blood parrot with puffed gills

[Jacob._.merc]

Hey guys so ive had my blood parrot for about 3 months now and he is about 3 inches. He has had the black stuff come up on him a lot but i know how to treat him for that. My main concern is his gills. They are super puffed up and there is like a really thin whit layer at the end of the gills that just flap around. When he eats, whole food chunks just fall out and are left behind. He swims around normal and seems happy as ever. Is this normal or is there a problem? When first bought they were not like this. I will post a before and now pic. His tank mates include 2 small bichirs, a silver dollar and a pleco all in a 20 gallon (i know its small, its just temporary until i can move him to the large tank)

 

[flowerhornfishman]

It might be gill mites. Ive had this bfore on one of my fries because i didnt put a heater in it and my filter was just not efficient enough probably. Didnt managed to save it though. But u better isolate him before it strikes other fish.

 

[Jacob._.merc]

It might be gill mites. Ive had this bfore on one of my fries because i didnt put a heater in it and my filter was just not efficient enough probably. Didnt managed to save it though. But u better isolate him before it strikes other fish.

Are you sure? Could you see like the red insides of their gills? He's been like this for like a few months already

 

[flowerhornfishman]

Are you sure? Could you see like the red insides of their gills? He's been like this for like a few months already

Yeaa they were red and evrytime he eats the food comes back out of the gills. Mine didnt last long bcuz it was still a fry.

 

[LouhanKp]

Medications with sterazin or octozin are generally used for gill mites.Quarantine the fish and medicat.It will probably heal

 

[Jacob._.merc]

Medications with sterazin or octozin are generally used for gill mites.Quarantine the fish and medicat.It will probably heal

I just started using this tetra lifeguard. I'm 2 days in already and I don't see any healing. It ended up killing my crayfish and it is kinda making ick worse for my silver dollar

 

[LouhanKp]

Tetra lifeguard is a non antibiotic.I dont think it will solve your problem.Waterlife sterazin or waterlife octozin may work.For ick would recommend a salt and methylene bath.I dont use ick medications for the whole tank.I take 2 gallons of water and use 5 teaspoons aquarium salt,20 drops of methylene then keep the fish in bath for 5 to 10 minutes.But silver dollars are salt sensitive so you should use 1 or 2 teaspoons salt max for 2 gallons.Repeat it 2-3 times until ick is treated

 

[Jacob._.merc]

Tetra lifeguard is a non antibiotic.I dont think it will solve your problem.Waterlife sterazin or waterlife octozin may work.For ick would recommend a salt and methylene bath.I dont use ick medications for the whole tank.I take 2 gallons of water and use 5 teaspoons aquarium salt,20 drops of methylene then keep the fish in bath for 5 to 10 minutes.But silver dollars are salt sensitive so you should use 1 or 2 teaspoons salt max for 2 gallons.Repeat it 2-3 times until ick is treated

Here is a better view of the gills. The red kinda sticks out like tentacles. Could it be Gill flukes?

 

[mcgeezer]

i have this issue with my blood parrot, that I got around you did and about the same age. Im not sure if it is a disease or sometheing hereditary. Currently he is in isolation with treatment. No sign of improvements. I have read that they are known for deficiencys do to the cross breeding. I would like to know how yours is. He doesnt seem negatively effected but it is as if the gill plates might be to small so the gill filaments grow extra long to recieve enough oxygen. look foward to hearing from you. thanks.

 

[Jacob._.merc]

i have this issue with my blood parrot, that I got around you did and about the same age. Im not sure if it is a disease or sometheing hereditary. Currently he is in isolation with treatment. No sign of improvements. I have read that they are known for deficiencys do to the cross breeding. I would like to know how yours is. He doesnt seem negatively effected but it is as if the gill plates might be to small so the gill filaments grow extra long to recieve enough oxygen. look foward to hearing from you. thanks.

Thanks for contacting. My same blood parrot is alive and well. He still looks exactly the same except he has grown bigger and more "aggressive". In my experience I do think it is because of their genetic makeup some look jacked up. His gills still protrude so it is obviously normal for them to be this way. I was in your position, I thought it was maybe a parasite or some other problem. In the end I ended up wasting money on medication I didn't need because he was a normal healthy blood parrot the whole time. I do have another bp that actually has no physical problems whatsoever. Depending on how many times you've medicated it and you see no change, I would just stop because that's how he is probably supposed to be. If you could provide a pic that would be great