Advice for Yellow Lab...

I scored a really great deal on a 90g setup today. $125 for tank, stand, lighting, 2 eheim canister filters, heater, all decor, gravel, nice air pumps, a python, and a bunch of extras. The seller had one yellow lab that she asked if I would take, I keep mbuna and I have a few already so I said okay.
She had him in a styrofoam ice chest. Told me that he has a little deformity, but from my view I couldn't tell looking down on him. I figured it would be a weird bent fin or something. Nothing that would affect it's well being. The fish is huge, almost 7". Said she had it for years.
...then I got everything home. The tank was filthy. I bagged the fish to get ready for Q tank and noticed the gill... The amount of gunk in the gravel was horrible. It looked like it wasn't vacuumed in years. I'm attaching a pic. Is this a deformity that he can live with, or is it damage from poor water quality? He seems happy and is acting healthy.


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Sorry for the bad quality camera phone photo, but that's all I have at the moment. Other than basically almost missing a gill, the fish is beautiful.


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Can't really see much from the pics. I would quarantine him and watch for signs of infection, bacteria, and make sure he is eating good.
Don't give up on him !!



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I'm not going to give up. I have never seen a yellow lab that large. He acclimated to the quarantine tank well. He's very personable. Almost Oscar like.
Hopefully it is a deformity that isn't hurting him. He seems to be breathing fine. It's weird because it looks like most of the shield that covers his gills has rotted off and there is a hole, but he's totally healthy.
I'll go buy him a 75 to live out his life by himself if I have to. I don't name many of my fish, but I think he may get a name.


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That is what I like to hear ... Cichlidaddicted is pretty sharp about fish illness, if he doesn't chime in on this thread shoot him a pm. A great resource that has helped me in the past.

Funny how some of our favorite fish end up being the ones no one would have thought even had a chance. As for naming fish my 6 year old has name every fish in my house including the gold fish in the pond


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Quite possible it's just a genetic or developmental deformity. Happens sometimes, fry that grow up with a gill cover deformity. Usually a quality breeder culls them as a cosmetic deformity. Doesn't mean they can't live out a long life, just that they look funny.

If he'd been damaged that bad by bad water I'd wonder how he lived long enough to get that size or how just one gill cover is damaged rather than being a rough looking fish overall.

I don't see a deformity. He looks fine! Nice color

Looks fine, give it time it might grow back might be bacterial or fungal, possibly from a fight.


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