xxblwn408 said:
My 6" aro I picked up from a friend has gill curl. He had it in a 30g, I now have him in a divided 150g. He has about half the tank. It looks like the membrane has curled and is starting to curl the plate. Is this the beginning stage or advanced stage?
I have a powerhead in there, but where should i position it? On the surface with the discharge facing straight out?
How long should i wait until deciding to operate or not? If i do operate where do I get the Finquel (MS-222 or tricaine) the article in another post refers to?
Bro...
here it go...hope u can understand....
Tilted (overturned) Gill Covers
Cause
Fouled water as a result of rotting food particles and excretions. The strong presence of NH3, NO2 and NO3 can reduce the content of oxygen in the water.
Space constraint - When the Dragon Fish is growing, it not only needs nutrition, it also needs a lot of room to move about. Otherwise, the gill covers may be affected. They may tilt over.
Change in temperature - The temperature of the water in the aquarium should always be maintained. The sensitive gills can be affected when it is either too hot or too cold suddenly.
Symptoms
At the initial stage, the movement of the gill covers is not regular and breathing is also faster and abnormal. Next, the gill covers may become concave and the edge may curl upwards, causing the gills to be exposed in the water.
Finally, at the serious stage, the fish pushes its head up constantly to the surface for air while at the same time loses its appetite. This means the internal gills have become damaged and probably infected with bacteria, affecting the function of breathing and this can lead to death eventually.
Cure
When it is first discovered that the Dragon Fish is not breathing properly, the water should be changed immediately. Every 2 to 3 days, 20% of the water in the aquarium should be changed. Air pump should be further activated and air bubble stones could be added so that oxygen level in the aquarium could be increased. Also, change the filter media to coral sand.
Next stage
When the edge of the gill cover is slightly curled but not yet hardened, other than changing water, and increasing air/oxygen supply, strong water current could be created. There may be 50% chance of a cure without the need to operate.
Final stage
When the gill cover is tilted and hardened exposing the gills, the only way left is to trim off the tissues of the tilted region. Tools needed are scissors, surgical spirit, gloves, plastic bag and a rubber sheet. Also water-proof fine sand paper to polish clean the gill cover affected by cut tissues. The above tools must be properly sterilised.
When all equipment have been properly treated, the Dragon Fish should be transferred to a smaller fish-tank leaving the original tank to be filtered and pumped with air to increase oxygen content. With 1/3 of water in the small tank, anesthesia should be administered within the plastic bag which contains the sick Dragon Fish. It must be established prior to the operation that the Dragon Fish has completely lost consciousness before it can be removed (take care not to cause dehydration). Then use a clean pair of scissors to trim the edge of the gill covers.
After cutting, it is necessary to apply antiseptic medications to the trimmed edges. The Dragon Fish should be promptly put back into its own aquarium to await its regaining of consciousness. More antiseptic medication may be added to prevent wound from being infected with bacteria.
When it regains consciousness, switch off all lights and allow the Dragon Fish to recuperate. Feeding can be stopped if it has no appetite. Additional equipment may be fitted to create waves in the aquarium. The cut portion must grow again before the operation is considered successful.
