Help Needed Diagnosing Growth On Angel Fishes' Face

lizfletcher · Nov 2, 2008

Dear All,
I wonder if you can help me diagnose what this strange growth is on my angel's face. I noticed it last monday as 3 small lumps that looked like spots in a row (they were pink, rounded but no white in the middle about 1-2mm in diameter), now they seemed to have grown and spread out so that they are no longer round - but still pink. Not knowing what it was and not getting any decent help from my lfs I have used melafix to treat the water everyday for a week. I've just done a 25% water change as instructed by the melafix bottle. A friend of mind suggested garlic in the food, which I tried once and the fish spat it all out! Angel has gone off flake but really goes for (frozen) bloodworm. He is also a lot less active and more shy, hiding behind things. Occasionally he flicks his mouth to the side as if the growth irritates him.

In case it's relevant I have a 96l tank, 5 dennyson rasboras, 4 scissor tails, a pair of kribensis, a pair of apistogrammas, a plec and a pair of corydoras. Have had 2 scissor tails die on me about 2 weeks to a month ago, 1 from something that looked like a sore on the base of his fin and the other somewhat unexplained, though one fish did manage to get stuck down the side of the filter (but I released it and it swam off ok).

Water tests before water change read - NO2 0 on one 0.5 on another, NO3 25-50 on one, 80 on another, GH >16od, KH 3od. Ph 6.8-7.2
Please help if you can, I'd really appreciate it. Any questions I'd be happy to answer.
Thanks
Liz

Davo86 · Nov 2, 2008

lizfletcher said:
Dear All,
I wonder if you can help me diagnose what this strange growth is on my angel's face. I noticed it last monday as 3 small lumps that looked like spots in a row (they were pink, rounded but no white in the middle about 1-2mm in diameter), now they seemed to have grown and spread out so that they are no longer round - but still pink. Not knowing what it was and not getting any decent help from my lfs I have used melafix to treat the water everyday for a week. I've just done a 25% water change as instructed by the melafix bottle. A friend of mind suggested garlic in the food, which I tried once and the fish spat it all out! Angel has gone off flake but really goes for (frozen) bloodworm. He is also a lot less active and more shy, hiding behind things. Occasionally he flicks his mouth to the side as if the growth irritates him.

In case it's relevant I have a 96l tank, 5 dennyson rasboras, 4 scissor tails, a pair of kribensis, a pair of apistogrammas, a plec and a pair of corydoras. Have had 2 scissor tails die on me about 2 weeks to a month ago, 1 from something that looked like a sore on the base of his fin and the other somewhat unexplained, though one fish did manage to get stuck down the side of the filter (but I released it and it swam off ok).

Water tests before water change read - NO2 0 on one 0.5 on another, NO3 25-50 on one, 80 on another, GH >16od, KH 3od. Ph 6.8-7.2
Please help if you can, I'd really appreciate it. Any questions I'd be happy to answer.
Thanks
Liz

Hi Liz,
have you tested for ammonia?
Also you give two figures for nitrite and nitrate? are these two tanks or two tests on the same tank?
an NO2 reading of 0.5 and a NO3 reading of 80 is a problem, NO2 should always be 0 and it is best for the NO3 to be kept under 40 although this isn't as critical.

While melafix is ok for torn fins and injuries it won't do anything for bacterial or fungal infections which this is highly likely to be, frequent water changes would be far more beneficial

Do the spots appear to be growing out of the fish, or into the fish, TBH i can't see much from the pic?

How long has the tank been running for?

lizfletcher · Nov 2, 2008

Hi Liz,
have you tested for ammonia?
Also you give two figures for nitrite and nitrate? are these two tanks or two tests on the same tank?
an NO2 reading of 0.5 and a NO3 reading of 80 is a problem, NO2 should always be 0 and it is best for the NO3 to be kept under 40 although this isn't as critical.

While melafix is ok for torn fins and injuries it won't do anything for bacterial or fungal infections which this is highly likely to be, frequent water changes would be far more beneficial

Do the spots appear to be growing out of the fish, or into the fish, TBH i can't see much from the pic?

How long has the tank been running for?
[/quote]

Hi There
Thanks for your reply. I've just retested the water post the 25% water change this morning. Ammonia is reading at 0 (as it was earlier), NO 2 -0, NO 3 50 on one test, 80 on the other. GH >16od, KH 3d, ph 6.8-7.2.

I've also taken a better photo. The growth is growing out of the fish, now doesn't look like spots. The tank has been running since July. I didn't rinse out the filter when I changed the water this morning - I didn't want to get rid of any useful bacteria. I did a 10 % water change last weekend. I do have some anti internal bacteria but I'm not convinced this is what it is. A different fish shop recommended putting the minimum aquarium salts in - do you think this is a good idea?
Thanks
Liz

Colin_T · Nov 2, 2008

It looks like a tumour but could be a bad bacterial infection. If you can isolate the fish in another tank it would be easier to treat. You can try adding mecurichrome directly to the wound. Lift the fish out of the water and use a towel to quickly blot dry the area. Then put a drop of mecurichrome on the site, wait a few seconds and then put the fish back in the water. Betadine can also be used. You would have to do this twice a day for a week or so, or until the wound heals up. It might or might not work.
Alternatively try some strong antibiotics like tetracycline. This stuff will wipe out the filter bacteria hence the need to treat the fish in a separate tank. Tetracycline is also a prescription medication so you will probably have to consult a vet.
Wilder recently posted a list of fish vets in the UK.

Davo86 · Nov 2, 2008

Unfortunately that looks like septicaemia to me, so you may want to isolate the fish
I'm not really sure of the treatment needed for that but i'm sure wilder will soon be along with the answer

lizfletcher · Nov 2, 2008

Colin_T said:
It looks like a tumour but could be a bad bacterial infection. If you can isolate the fish in another tank it would be easier to treat. You can try adding mecurichrome directly to the wound. Lift the fish out of the water and use a towel to quickly blot dry the area. Then put a drop of mecurichrome on the site, wait a few seconds and then put the fish back in the water. Betadine can also be used. You would have to do this twice a day for a week or so, or until the wound heals up. It might or might not work.
Alternatively try some strong antibiotics like tetracycline. This stuff will wipe out the filter bacteria hence the need to treat the fish in a separate tank. Tetracycline is also a prescription medication so you will probably have to consult a vet.
Wilder recently posted a list of fish vets in the UK.

Hi Colin,
Thanks for your post. Where would I get those two treatments you mention from?

Sadly I don't have a separate tank set up, I have an empty tank but no water or filter in it, surely I'd need to cycle it before putting the angel in? I'll have a look for posts from Wilder about vets.

What do you think about putting aquarium salts in? Will it help??!
Kind regards
Liz

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Help Needed Diagnosing Growth On Angel Fishes' Face

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