BN with a tumor - pics coming later

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tbonem91

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Nov 13, 2003
Messages
720
Location
Colorado Springs, CO, USA
one of my BN plecos suddenly has a rather large black mass behind his fin - I can only guess that its a tumor :( I set up my 5g and isolated him in it as soon as I saw it.

I plan on taking some pictures tonight and posting them - is there anything I can do? Since plecos are scaleless, I heard Melafix doesnt help them at all....

:puppydogeyes:
 
Melafix is only good for small problems and helping to prevent secondary infections. You need to answer the full array of Qs asked of all ill fish owners and then check out Disease Diagnostic Charts and Other Helpful Sites.

Answer these Qs to ensure we have as much information as possible about your ailing fish and its environment:

1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?
 
Any word on the pleco? Tumors are horrible...I hope your pleco is alright. The tumor will either keep growing and become parasitic or stop, and not affect the fish. Good water quality will also be important so it doesn't get infected at all.

HTH
 
sorry bout no update - Ive been really busy - hes still isolated and I took several pictures but just havent had the time to transfer them to my home PC.

A little description... the BN pleco is mostly black with small brown specks - and the tumor's "skin" has the same pattern/coloration so I know it isnt a purely external growth. Its rather squishy and has a jelly-like appearance to it...

My poor fish... I have decided to name him, Lumpy.

About the tank he was in... its been established for about 3 1/2 years, was moved a little over a year ago without any problems. Ive had that pleco for the better part of 2 1/2 years now. None of the other fish are sick looking, I do regular weekly water changes and feed the tank cichlid pellets and sinking algae wafers every 2-3 days.

More details to come...

As an aside... I packed up most of my belongings in preparation to move about a month ago - that all fell through and now I cant find the box that my AP kit was in :(
 
As an aside... I packed up most of my belongings in preparation to move about a month ago - that all fell through and now I cant find the box that my AP kit was in
Moving (and then not really moving) is tough. Given that this is a long established tank, I would think it's not water related.
In Disease Diagnostic Charts and Other Helpful Sites, the second link has pics and I believe a discussion on tumors.
 
tumor1.jpg


tumor2.jpg


tumor3.jpg


tumor4.jpg


heres some pictures of Lumpy :(
 
The pics you put into the gallery were just approved if anyone needs to see them
 
Oh wow. That is really gross. I am super sorry about your plec. I just lost a betta to tumors. The only thing I could really do for him was keep his water clean and make sure he was as comfortable as possible. Good luck to you.
 
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