look at the picture below, that flowerhorn, one side of the gill cover (Operculum) is bent back... DO YOU THINK IF I CUT OFF THE BENT BACK PART IT WILL GROW BACK NORMALLY?

i used to have a tinfoil barb with same thing and it never grew back. but it didnt seem to afect it either.
it will just be a little different from the others.

so you cut it off? yea it doesn't affect the fish at all... but i rather not look at the gills lol

no... i didnt cut off ...... wife brought it home that way lol

well wat happen to it first then u might be able to figure it out

nothing lol it was born like that ... it's like the end flap is bend toward the mouth... so i was thinking to cut it off, but will it grow back to the normal state...

Gill curve is cause by dirty water with high concentrate of ammonia/nitrate. It's not hurt or cause any harm to the fish beside the ugly looks; however, gill curve will cuase the fish to easy to get gill infected. You can cut the soft curve part, and it will grow back at least in case of arowana. If you cut the hard part of the gill, then it won't grow back. If you decide to cut, make sure to keep water extremely clean and have antibiotic medicine on hand in case the infection occur.

i think ill experiment with a smaller fish cause there are a few that look like that... ill post what happens... i think its a genetic disorder, not dirty water because they had it since they were big enough to be seen clearly, and most of the other fishes dont have it... SOME HAVE like a lump at the bottom of one side of there jaw, others have twisted tail fins, and one has a twisted mouth lol... i would take really good pictures, but my bro doesnt wanna help out while i net them ( DONT WANNA WET CAMERA, esp. when it's not mines lolz).. i read about the aro's most said wat you said about the water condition, and nitrates, tank size... but why would only a few get this and not the rest...

sigh i dont have the heart i took him one out was trying to cut it with a sissors but it was the hard part and i didnt feel like kill him lolz .... blah

Anything on a fish that is made of bone will NOT grow back. Cut it off bro, just for the fish's sake.

It could be due to defect since FH are inbreed with each others so much that might be it. I have done few gill curve surgery on aro and the soft part of the gill will grow back (some takes longer than other), but not the hard part (bone).

Regarding about twisted tail fins, twisted mouth, etc.. are due to damage when the fish was tiny baby. Baby FH are aggressive in nature (cichlids family) and in crowded condition will bite each other causing such damage. Again, it could be due to genetic defect since FH is a mix of varieties fish with so many generation of inbreed.

it's a birth defect... my friends have some convicts like that... don't do anything about it... just let it be bro

They're birth defects due to overbreeding and inbreeding. You'll find the in alot of spawns of fish, even pure species and others than Cichlids. Best thing to do for those fish is to cull them and find different parents to breed.

[quote name='Lucky' date='Jan 8 2007, 01:29 PM' post='248571']
They're birth defects due to overbreeding and inbreeding. You'll find the in alot of spawns of fish, even pure species and others than Cichlids. Best thing to do for those fish is to cull them and find different parents to breed.
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Yup... well said.
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alright cool thanks guys..