New Platies with Red Gills

[Hadrien_H]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and could use some advice about my platies. I ordered them a week ago, and they arrived three days ago and they were in shipping for four days. Since they arrived, they've had red gills, and they haven't changed in appearance since then.

Other than that, they seem pretty okay – they're eating well and swimming around normally. I've got plenty of oxygen going in the tank with an airstone, and they're not gasping at the surface or anything.

But here's the thing: I'm not sure if this red gill situation is normal or if it's something to worry about. Could it be some sort of natural coloring, or maybe it's a sign of flukes or ammonia burn?

Here are the tank parameters:

• Ammonia: 0
• Nitrite: 0
• Nitrate: 5
• pH: 6.9-7.1
• Temperature: 79°F
• Tank size: 10 gallons (using it temporarily as a quarantine tank for them)
• Additionally, when I tested the nitrate levels in their shipping bags, it was around 40-60 ppm.

 

[Colin_T]

It's probably a combination of genetic (the fish have semi transparent gill covers) and being in a bag for 4 days where the ammonia levels might have gone up a bit. All you can do is keep the water clean and well oxygenated and monitor them over the next week or two. If they aren't breathing heavily/ rapidly, they should be ok.

 

[emeraldking]

I'm with Colin in this case...

 

[Hadrien_H]

They have been doing great, it looks less apparent now as they have colored up after acclimation. Thanks for the help!