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Two of baby blue rams look like they have a piece of one their gill covers missing. Both rams only have this problem on one side and I've never noticed it before. There are 9 ram babies growing out in a 10 gallon tank and they're just now starting to get their color. I don't think it's a genetic defect because it's only noticeable on one side of 2 rams (not both gill covers)

1. Could they be hurting each other

2. Will the damage heal itself?

It doesn't seem to affect their behavior....they're still eating and swimming okay. Water params are 0,0,10 with a temp of 80* F.

Any ideas?

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Actually it could be genetic, most genetic deformities are not totally symmetrical, usually its quite the reverse.

Rams certainly can hurt each other, but gill covers are heavily keratinsed and for a small fish , it would be unusual to go for the one piece of scale that would be harder to tear than any other.Rams are more likely to lip fight and rip each others fins.

If it is an injury, a gill cover will recover to a very limited degree, it will stabilise to healing well even if it cannot replace entirely, and though perhaps not aesthetically pleasing,the fish is unlikely to die from this woundd unless it contracts an infection.

While it is perfectly possible to survive without gill covers, (owners of angelfish with deformed gill covers can attest to this- it is a common mutation) there is always the possibility that the softer gill tissue can be freely and fatally picked away by a hungry fish no adverse to fin nipping etc. For this reason you may wish to avoid barbs etc as tankmates.

Genetic mutations concerning gill covers do not repair, it is simply not in the dna code to be able to generate tissue and structure for that part of the anatomy. If it didnt exist at the time of the organs maturity, it never will and it cannot grow.

There is no reason that this deformity should affect their life quality, but the genetic line should be ended there to ensure the genetic mutation is not passed on, since it may increase in severity multigenerationally, and that could lead to sicker fish. Basically dont breed from these specimens.

yep, I was afraid of that. Okay, sound advice....very reasonable indeed. These specimens will be for looks only.

Thanks for the help LHG!!!

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Never a problem and always a pleasure. Youre welcome.

Actually i'll add a maintenance tip just for reference.In rams and indeed most other fish capable of being static in still water, the gill covers do act as a constant fan , aiding flow of oxygenated water over the heavily blood engorged gill tissues , therefore allowing for efficient gaseous exchange, but on a fish without this little breathing aid, it might be worth paying that little bit of attention to oxygenation in the tank. That includes doing everything that keeps saturated oxygen high. Make sure spray bars and filter nozzles disturb the water surface well and provide a little flow.

Make sure airstones and airbars are free of clogging and working well, and keep the temperatures in the lower range of the fish's tolerange limits, as oxygen diffuses into water better at slightly lower temperatures. If water temps get well into the eighties the dissolved oxygen levels will reduce.If you have my favourites - venturi nozzles and hydor aerators youll experience zero problems anyway.

Great help, git...I'll keep the O2 as high as I can for these little guys. I know I should have probably culled them, but this is my first time out as a ram breeder and I didn't know better. It's hard to cull once they get this big and get some color and personality.

Thanks for the advice. It reallly helped a lot!!!

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."