Help : Gill Infection / Growth [Pics]

[Koralkid]

I have previously posted this in the Clown Fish and Anemone Forum but was hoping to gain some further information here:

I have had my Maroon clown for about 2 and a half years now and hes always been fine, though over the last month he has developed a bubbly growth in one of his gills and it seems to be taking over his gill somewhat like a tumor, i am worried, it doesnt look like the sort of thing that he can get over or out grow. I have never seen nor heard of this before in clown fish or any other fish, please have a look and any advise or diagnosis would be much appreciated, very treasured fish, not easy to come across where im from.

Thankyou

I will try to give some updated photos, as it seems to be pertruding a little further out his gill now.

I have ever seen thing in a fish before, i work at a LFS and though i would have seen such a thing from a freshly colected fish or one that didnt travel so well

Thanks again

 

[spw4949]

IDK, that's weird, maybe some kind of cyst or someting? Sorry, not much help....maybe someone else.

 

[Koralkid]

Thats cool Mate its got me stuffed aswell! thanks anyway its good not to feel alone haha

 

[soccerbag]

I have no idea what that is either. Never seen anything like that before. I will stay tuned to see if anyone can ID this...

 

[Koralkid]

quiet the puzzle im going to update the photos as soon as i get home prhaps that might help.

 

[spw4949]

Yeah maybe, I was trying to get a closer look.....

 

[Koralkid]

Hey guys got home and took some more updated photos of my clownies gill problem here they are, the quality isnt amazing as i had the wron setting on, but its hard to capture him in full flight at the right agle without getting his pectral in the way.

This first one shows his fatness, obviously still eating enough, unless the tumor is in his body aswell but i dont think it is that extensive.

Others show just how much his gill is being pushed outwards or how big the growth is

Thanks again for taking a look

 

[dones20]

wow you got me what do you feed him it almost looks like wat happened to my black tang a few weeks ago it turned out being a peice of clam that was to big for him to ingest and some how or another he wound up spitting it out of his gill and it looked alot like wat your fish has how long has he had this

 

[spw4949]

That's pretty crazy dones but u know what Koral, when I look at that pic close(the 2nd to last 1) it does almost look like something may possibly be coming out of her gills. Any possibility you could catch the fish & get up close?

 

[Koralkid]

Hey Dones sorry to hear about your black tang it is painfull when something like that happens and is totally out of control, natures way of evening up the balance but does she have to act like taht in our aquariums when we are taking care of the little critters...?

Catching would be pretty hard spw4949 probably a last resort, but i have been thinking about it, it may be better to catch now and see what i can do before she gets to sick, i think its been about 3 weeks since we first noticed the growth dones?, would those bubbles that are coming out of the gill slit possibly be part of the actual gill? Perhaps part of it hemorrhaging? Im not to sure though

The only reason im not panicking big time is that she is behaving normally, i will have access to a better camera over the next few days so i will try and get some better detail photos.

the only other thing i can think of it that if she was doing some removals around the tank perhaps she swallowed a piece of rock or coral and it lodged in her gill and the resulting growth or infection is what we are seeing?

Last thing, do you guys think the fish is to fat or just plenty healthy??

Thanks guys again

 

[Koralkid]

Had a development last night with the growth, just after the MH lights went off one of the little bubble seemed like it popped, and a little stream of air bubbles came out, im not sure why these bubbles would be filled with air and not a fluid or something like that...

 

[Aqualove182]

How is she doing? Has the size of her gill gone down?

 

[spw4949]

I'm wondering the same......

 

[TerryB]

My Guess is a goiter. This can be caused in long-term captive fish by a lack or iodine in the diet. The good news is that it is treatable. I have treated a few fish for it and always had good results. The bad news is that it will take some time to treat it and the goiter may not shrink all the way back to normal size. What are you feeding the fish? Do you use vitamins and Selcon (highly unsaturated fatty acids) with the food? How much variety in the food?

The fish can get some iodine in two ways. First, you should have some iodine in the water. Unfortunately, iodine is very unstable in the water and having too much is dangerous. You can add a little to the water on a regular basis, but be carefull. Fish can also get iodine from thier diet. Uncooked shrimp or uncooked prawns are a good source. Regular, large water changes can help to as they replace trace elements and iodine,

Terry B

 

[Koralkid]

Hey guys thenks for your interest, the growth hasnt subsided as yet, but she is still behaving fine.

TerryB, Thanks for your comment, the diet my fish gets are mainly a pellet food, Called Spectrum community Fish formula, i think it is a good food, but i dont eat it so i cant be 100% sure on that, if you know of the food please let me know what your think, i also feed with Mysis Shrimp, Brine Shrimp and cyclops, I also feed Nori but my clowny isnt interested in this. I do add Iodine to the tank water but to be honest i havnt added any regularly for a while but i do have some around so i will re commence that, Keeping in mind not to over dose.

What do you think of the current foods that i feed Terry, and if your could suggest some brands i would be greatful, the range in Aus isnt great but im sure i could get onto it some how!

Thanks again Matt

 

[TerryB]

Fish need variety in the diet just like humans. I assume that you can order some liquid vitamins and HUFA such as Selcon over the Internet for delivery. You should be soaking the foods alternately with them. You could add some seafoods of marine origin, especially uncooked shrimp. Just cut it into small enough pieces. Uncooked shrimp will provide some iodine in the diet. I feed a dozen or so different foods. You might add some plant based foods such as spirulina which is packed as a flake and a frozen food. I prefer to use a lot of frozen foods.

I have used table salt that contains iodine in a fish only tank at 10% of the volume of water to treat goiter. I am not sure how that would go over with inverts. You would simply make a 10% water change using iodized table salt at the usual salinity. It might be safer to do that in a quarantine or fish only system. I don't know how the anemone would react. I think you would see a good response within 30 days if you combine iodine in the water with feeding some uncooked shrimp. Your fish may seem to behave OK, but it is not feeling so great. Right now the fish is very susceptible to infection. Do not catch the fish in a net or remove it from water. If you move the fish than catch it in a clear plastic bag or specimen container. Then it can be moved in water and it won't be injured by a net. Nets remove a lot of the mucus layer protection and cause a lot of injuries to the eyes, fins and skin.

Terry B