black feathery things on ocellaris gills--- normal or parasite?

[redfishsc]

Sorry that I don't have a pic, but my ocellaris is about 2" long and recently I've noticed that his gills have some black feathery appendages that are very short. I've had a few ocellaris in the past that I've never noticed this on.

They almost look like gill rakers of some sort. The outer edge of the gills has always been black, and these filaments are very small, so I haven't noticed them.


He's in pretty good health overall, he eats fine, has good color, and is very plump.


Is this a normal thing with an ocellaris (ie, they just have them on their gills) or could this be a parasite of some kind?

 

[traveller7]

Gill flukes are common, but I would not even guess on the situation without a picture or other symptoms.

 

[redfishsc]

Getting a pic will be really hard since the clown gets really excited when I come up to the tank....

That, and the feathers are kinda small.



I had thought of gill flukes, but I didn't think they were short, feathery and black.


These almost look to be part of the fish's gills. Hard to tell.

 

[traveller7]

Worst case, a proper pH matched freshwater dip will force most gill flukes to drop off and will rarely harm the clown if done correctly.

Best of luck.

 

[redfishsc]

10-4, if that's what they turn out to be, I'll dip him.

Thanks!

 

[traveller7]

hehe...I was thinking...Dip him now and see if any flukes drop off ;>)

If they are flukes, you might need some meds and isolation. Clout was my medicine of choice for the flukes my fish have encountered in the past.

 

[redfishsc]

AHA!

It's not a parasite.

Take a look at Sanjay's pic of his hybrids. My fish's gills looks identical.

Look at the gills, the feathery part along the edge.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/images/magazine/spring2009/sanjay/image045.png