What's this bump / lump / cyst thingie?

[rnsmith]

It's been growing for about three months. The fish shows no sign (yet) of it affecting it.

 

[scuzy]

Lymph? Maybe

 

[MrTuskfish]

I have no idea. But it seems to be growing from the inside out, that eliminates lympho. Possibly some kind of tumor or cyst. If the fish is eating and behaving normally; I doubt it is any sort of infection or something treatable (without surgery).

 

[HumbleFish]

Possibly some kind of tumor or cyst.

This would be my guess as well. Not much you can do about it IME, expect wait & see what happens. Fish surgery usually doesn't end well.

 

[rnsmith]

He's still at full speed when pursuing his favorite foods. Messing with it to "cure" it would only be 'doing harm.' It is getting pretty huge, however. So far it does not seem to be draining his system. Kind of wondering what to expect.

 

[Mrscribbled]

I'd also guess a tumor or absess of some sort due to injury possibly. Not much can really be done as far as treatment, that I'm aware of.

 

[rnsmith]

I was thinking injury related, too. He tends to get excited about floating food and has bumped against the cover a number of times. He's had smaller bumps in the past, but they have gone away. This one is not going away and only getting larger.

 

[HumbleFish]

IME; most fish with this sort of thing usually die. But on at least a few occasions, I've also seen fish "recover" from it (whatever "it" is). By recover, I mean the lump either goes away entirely, or it stops growing and the fish just lives with it. I had an Emperor Angel that had a small lump for 4-5 years before dying due to Hurricane Katrina. So, who knows how long he may have lived...

 

[rnsmith]

Well FWIIW, here he (still) is 4-1/2 weeks later. He still seems unaffected - other than, maybe, a little energy loss - probably from having to push the "thing" around. Anyone want to take a guess as to what it is or what (if anything) to do??

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[rnsmith]

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[rnsmith]

Another update: As he went darting off to get a piece of food, whatever was in the open hole came floating out. It must have been a cyst.

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[rnsmith]

 

[Deinonych]

Wow, that's crazy! How is he doing now that the cyst is detached?

 

[rnsmith]

He seems to be fine. Just swimming, hunting and perching as usual. Now, if it can heal without infection, he should be good - I guess?

 

[angelfish7]

I would treat him in a qt with some antibacterial meds especially now that whatever was there fell off.

 

[snorvich]

This would be my guess as well. Not much you can do about it IME, expect wait & see what happens. Fish surgery usually doesn't end well.

Likewise. With the possible exception of pinning.

 

[Maivortex]

That was an ugly one. Catch him and dab some iodine on with a Q tip if it does not heal.

 

[DasCamel]

Did you keep the ejected mass? Would be cool to biopsy.

 

[rnsmith]

The ejected mass floated into the rocks before I could get it. There was no catching the fish either. The rock work was his home.

Over the next week more pieces came out of the hole. It was hard to tell if the hole ever fully cleared. It did look like the hole started to heal, but a small piece probably remained towards the back and would not clear out. Here is a pic of the fish on the day before it died. You can see how the hole seems to have started closing and healing, but a lump remained towards the back.

The next day be never came out of his usual cave and the 13 nassarious snails were not to be seen anywhere for a couple of days.

 

[Deinonych]

Bummer. Sorry for your loss. Would have been really cool if he had completely healed after all that.