Something wrong with my rainbow

[JulieB]

Hi everyone! I have a Boesemani Rainbow and it looks like he's got something growing on his right gill. I took some pictures (below). They're not that great (he's a bit camera shy evidently), but you can kind of see it. In the one where he's looking right at you, you can kind of see how his gill is sticking out.

Anyways, it's a weird pink/flesh colored "thing" that is growing on his gills or gill flap. Any ideas? I lost another Boesemani Rainbow about 2 months ago to gill problems. I didn't notice a growth like this, but he ended up with this weird fringe growing out of his gills and you could see white cottony stuff in his throat (I'm thinking fungus). He isn't acting any different than normal, he just has this thing on his "neck". What should I do? I'm concerned about quarantining him as I don't have a heater for my small tank (2 gallons) and it can be in the low 60's in here.

I haven't checked my parameters yet. The other fish are acting just fine and look great.

Any suggestions as to what's wrong and what I should do? Thanks in advance!

Julie

 

[Zagz]

Is he gasping at all? Parameter check would be good to rule out ammonia issues. Is he acting normally? check this page out and see if the descriptions help at all. I do see the swelling but can't really tell if it is gill flukes, or something else.

 

[JulieB]

No, he's not gasping. I'll post my parameters and try to get better pictures of him tonight when I get home. I'll check the page you posted on my lunch. Thanks Zagz!

EDIT: I don't have any more pics of the little guy yet, but I do have my parameters:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20-40 (hard to distinguish between shades of orange/red)
pH: 6.0

He's still acting just fine, only with this thing on his gill.

 

[JulieB]

OK, do rainbows just have a short healthy life before they start getting weird things? My other rainbow now has a white cottony patch on his side, close to his tail. I'm guessing fungus. Out of all the fish in the tank, my rainbows have had the most problems. They all came from the same store, maybe they were just a bad batch?
Anyways, what's the best way to treat for fungus? Should I quarantine him? Or should I treat the whole tank? No one else seems to be aflicted.
My parameters are still the same as listed above. I'll try to get more pictures of both of them and their aflictions. I just don't understand why everyone else is healthy and my rainbows are all getting sick!

EDIT:
So I've set up a 2 gallon sick tank (it's all I've got for now) and added Jungle's fungus fizzy tabs medicine. When I get a heater for it, I'll add the rainbow with the fungus patch. I used only tank water to fill up the tank, and will add some used filter pads into it. Hopefully this will be an OK substitute for waiting for the tank to cycle...

 

[Zagz]

I would QT both the rainbows and treat with a fungal med. I personally like Jungle's Fungus Eliminator. It could very well be the batch of rainbows you got from the lfs.

 

[JulieB]

Thanks Anne! I (my husband actually) put them both in the tank last night and they survived their first night in the QT. They are just chillin', but freak out whenever you look at them. It was kinda hard to see their progress, but they're definitely going to need more than one night! I'll keep you updated and try to get better pics of the one's gills (if he'll let me!)

EDIT:
Well they've been in solitary confinement (QT) for three days. Their color isn't as vibrant (they're just a bit stressed :? ) but the fungus and gill problem are both looking much better. I'm going to give them a second dose of the meds tonight with a water change and hope for more progress!