Strange Bump Picture Inside

Yeah good idea. So lets say without the driftwood of the main tank and the addition of the holey rock the ph is something around 8.4-8.6 can that be enough to actually burn or hurt his gills? I wonder if I should try to make his ph go much lower. I can't afford a RO unit but I guess I could always throw a whole bunch of non boiled driftwood in there. The tannins should lower the ph some.
 
Came home from work yesterday to find the little guy dead. I pulled back his gill plates after taking him out of the tank and didn't see anything strange. Gills were not red, not full of mucus, no flukes or anything. No idea what it was that got him, or if it was just the high PH and hardness he couldn't handle. Either way he isn't suffering anymore.
 
AquariaCentral.com