Scary bulge on one side of angelfish

[Baoyu]

Hi everyone,

Hoping someone could take a look at the images below and advise on the possible problem. I've had this angelfish - Jack - for about 2 years. About a month ago Jack started to show a bulge on his/her left side. Jack is very active, has a great appetite (always, always hungry), swims normally and seems to have full control of movement, and just doesn't present any behavioral signs of distress. Any ideas?

Edit: Sorry, just read the instructions for new posts. I don't have all the info but here goes:
1~What type of fish is afflicted? Angelfish. Only one other fish in the tank, a Plecostomas named Jill. I've had them both for about two years in the same tank. Both are happy. Jill sometimes bullies Jack at night. Takes a good run at him/her.

2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? I don't keep track of this. It's a mature tank. I add Ocean Free Super Chlorine and Chloramine Away, some salt and OF Nature Earth.

3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up? 16 gallons, about 4 years

4~What type of filtration are you using? EHEIM Substrat.

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes? Just 2 - one angelfish and one Plecostomas, 3 inches and 4 inches.

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? Water change last week. No gravel. How often do you do this? Weekly. How much water do you remove at a time? About 15%.

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them? About 2 years for both.

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? I recently switched to the new dechlorinator mentioned above. Don't remember the name of the old one...blue bottle.

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently? Always the same: Ocean Free Superminiature and Ocean Free BF-G1.


Thanks,
Mark

 

[Baoyu]

Scary bulge on one side of angelfish - take 2

(apologies if this post is duplicated)

Hello everyone,

I'm hoping someone can suggest what might be wrong with the angelfish shown below. I've had it for about two years and just in the last month it has started to show this rather alarming bulge on its left side. Funny thing is that it shows no signs of distress whatsoever -- great appetite, normal swimming, etc. The bulge may not be getting bigger, but that's hard to tell.

A bit more info:
- 16 gallon tank, mature (4 years old)
- one other fish in the tank, a Plecostomas that can be a bit of a bully at night
- angelfish about 3 inches; Plecostomas about 4 inches
- 15% water change usually once a week, occasionally once in 2 weeks
- use OF Super Chlorine and Chloramine Away, salt and Nature Earth
- recently switched to to Super Chlorine and Chloramine Away from another brand ...?...blue bottle.

Many thanks!
Mark

 

[Baoyu]

PS: Food is OF SuperMiniature and BF-G1 pellets. Both fish eat both. I provide the SuperMiniature twice a day in small amounts. I add 5 BF-G1 pellets just before going to bed, mostly for the Plecostomas, but the Angelfish always manages to scarf down at least one before I turn off the lights.

 

[Delapool]

Did the bulge appear suddenly or gradually and any change on fish colour above the bulge (which might suggest a tumour).

 

[Baoyu]

It didn't take more than a month to grow to this size which might be a bit fast for a tumour, but I was wondering the same thing. No, no change in colour.

Also, is it crazy to think that it might be constipation?

 

[Andy Sager]

It didn't take more than a month to grow to this size which might be a bit fast for a tumour, but I was wondering the same thing. No, no change in colour.

Also, is it crazy to think that it might be constipation?

No, it's not crazy to think constipation however, it is on the fish's flesh not organ cavity so you can pretty much rule out constipation as the cause. From the pics, it appears to be either a tumor or an internal organism that has embedded itself in the fish's flesh. If it is a tumor, there's not much you can practically do that wouldn't cost more than the fish in medications. If you wanted to try, I would get a medication that treats internal parasites ( ie Prazipro or Metronidazol(? spelling) ) to see if that shrinks the swelling. If it does, than you know it was a parasite. if it doesn't, you would then need to decide whether to euthanize or let the fish live out it's life with the tumor.

Hope this helps.

 

[redfish54]

Did you figure out what it was? My fish has the same issue