F8 - Swollen left gill...nematode?

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Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.

1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.

2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.

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We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.

While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.

Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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bhallg2k
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F8 - Swollen left gill...nematode?

Post by bhallg2k »

I noticed a few days ago that my F8 had cloudy eyes, some ragged fins and a slight swelling of his left gill. I did some research and decided to start a Maracyn Two regimen. I'm on Day 4 of that, and the cloudy eye problem is gone along with visual signs of fin healing, however the swollen gill persists.

I tried taking a photo of the gill but the fish won't pose for me properly (hamster!). But it's basically a bulge in front of the gill opening. The bulge pulls his skin to where you can actually see inside that gill, whereas you can't see inside the other. He also seems to be breathing harder with the one gill, or it could be that the bulge exaggerates the movements.

Could this be a nematode? Other parasite?

He doesn't seem to linger around the surface of the water, rub against the rocks or anything else that would suggest gill disease or flukes. He actually seems to be ok.

Any ideas?

I haven't tested my water since beginning the Maracyn treatments, but everything was ideal before.
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Post by Pufferpunk »

I would treat for gill flukes.
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Post by OraLacerta »

I had a GSP with a similar problem in his gill. He didn't have ragged fins or cloudy eyes but his one gill was pretty swollen and he breathed much harder through it. I treated it as an infection and dosed him with Pimafix and Melafix and it went away in about a week. It may not be the same thing your guy has though. Like PP said it may be gill flukes.

Hope your F8 feels better soon!
bhallg2k
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Post by bhallg2k »

What, if anything, should I take from the fact that the swollen left gill is now a swollen right gill? Not both; just the right.
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