Ornate - External Gil Problem

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rba718

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 15, 2008
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Miami, FL
So apparently, my little 2.5" Ornate Bichir got into a scuffle with one of my larger Bichirs, (Probably my Senegal), and now a chunk of one of it's external gills are missing.

Now while it loafs around at the bottom it waves it's pectoral fins while staying in place. It isn't breathing fast but it's breathing at a deeper pace and I'm worried.

Do gills heal back up? External ones anyway? And what can I do in the mean time?
 
add some salt to the water and turn the heat up to about 85 f. Keep the water pristine.... I dont think the external will grow back .... as it ages the externals begin to shrink, but maybe someone else can address that part. The higher temps salt and clean water are to prevent an infection.
 
varanio;1838488; said:
add some salt to the water and turn the heat up to about 85 f. Keep the water pristine.... I dont think the external will grow back .... as it ages the externals begin to shrink, but maybe someone else can address that part. The higher temps salt and clean water are to prevent an infection.
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Gotcha, the temp's at 82 right now but I'll raise it and add some salt before I head off to sleep. I'm also going to probably do a larger water change either tomorrow or Sunday.

It's got plenty of hiding spots in the mean time, I just thought it would've been okay with my other Bichirs. It was doing so well with my large Senegal.
 
rba718;1838494; said:
Gotcha, the temp's at 82 right now but I'll raise it and add some salt before I head off to sleep. I'm also going to probably do a larger water change either tomorrow or Sunday.

It's got plenty of hiding spots in the mean time, I just thought it would've been okay with my other Bichirs. It was doing so well with my large Senegal.
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Where did you get the small ornate? I was looking for some locally, eventhough there arent any good LFS where I am in palm beach. I still would drive south to get some.
 
varanio;1838521; said:
Where did you get the small ornate? I was looking for some locally, eventhough there arent any good LFS where I am in palm beach. I still would drive south to get some.
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There's this place on Bird Road called Exotic Aquariums, they always have tons of great stuff. They still have one more small Ornate for I think for 25$ along with two small Albino Senegals.
 
moonchild1970;1838522; said:
Maybe it was only supposed to be a dominance nip? How big is the smaller one and how big is the larger one?
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The Ornate is only 2.5" at most and the Senegal is already passed 7". I had to keep the Ornate contained in a submerged hamster carrier for almost a week to stay safe and once I "thought" it was okay I let him out. The little guy was doing great and would eat side by side with the Senegal as well as my 4" Albino and Delhezi. I guess things just happen. =\
 
the external gills can grow back, like damaged fins, and the reason they can regrow is because the fish isn't at a stage where it would normally have lost its external gills. But like varanio said, as it ages, the external gills shrink, and eventually they'll be gone for good, and no amount of effort can bring them back.

anyway, whether it actually grows back or not depends, just like damaged fins don't always regrow. Regardless, it doesn't harm the fish with a damaged external gill.
 
Well if they shrink down I guess it doesn't matter. I don't really care about it having the external gills or not I just want it to be okay.

Thankfully, it seemed to be doing much better this morning. It was loafing around at the bottom with the rest of my Bichirs and not breathing as heavily as it was last night.
 
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