25 year old clown in trouble

[Old Clowns]

This is the male of a 25 year old mated pair of clowns.
He did not have this a couple of days ago.
He is swimming and eating fine
Does anyone have any idea of what this is or how to treat?

 

[Peach02]

This is the male of a 25 year old mated pair of clowns.
He did not have this a couple of days ago.
He is swimming and eating fine
Does anyone have any idea of what this is or how to treat?

Well done for keeping clowns alive for 4x their lifespan on average.
Im not sure what it is but he looks on the skinny side and a freshwater dip for a minute or two usually fixes parasites so id try that. (it looks like a parasite to me)

 

[TheBackAndForth]

This is the male of a 25 year old mated pair of clowns.
He did not have this a couple of days ago.
He is swimming and eating fine
Does anyone have any idea of what this is or how to treat?

very impressive. med student, not a vet or any fish expertise. If your system is quarantined, I would venture into a tumor. maybe or maybe not malignant, who knows. Old age does that, ya know?

Congrats to a 25 year lifespan for a fish in captivity. Amazing.

 

[Old Clowns]

very impressive. med student, not a vet or any fish expertise. If your system is quarantined, I would venture into a tumor. maybe or maybe not malignant, who knows. Old age does that, ya know?

Congrats to a 25 year lifespan for a fish in captivity. Amazing.

Thanks we started with 4 baby clowns and now have 3 left they have out lasted 5 different saltwater tanks
The female died about 5 years ago then the male got larger and became the female
and one of the two smaller fish started to grow and became the mated pair male so cool to watch it all unfold.

 

[bluprntguy]

Kudos for keeping a clown for 25 years. That's astounding.

I wouldn't want to guess too much on this. It doesn't look like a parasite to me.

Perhaps some type of infection or a tumor?

 

[Robert McCreary]

idk. might be a sting, do you have any corals or anemones in the tank. glad she is eating

 

[Old Clowns]

No coral or anemones for years, just live rock.
I'm thinking maybe tumor also, not much I can do, water change and and tank cleaning seem in order.
Thank for the help If anyone else has come across this please share, Thanks

 

[TheBackAndForth]

No coral or anemones for years, just live rock.
I'm thinking maybe tumor also, not much I can do, water change and and tank cleaning seem in order.
Thank for the help If anyone else has come across this please share, Thanks

DNA accumulates damage as we age, eventually becomes mutagenic. Cancer is a disease of old age, not necessarily chance.

I'd just continue as you are until the fish becomes sick or tumor become debilitating as far as mobility and function are concerned.

Everything is very impressive. I manage about 5 years on fish before something happens, I think that is the norm for 99.99% of people

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Welcome to R2R. Sorry about the clownfish. Its great he has a good home. Sounds like he is well taken care of.

Ruling out the normal illness, parasites, and injury if nothing new has been introducing into the tank I agree it may just be degenerative.

Keep us updated.

 

[Robert McCreary]

it might be some sort of infection bacterial or fungal don't you think its developing too fast to be a normal tumor?
regardless its a 25 year old clown good job

 

[Mastiffsrule]

It looks internal. Besides the lump on exterior any other signs? I am not sure what can be done, but we may have some more knowledgeable folks

@HotRocks. @4FordFamily

 

[Old Clowns]

There is a smaller second lump closer to the top of the head.
Will keep you guys updated thanks for the help.
With them being 25 years old I'm sure we are in real grey territory here.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

very impressive. med student, not a vet or any fish expertise. If your system is quarantined, I would venture into a tumor. maybe or maybe not malignant, who knows. Old age does that, ya know?

Congrats to a 25 year lifespan for a fish in captivity. Amazing.

Remember we can't live forever, for now.

 

[Robert McCreary]

Remember we can't live forever, for now.

any R2R members have a cryo chamber for trade?

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

any R2R members have a cryo chamber for trade?

Don't forget save the head put in liquid nitrogen, like Walt Disney.

 

[Robert McCreary]

Don't forget save the head put in liquid nitrogen, like Walt Disney.

do you have to acclimate first or just plop it right in?

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

For about $100,000, Barbara Streisand,clone her dog. might be less for fish? Just a thought

 

[4FordFamily]

I agree that’s likely an internal ailment such as a tumor. There’s not much you can do but allow the fish to live its’ days as best you can. That’s wonderful you’ve kept it alive so long, I commend you for your success.

God bless

 

[Robert McCreary]

hows the clown doing @Old Clowns

 

[drstardust]

Very impressive lifespan, as others have said. Hats off to you. Very hard to know what this is without looking under a microscope. Popping up so quickly is characteristic of infection, but I can't say I've seen such an infection before. I do know that fish can get cancers, but I don't know details about this or how quickly they can come on. My best wishes to you