Niger Trigger with Puffed Cheek

[Ragby]

My mom's 8 year-old Niger Trigger ("Blue") has a cheek that is ballooning out. It's been like this for about three weeks. He still eats, but this cheek thing has her worried. He doesn't go for frozen food anymore -- just smaller stuff like defrosted shrimp, pellets, etc. She thinks it's tooth-related. She could be right. I'm thinking it might be a tumor. Not sure if there's anything we can do but wait it out and see if it resolves itself.

Anyone seen this before? Apologies for the lousy pic -- will try to post a better one soon.

<a href="http://s615.photobucket.com/user/dovidfreedman/media/IMG_7230_zpsde9aac9c.jpeg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i615.photobucket.com/albums/tt235/dovidfreedman/IMG_7230_zpsde9aac9c.jpeg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_7230_zpsde9aac9c.jpeg"/></a>

 

[HumbleFish]

I can't tell anything from the pic. How big is the trigger? If push comes to shove (meaning, you think he's gonna die from this); then you might need to remove him from the tank, shine a flashlight into his mouth and see if you think this is something that can be removed (i.e. bad tooth, tumor). It's been a long time, but I once pulled a partially dislodged tooth out of a trigger's mouth. It was not a pleasant experience (for him or me).