This is an infection likely started from an injury and has developed cancer like growth. The chance of treatment and recovery are reduced once it gets to this point. Suggested treatment is in a Clean and sterile tankbut start with a quick 3-5 minute freshwater bath with a little household peroxide added in a bucket and in the tank - then treat with Seachem Kanaplex. Again, fish may or may not respond well to treatment.Hi all. I have had this clown exactly a year now. It's had this spot on its side since shortly after I got it but it's always been quite small. In the last few weeks it's gotten to be quite large and I'm not sure what it could be. It's never caused problems but lately he's been having trouble eating and swimming and I want to take care of it now if I can.
Given that the fish has had this for a long time, I think that infection or injury can be ruled out. I think this is a cancer that just hit the exponential cell growth phase. If so, there won’t be a treatment for that, sorry.
The fresh water dip really seemed to help and he seemed a lot more lively and out in the tank after coming out from hiding. He also got A LOT of the food down that I gave with the Kanaplex so that's a good sign as well I'm hoping. Will continue to update!
I’m not sure that is cause and effect though. The only temporary benefit from a freshwater dip would be against protozoans or flukes. I just don’t see this lesion be caused by either of those. The differential diagnosis here would be: bacterial versus cancer versus (rare) fungal infection. However, the fish could have multiple issues and the dip helped with another, hidden issue.
So far so good and the injury seems to be half the size that it was already. He also seems to be eating way more than he was just a few days ago and I can visibly see how much bigger his belly is.
. I'm not one to keep something alive if it's in pain or struggling, but to be entirely honest he seems to be doing better than he was before and he's eating like a pig. Any idea if this is just scar tissue falling away or can I expect this to not get any better? You can literally see "THROUGH" him in the one picture. The tissue undeneath what's hanging off seems to be healthy and healing so I don't really know what to think as I've never seen anything like this before. Pardon the sarcastic tone but I'm trying to stay positive in light of a very scary looking injury on this fish.
Thanks for the speedy reply. I'd try and attach the video again but it's a 4k video and those tend to be large and not upload right for some reason for me. The flesh underneath the hanging part seems to be fresh light pink with no apparent worsening or bone visible. Would it be correct for me to assume the hanging part is scales that haven't decayed or something like that and the flesh will grow and fill in underneath that? Or can I expect the hanging part to fall off? If he's eating normally and it looks like it's just healing now and no long inflamed can I assume the infection has cleared up and he's on the road to recovery now?
Almost all external bacterial infections in fish get their start as an injury - the bacteria themselves are always present in the water.
He's definitely out and about way more now and following his partner around the tank instead of hiding in a nook all day. Also actively chasing food down and eating. Still struggling with pellets a bit though. The flesh on the side of the face seems to be slowly falling away to reveal healthy tissue underneath. Should I do say two more days of antibiotics to make sure nothing comes back? Or should I let it all be now?
