# Inflamed gills on OB Ahli



## reepicheep (Sep 9, 2012)

My hap/peacock tank is 4ft 75 gallon and I have two canister filters running: Eheim 2217 and Cascade 1000. Ammonia: 0; Nitrite: 0; Nitrate: 5. I currently have 30 juvenile hap/peacocks in the tank (I know it is a huge number but I plan to cut the number to around 15 as they mature). I have added a batch of around 10 haps/peacocks to my tank last Friday, including this OB Ahli whose pictures taken yesterday are shown below. Somehow I noticed yesterday that its gills seem to be inflamed. I contacted the vendor and he said ammonia poisoning may cause gills to turn bright red or it might simply be because that OB Ahli has a very transparent body so that everything just shows through. I have done two water changes since adding fish, including a big one about 40% and I did not remember the OB Ahli's gills to be red when it first came last week. Meanwhile, all the rest of the residents in the tank seem to be doing fine. Any thoughts about what might be the matter?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I take it the fish were shipped? If so, I would bet on ammonia burn.

Just keep the water pristine, even if it means doing water changes every other day. That will help the fish more than anything else you can do.


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## reepicheep (Sep 9, 2012)

Indeed the fish were shipped! I am wondering if the ammonia burn was primarily caused by ammonia accumulated during shipping or because there has been an ammonia spike in the tank after adding the new batch of fish? I am including a pic of my yesterday's ammonia test result here and I must admit that a few days before my ammonia reading looked slightly more greenish than that so I did a 40% water change. I will start doing a series of water changes today but how much and for how long would you recommend? Meanwhile, I noticed last night that another fish in the tank seemed to have developed red gills as well, who was NOT a newcomer and a strange thing is that a part of its upper lip seems to be missing, too. I used to notice one of the fish has its upper lip look like that before, but it recovered after a few days. I am not sure if this might also relate to the red gills?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Looks like your ammonia level is fine.  Most sellers fast the fish for a few days before shipping, and also use additives in the bags to prevent ammonia build up in route. With the new one, I would still suspect ammonia burn. With the other one, it sounds like there may have been some territorial battles due to the newcomers.

Increase frequency of water changes until the redness goes away.


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## reepicheep (Sep 9, 2012)

Thanks for your reply! I did a 30% WC today, and I include a pic of how my tank water looks like now below. While doing the water change I removed the carbon filter bag in the Eheim 2217 canister filter according to the manual. The manual says that the carbon filter bag should be removed after 2 weeks of installing the filter. This Eheim 2217 is indeed a recent addition to my another canister filter Cascade 1000, which is still in use currently. I added some meddia to the new filter from the old one, but my tank water has always looked a little bit milky after water changes ever since the installation of the new filter, but never as serious as this time. I also tested ammonia and nitrte. Nitrite reading is 0 and I include a pic of the ammonia result below. It seems that it looks more greenish than yesterday? I read some threads on this forum discussing cloudy water after WC, and it seems that it is caused by bacteria bloom--not the so-called beneficial bacteria, though, right? They are called heterotrophic bacteria, which feed on dissolved organics, which are in turn absorbed by carbon. If this is correct, then it seems that the removal of carbon filter bag might have caused the cloudiness? Should I be concerned? Any adjustments to the tank that you would recommend for me? I noticed that while I am posting, the water seems to be clearing up a bit. Sorry for all the questions!


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

It likely is a heterotrophic bloom as you suggested due to the removal of the carbon bag. I'd be concerned with a reduction in nitrifying bacteria as well. They'll colonize a carbon bag the same as other media and you may have reduced their numbers when it was removed. A quick note on carbon; I wouldn't bother using it in the future unless you're removing medications or the water has a foul smell to it.
Keep the ammonia levels in check through water changes using a quality dechlorinator such as Seachem Prime (don't overdose), which incidentally also detoxifies ammonia and nitrite for 24-36 hours following the water change. You may want to check nitrite levels as well while measuring ammonia.
When the shipped fish were added, did you empty the fish and water into the tank or did you net the fish out of the bags and then add?


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## reepicheep (Sep 9, 2012)

I really appreciate your reply! My tank water turned back to crystal clear the next morning! I thought it was probably caused by disturbing the gunk in the filter media. I am still doing water changes every other day to help the fishes with red gills, who seem to be recovering. When adding fish I only net them into the tank without the bag water.


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