate Defect
- Thread starter Musicmeg
- Start date
The above are some photos to help. Sorry about the quality. In the first one you can see the plate is lifted and you can see underneath. The second is the fish's normal side. In the last one you can see a front view and see how the defect affects the placement of the fish's mouth.
I have come to the conclusion that it must be a genetic defect. The issue also affects the placement of the ventral fin on that side. It is a little higher than it should be. I would have liked a perfect specimen and it is hard to make sure the guy at the lfs grabs the one you want, but I am already attached to this guy/girl just the way it is. It has a friendly personality and greets me as soon as I walk in the room. I have no plans to breed severums so I will not be propagating an undesirable trait. It stays.
Looks like an injury to me.. prob when it was younger. I just dont think a genetic defect would only affect one gill