firefish protrusion

[andiesreef]

hello all. after about a week of qt i did a wc. everyone (a ywg, clownfish, and firefish) seemed happy. they all eat like pigs. however a few minutes ago i noticed this firefish had a tumor-like growth on its belly. it appeared within a 3 hour time frame. what the heck is going on? is it sick? if so, how do i save it? it almost looks like a little bubble under the skin. fish seems normal. swimming through the pipes in the tank, slowly being more and more curious as i've had it, and i'll see if i can get it to eat right now. treating with prazipro for 6 days with no issues until now.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Not sure what that is. Is it more on one side of the fish than the other, or is it evenly situated on the midline?

Jay

 

[andiesreef]

Not sure what that is. Is it more on one side of the fish than the other, or is it evenly situated on the midline?

Jay

it's a little to the side. it seems to have shrunk in the past few hours, almost moving around a bit? i wonder if it was a chunk of food or something that he ate while i wasn't looking. he is resting in his normal spot in the pipes at the moment, but i moved them to check on him.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

it's a little to the side. it seems to have shrunk in the past few hours, almost moving around a bit? i wonder if it was a chunk of food or something that he ate while i wasn't looking. he is resting in his normal spot in the pipes at the moment, but i moved them to check on him.

I sure don’t know what this is, but it does sound like it has something to do with its digestive system; rapid onset, off to one side, and now changing size. Tumors grow slower, ascites is equal side to side....
Jay

 

[andiesreef]

I sure don’t know what this is, but it does sound like it has something to do with its digestive system; rapid onset, off to one side, and now changing size. Tumors grow slower, ascites is equal side to side....
Jay

yeah i'm honestly at a loss- it doesn't have "pinecone scales" or anything either so i'm going to see what's up with it tomorrow. i've never seen anything like this in my freshwater tanks that i've got way more experience with... much less in saltwater that i'm just starting to experiment with.

 

[Vested]

Hoping it will be gone tomorrow! Keep us updated, what did you feed? When he was eating any chance he might have got a gulp of air?

 

[andiesreef]

Hoping it will be gone tomorrow! Keep us updated, what did you feed? When he was eating any chance he might have got a gulp of air?

maybe it could have?? it likes to chill behind the filter sometimes and rest in the narrow space so maybe he got too close to the surface and took a gulp. i feed the tank all kinds of frozen foods including mysis, brine, and cut up prawns. i sometimes drop in a few pellets for the clown but the firefish rarely touches any.

 

[andiesreef]

update: the fish is fine now, eating well, and swimming normally. no signs of the protrusion. i'm assuming it swallowed some air or a large clump of frozen mysis.